GoKawiilLinux 7.2 draws record 2,652 contributors, second-highest commit count ever
The Linux 7.2 kernel merged 16,418 non-merge commits, more than the previous 7.1 release and second only to 6.7 in total history, according to LWN's Kernel Source Database. Unlike 6.7, where commit volume was skewed by the bcachefs merge, 7.2's activity was spread across many subsystems. A record 2,652 developers contributed, up from 2,479 in 7.1, with Uwe Kleine-König, Rosen Penev and Ian Rogers topping the list by number of changesets.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The steadily growing number of contributors per release suggests the kernel's development community continues to expand even as individual releases grow larger and more complex. The broad-based nature of 7.2's changes, rather than one huge subsystem merge, may indicate healthy distributed activity across many maintainers rather than reliance on a single large project landing at once.
- 7.2 had 16,418 non-merge commits, the second-most in kernel history after 6.7
- 2,652 developers contributed, a new record surpassing 7.1's 2,479
- Contribution was broad-based, unlike 6.7 which was dominated by the bcachefs merge
Source: lwn.net, 2026-10-17
Published there as: “Development statistics for the 7.2 kernel”
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