Linux 7.1 stable expected 2026-06-14

Category: Linux/Kernel
Status: developing
Sources: Phoronix feature overview, Neowin
Summary: Linus Torvalds released Linux 7.1-rc7 on 2026-06-07 and said he expected it to be the final release candidate, with the 7.1 stable release on 2026-06-14 unless an eighth candidate was needed. Headline 7.1 features include FRED (Flexible Return and Event Delivery) on x86, a new in-tree NTFS driver for reading and writing Microsoft filesystems, and performance work, with late-cycle fixes concentrated in GPU then networking. The cycle ran heavier than usual due to a surge of AI-agent-generated patches. As of this run the newest tag in the tree is v7.1-rc7; the stable tag had not yet landed.
Why it matters: Linux 7.1 ships a new NTFS driver and the FRED interrupt-delivery rework, and distributions and CI pipelines tracking mainline should prepare for the merge once the stable tag lands.
Follow-up: Confirm the 7.1 stable tag and announcement; review the changelog for scheduler, io_uring, and eBPF changes.