Bcachefs 1.37 Released With Stable Erasure Coding and Linux 7 Support

Kent Overstreet has introduced Bcachefs 1.37, an advanced copy-on-write filesystem for Linux. It offers modern capabilities such as built-in encryption, snapshots, and compression, positioning it as a strong alternative to filesystems like Btrfs and ZFS.

A key highlight in this release is that erasure coding has matured beyond its experimental phase. Its primary functionality is now complete and tied into the filesystem’s reconciliation system, allowing automatic recovery of degraded data and improved handling of tiered or mixed storage setups. Some refinements, particularly around stripe allocation, are expected in upcoming versions.

The update also brings notable improvements to data recovery and integrity. Journal rewind operations are now considered safe, with built-in tracking of stable rollback points. This ensures consistency at the transaction level and allows the system to resume safely even if interruptions occur during the rewind process.

Another addition is a targeted recovery feature. After an improper shutdown, the filesystem inspects recently modified data and attempts immediate fixes if corruption is detected. If repair is not feasible, it can roll back to the most recent stable state within a defined timeframe.

Hardware fault tolerance has also been enhanced. Bcachefs can now better handle devices with unreliable flush or FUA behavior, helping prevent unnoticed data corruption. In addition, recovery after unclean shutdowns is now quicker and more consistent.

On the tooling side, several usability upgrades have been introduced. Users can now:

• Filter and sort subvolume listings
• View snapshot structures along with disk usage information
• Apply file I/O settings across reflinked data while preserving ownership rules

The fs top utility now includes a terminal-based interface with per-device metrics, and command outputs have improved formatting for easier reading.

Compatibility has been extended with support for Linux kernel 7.0. Development is also moving toward modern languages, with the userspace components now fully rewritten in Rust.

In terms of availability, Bcachefs tools are currently packaged in a limited number of distributions, including Arch Linux, Gentoo, Void Linux, and Fedora. While Debian and Ubuntu do not include it by default, users can install it via an external APT repository.

Meanwhile, openSUSE offers support through its Build Service, and NixOS provides the userspace tools only. Since Bcachefs is no longer included in the mainline kernel, most distributions depend on out-of-tree modules such as DKMS for enabling support, which may vary depending on the system.

For more details, see the changelog.