The Linux Kernel Developers Summit (also known as the Linux Kernel Maintainer Summit) is an annual gathering of the top Linux kernel developers. Attendance at the summit is by invitation only, and the conference was first held in San Jose in March 2001. It was organized by Theodore Ts'o to provide a face to face venue for kernel developers to discuss current and future issues surrounding Linux kernel development, and was initially run by Usenix and then VA Linux's Open Source Developer's Network. Subsequent summits from 2002 to 2006 were held the two days prior to the Ottawa Linux Symposium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada at the same conference center with Usenix providing all of the logistical support. The 2007 Kernel Summit was held on September 4–6, 2007 at the DeVere University Arms Hotel in Cambridge, England, and was the first time the summit was moved outside of North America.

Content

The discussions at the kernel summit have traditionally been highly technical, with a focus on issues that were not getting resolution via electronic mail. In recent years, however, the summit has been gradually focusing more on higher level development process issues. An example of an important development process decision made at the kernel summit was the decision to move to a rolling stable 2.6 kernel every few months, instead of the formerly used model using a 1–2-year development cycle. The Linux Technical Advisory Board is elected at a bird-of-a-feather session at the Linux Kernel Summit.

The summit usually hosts around 80 attendees.

Summit locations

DateHost countryLocationWebsiteSummary
March 30–31, 2001United StatesHyatt Hotel, San Jose, CA
June 24–25, 2002CanadaOttawa Congress Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
July 21–22, 2003CanadaOttawa Congress Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
July 19–20, 2004CanadaOttawa Congress Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
July 18–19, 2005CanadaOttawa Congress Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
July 16–18, 2006CanadaOttawa Congress Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
September 4–6, 2007United KingdomDeVere University Arms Hotel, Cambridge
September 15–16, 2008United StatesPortland State University, Portland, OR
October 18–20, 2009JapanAkihabara Convention Hall, Akihabara, Tokyo
November 1–2, 2010United StatesHyatt Regency Cambridge, Cambridge, MA
October 23–25, 2011Czech RepublicClarion Congress Hotel, Prague, Czech Republic
August 27–29, 2012United StatesSan Diego, CAN/A
October 23–25, 2013United KingdomEdinburgh, United Kingdom
August 18–20, 2014United StatesSheraton Chicago, Chicago, IL
October 26–28, 2015South KoreaConrad Hotel, Seoul, South Korea
October 31–November 1, 2016United StatesSanta Fe Convention Center, Santa Fe, NM
October 24–26, 2017Czech RepublicHilton Prague, Prague Czech Republic
November 13–15, 2018CanadaSheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, Vancouver, Canada
September 12, 2019PortugalCorinthia Hotel Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
September 24, 2021Virtual
September 15, 2022IrelandDublin, Ireland
November 16, 2023United StatesRichmond, Virginia
September 17, 2024AustriaVienna, Austria
December 18, 2025JapanTokyo