Linux kernel build time falls to 15 seconds with AI help
Phoronix's Michael Larabel timed a clean kernel compile at roughly 15 seconds using new AI-assisted patches from developer Lorenzo Stoakes, down from more than 22 seconds, Tom's Hardware reported.
Tom's Hardware reported that Phoronix's Michael Larabel clocked a clean Linux kernel build at roughly 15 seconds. He used the latest AI-assisted Kbuild patches from developer Lorenzo Stoakes. Before the patches, the same build took more than 22 seconds on his test rig, Larabel said.
Larabel said "the coffee window is closing" for kernel builds. The compile has served as a signature Phoronix benchmark for two decades. The gains came from bottlenecks Stoakes removed in the kernel's Kbuild tooling, with help from AI and large language models, Tom's Hardware said.
Larabel ran the test without a RAM disk. His workstation had two 64-core AMD EPYC 9575F processors, 1.5 terabytes of DDR5-6400 memory and a Samsung PM1743 PCIe Gen 5 solid-state drive, running Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. A typical home PC or laptop would still take longer, Tom's Hardware said.
Tom's Hardware said further hardware advances are expected to push clean kernel builds into single-digit seconds. That includes AMD's upcoming Zen 6 processors and PCIe Gen 6 storage. Larabel said even modest processors have seen their compile times fall sharply from the same patches.