Linus Torvalds has made the decision to remove the bcachefs file system from the code base for the upcoming Linux 6.18 kernel release. The implementation of Bcachefs was moved to external support mode in the 6.17 kernel, meaning that changes for Bcachefs would no longer be made to the main kernel composition. However, the code for Bcachefs was left in place to aid in the transition process. The Bcachefs developer has now started distributing the project as a separate DKMS module, rendering the code in the kernel irrelevant.
To avoid confusion with different versions of the code, it was determined that BCACHEFS should be removed from the kernel. Third-party developers are continuing to submit corrections and messages about errors to the kernel development mailing list, while problems are also being detected by automatic verification systems. Users who wish to use Bcachefs are advised to switch to installing the relevant DKMS modules, with developers sending patches to a separate mailing list.
DKMS (Dynamic Kernel Module Support) allows users to maintain BCACHEFS in its current state without being tied to each Linux kernel update. The nucleus module is provided in source code form and is built on the user’s system after installing the package. Following a Linux kernel update, the module is automatically rebuilt. DKMS-assembled modules can be included in Initramfs, enabling users to utilize Bcachefs for their root file system. Training on DKMS modules for various Linux distributions has been provided. BCACHEFS DKMS assembly is supported for the 6.16 and 6.17 kernels and will be available for future versions, including the 6.18 kernel.
There are two branches of Bcachefs available: “Nightly” for testing the latest code base changes and “Release” for installation on production systems. A new branch called “Stable” is in the works, which will lag behind the Release branch in functionality for additional stabilization and error tagging. The project is also nearing the removal of the experimental file system label.