Zstd Compressed Linux Kernel Images Proposed Once More

Going back to at least late 2017 have been proposals for Zstd-compressing the Linux kernel images for the Facebook-developed Zstandard compression algorithm. In 2020 perhaps we will finally see the support mainlined.

The 2017 effort didn't gain traction and in 2018 and 2019 it was re-proposed again for supporting Zstd compression for the kernel image and initramfs.

With Zstd continuing to see widespread adoption in the open-source community and continued investment by Facebook, the kernel support has once again been proposed.

The latest are the patches for supporting Zstd-compressed kernel images and initramfs setups.

"ZSTD compression ratio is roughly 10% worst than xz, but the decompression is 10x faster. Currently, this is one of the optimal algorithms available in the kernel, as there isn't an algorithm, which would provide a better compression ratio and a shorter decompression time," the patch reads.

We'll see if 2020 is the lucky year for a Zstd-compressed Linux kernel. Considering the kernel continues supporting XZ, LZO, and LZ4 compression options, hopefully Zstd will finally land soon.