Linus Torvalds uses Claude Code AI to develop Linux kernel patches

Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux kernel, has experimented with Anthropic’s Claude Code AI assistant to develop experimental patches for the operating system. The project focused on optimizing page cache reading to improve memory management performance.

Under Torvalds' direct supervision, the AI assistant wrote eight fixes and test programs. Performance benchmarks conducted on a personal laptop showed significant speed increases; in certain multi-threaded tests, reading speeds tripled from approximately 10 million reads per second to over 30 million.

While the results are promising, Torvalds noted several unresolved concerns, including potential memory management issues, risks of negative side effects, and overall system behavior. The code remains an experiment titled ‘noref-filemap-read-with-llm’ and has not been officially integrated into the mainline Linux kernel.