Linux 7.3-rc1 is a huge release, and now we know just how big these releases can get

Published Aug 31, 2026, 1:26 PM EDT Simon is a Computer Science BSc graduate who has been writing about technology since 2014, and using Windows machines since 3.1. After working for an indie game studio and acting as the family's go-to technician for all computer issues, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech. Since beginning his writing career, he has written for many different publications such as WorldStart, Listverse, and MakeTechEasier. However, after finding his home at MakeUseOf in February 2019, he would eventually move on to its sister site, XDA, to bring the latest and greatest in Windows, Linux, and DIY electronics. Summary Linux 7.3-rc1 adds ~560,000 lines, lifting the kernel to about 40.98 million lines. Release candidates keep growing thanks to AI-driven bug finders and automated fixes. A huge AMD GPU register dump alone added about 6.52 million lines to rc1. We've only just received Linux 7.2 on our PCs, but the world of open-source software doesn't sit still for long. Linux 7.3 is already ready for testing, with the first public test build (known as a 'release candidate' in Linux terms) being released for us all to try. Over the span of 2026, Linus Torvalds has stated that the release candidates have gotten bigger due to the rise in AI bug-finders and fixers, but he has never explicitly stated how big these candidates are. Well, now we have a good idea of their size, and...yeah, they're big. Linux 7.3-rc1 adds ~560,000 lines of code to the kernel I see what Torvalds meant now As spotted by Phoronix, Linux Torvalds has posted the official announcement for Linux 7.3-rc1's release. In the notes, Torvalds says that "Nothing really stands out - except for the fact that it's big. It's not the biggest rc1 we've ever had, but it's certainly up there, at least in number of commits." He also says that "I don't think that surprises anybody anymore," because pretty much every release candidate has been big ever since Torvalds noticed an increase in AI-driven bug fixes during the 7.0 release. But how big is "big," anyway? Well, Phoronix did a deep dive into what release candidate 1 added, and what they found lined up with what Torvalds was saying: Linux 7.3-rc1 comes in at 40.98 million lines... That's between 5,134,418 cloc-detected blank lines, some 4,912,366 lines of code comments, and 30,937,090 lines of detected code. In comparison for the Linux v7.2 state that came in at 40.42 million lines. It's safe to say that for Linux 7.4, it will be easily above 41 million lines. To clarify, what Phoronix is saying is that Linux v7.2 brought the total lines of code in the kernel to 40.42 million, and v7.3 raised it to 40.98 million. That means this release candidate added around 560,000 lines of code, which is pretty huge. Remember, v7.2 first hit the scene around two months ago, so that's some staggeringly fast progress. Linus also says that 7.3-rc1 contains a "big AMD GPU register dump," and that alone clocked in at 6.52 million lines. So yes, when Linus says these new builds are huge, it turns out they really are huge.