'I'm not a programmer' anymore: Linus Torvalds on the only two tools he uses now

3 hours ago

Linus Torvalds now sees himself as a development lead rather than a programmer, focusing on understanding the bigger picture through pull requests and handling merge conflicts.
He uses only two main tools: Git for version control and email for communication, relying on maintainers and avoiding last-minute fixes to maintain a steady release schedule.
Torvalds emphasizes incremental improvements over splashy releases, though AI-generated bug reports and patches have added stress, often producing junk or superficial fixes.
He supports removing obsolete hardware and software, like discontinuing support for 486 SX CPUs and old networking standards, to reduce maintenance burdens.
While acknowledging Rust's value, he believes C remains simpler and more powerful, noting that Rust doesn't prevent logic errors and its guarantees break in mixed C/Rust codebases.
AI and LLMs are used cautiously; they can prototype ideas but often generate invalid bug reports or band-aid patches, requiring human verification and suggested fixes.
Torvalds values finding bugs, even embarrassing ones, over ignoring them, and uses AI for personal projects like adding Godzilla to family photos from his travels.

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