Bcachefs may be headed out of the kernel

[Posted June 27, 2025 by jake] The history of the bcachefs filesystem in the kernel has been turbulent, most recently with Linus Torvalds refusing a pull request for the 6.16-rc3 release. Torvalds has now pulled the code in question, but also said: I think we'll be parting ways in the 6.17 merge window. You made it very clear that I can't even question any bug-fixes and I should just pull anything and everything. Honestly, at that point, I don't really feel comfortable being involved at all, and the only thing we both seemed to really fundamentally agree on in that discussion was "we're done". Bcachefs developer Kent Overstreet has his own view of the situation. Both Torvalds and Overstreet refer to a seemingly private conversation where the pull request (and other topics) were discussed.

A Hacker News discussion revolves around the potential removal of Bcachefs, a filesystem developed by Kent Overstreet, from the Linux kernel. Concerns stem from Overstreet's alleged disregard for kernel development rules, specifically pushing feature-like bugfixes during release candidate phases. Commenters debate whether Overstreet's actions are justified given the need for rapid bug fixes and data recovery options for an "experimental" filesystem, or whether he's violating established processes, creating trust issues. Some suggest Overstreet should delegate maintainership or follow stricter kernel development guidelines. Others defend his approach, emphasizing the importance of fast iteration and community testing, particularly for a filesystem designed to prevent data loss. The discussion touches on alternative solutions like DKMS for out-of-kernel modules, the licensing complexities of ZFS, and the general challenges of filesystem development and maintenance within the Linux ecosystem. The absence of a stable kernel module API is also mentioned.

[Posted June 27, 2025 by jake]

The history of the bcachefs filesystem in the kernel has been turbulent, most recently with Linus Torvalds refusing a pull request for the 6.16-rc3 release. Torvalds has now pulled the code in question, but also said:

I think we'll be parting ways in the 6.17 merge window.
You made it very clear that I can't even question any bug-fixes and I should just pull anything and everything.
Honestly, at that point, I don't really feel comfortable being involved at all, and the only thing we both seemed to really fundamentally agree on in that discussion was "we're done".

Bcachefs developer Kent Overstreet has his own view of the situation. Both Torvalds and Overstreet refer to a seemingly private conversation where the pull request (and other topics) were discussed.