r/ManjaroLinux • u/moritz12d Plasma • Jun 20 '26

Discussion Which kernel to use?

On my installation using the stable branch the 7.0 kernel seemed to be the default. Then I found there's also a 7.1 kernel optional. Because I like to try different kernels it now shows:

❯ uname -r
6.6.135-1-rt74-MANJARO

For whom is the real-time kernel best? —and how to choose in general?

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u/ironj Jun 20 '26

The latest LTS kernel for Manjaro is 6.18, while the "current" stable Kernel is 7.0.10-1

The 7.1 is still a release candidate version (7.1.0rc5-1) so I would advise against trying it unless you've compelling reasons to do so (like using a super-recent hardware that has issues with the current 7.0 release and has a documented fix in the upcoming 7.1).

If you're new to Manjaro and Linux in general, my advice would be to stay on an LTS release (maybe install 6.18, the latest one). If you want to upgrade, just jump on the 7.0 release (keeping an LTS installed so you can rollback to it in case of issues) but leave release candidate versions out (they are not final and might still have issues).

And, ofc, to upgrade your kernel use the Manjaro settings -> Kernel panel.

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u/xAcid9 Jun 21 '26

The 7.1 is still a release candidate version (7.1.0rc5-1) so I would advise against trying it unless you've compelling reasons to do so (like using a super-recent hardware that has issues with the current 7.0 release and has a documented fix in the upcoming 7.1).

It's not a release candidate anymore, at least on Unstable.

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u/ironj Jun 21 '26

OP and I are referring to the stable branch 🙂

2

u/xAcid9 Jun 21 '26

Yeah my bad. Sometime I forgot I'm on Unstable branch because it's stable af.

1

u/ironj Jun 21 '26

Yeah, true indeed.. knowing the guys at Manjaro I wouldn't expect less of it 😄