Linux kernel compilation times have fallen sharply thanks to work by Linux memory management developer Lorenzo Stoakes, with assistance from AI and large language models, according to testing by Phoronix's Michael Larabel. Larabel built the latest v4 kernel patches from Stoakes and recorded a defconfig x86-64 kernel build of about 15 seconds. He noted that this once time-consuming process can now be done in roughly 15 seconds. The gains come from removing long-standing bottlenecks in the build rather than from hardware and core counts alone, and the article states that even modest processors have seen their compile times cut dramatically as a result of the work.
On Larabel's own highly capable EPYC workstation, the same compilation task took more than 22 seconds before the new patches were applied. The roughly 15-second result was achieved on that system. The benchmarking did not use a RAMdisk to aggressively tune compile times. Larabel's test rig is described as extremely potent, meaning a typical home PC or laptop may still leave time to brew coffee while a kernel builds.
All the timings reported so far cover the minimal default kernel configuration for x86-64 systems. Larabel also timed a Linux kernel built with allmodconfig, which enables thousands of drivers and subsystems and produces much longer builds. On the same high-end system, the latest patches from Stoakes reduced that time from 169 seconds to 134 seconds.
That second result puts the allmodconfig build close to the two-minute mark. The v4 patches from Stoakes are the changes underlying both measurements. The article attributes part of the progress to the involvement of AI and LLMs alongside Stoakes' work as a Linux MM developer, and it says the removal of build bottlenecks is the reason compile times dropped on both modest and high-end processors.
Phoronix is now taking bets on AMD Zen 6 EPYC 9686F systems, configured with MRDIMMs and PCIe Gen6 storage, pushing defconfig x86-64 Linux kernel compilation times below 10 seconds. That target is presented as an expectation for future hardware rather than a result measured today. The reporting was published by Tom's Hardware on 2026-09-27 in its software desk, with the testing attributed to Larabel and the patch work to Stoakes. Kernel compilation times have served as a signature benchmark for Linux-focused testing over the past two decades, which is why incremental reductions of this size draw attention from enthusiasts.
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