Liquorix Linux Kernel 7.1-6 Lands with Project-C Scheduler Fixes and 7.1.5 Base
Developer Steven Barrett has pushed Liquorix kernel 7.1-6. to the repositories. The new build merges upstream Linux v7.1.5 and adds a fresh round of fixes to the custom Project-C scheduler.
The 7.1.x series is still in its developmental window, though 7.1.5 is the current stable point release. Liquorix tracks these updates closely, and this release is no exception. The bulk of the work here goes to the scheduler rather than the base kernel code.
Project-C Gets More Attention
Steven Barrett's custom scheduler codebase, known as Project-C, is the main focus of Liquorix development. It replaces the standard mainline scheduler with two options: SCHED_ALT for gaming and interactive loads, and SCHED_BMQ for different workload profiles.
This build brings three specific fixes to SCHED_ALT:
- Restoring timer_slack_ns when resetting RT policy on fork.
- Dropping stale idle mask bits for inactive CPUs.
- Auto-detecting heterogeneous CPU topology.
The heterogeneous CPU detection matters most if you're running modern hybrid processors. Intel Meteor Lake, Arrow Lake, and AMD Zen 4/5 chips all use mixed core designs. The scheduler can now recognize those layouts and place tasks more intelligently.
Not cheap to maintain this code. Barrett has been syncing Project-C with mainline scheduler internals since July 2024. That effort is paying off, but it requires constant patching to stay aligned.
The 7.1.x Series
The upstream 7.1 family introduced a few notable changes since its June 14, 2026 release. There's a new NTFS driver called NTFSPLUS, removal of legacy i486 and PCMCIA support, and Intel FRED enabled by default. AMD Ryzen AI NPUs now get power reporting, and Apple Silicon systems can read battery info via a new SMC driver.
Liquorix takes these changes and applies its own tuning. The default config trades throughput and power efficiency for raw responsiveness. You get a 1000Hz tick rate, a 2ms scheduling timeslice, and BBR2 congestion control. It's aggressive.
Rapid Release Cadence
The July 2026 release schedule has been intense. Barrett shipped six versions in just two weeks:
- 7.1-1: Switched to Linux 7.1 base on July 13.
- 7.1-2 through 7.1-5: Project-C sync and fixup series.
- 7.1-6.: Current release with heterogeneous CPU support.
That pace reflects the active development state of both Project-C and the upstream 7.1 series. If you're tracking Liquorix, expect regular updates.
Installation
Head to liquorix.net for the install script for Debian, Ubuntu, and Arch Linux:
curl -s 'https://liquorix.net/install-liquorix.sh' | sudo bash
The source code lives at github.com/damentz/liquorix-package.
