Kernel

Kernel

SkillFishOS ships a custom linux-tkg 7.2.6-skillfishos kernel, built from Frogging-Family/linux-tkg with BC-250 patches.

What's in it

• BORE scheduler, GCC -O3, 1000 Hz, NTsync + fsync — for gaming responsiveness.
• BC-250 userpatches:
  • GPU clock range unlocked 350–2230 MHz (stock is locked to 1500). Actual clocking is done by the GPU Governor and Tuning.
  • 40-CU unlock (opt-in via amdgpu.bc250_cc_write_mode=3 — see Compute Units (40-CU)).
  • The cosmetic "RDSEED is not reliable…" boot spam silenced.

Two flavours

Flavour	Package	-march	Target
BC-250	linux-image-7.2.6-skillfishos	znver2	AMD BC-250 (Zen 2)
x64	linux-image-7.2.6-skillfishos-x64	x86-64	ordinary PCs & VMs

Both are the same source and the same patch set; they differ in compiler target. The BC-250 build is compiled for Zen 2 and will not boot on an Intel machine, which is why the Generic edition of the ISO carries the x64 one.

Install / update

The full kernel image is ~152 MB, which exceeds the GitHub Pages 100 MB limit, so it's published as a GitHub Release asset and installed through a thin wrapper:

sudo apt install skillfishos-kernel

The skillfishos-kernel package is a few KB; its postinst schedules an out-of-band systemd-run unit that waits for the dpkg lock, downloads the real .deb from the Release and installs it.

Warning: the full kernel .deb must never be dpkg -i-ed from inside another package's postinst — that deadlocks the dpkg lock (exit 100). The wrapper sidesteps this with the out-of-band unit.

Switching kernels & cleaning up

Use the Kernel section of the SkillFishOS Control Center (skillfish-control-center, or the skillfish-kernel-manager command, which opens that same section). It lists every installed kernel with its flavour, size and running/default badges, lets you set the permanent GRUB default or boot one once, and can completely uninstall a kernel (image + headers + modules) so they don't pile up. Guardrails: it never removes the running kernel or the last remaining one, and it moves the GRUB default off a kernel before removing it.

Build it yourself

See Building from Source and the kernel-build/ recipe in the repo.