Slackware 16.0 in Development: The 2026 Toolchain Rebuild and How to Test It

Part of our Slackware guide

🚧 Development branch: Slackware 16.0 is being built in -current and has no release date. Checked against the official -current ChangeLog · Last updated: 14 October 2026

Slackware 16.0 does not exist as a release yet, but it is clearly on its way. On 5 September 2026 Patrick Volkerding rebuilt the entire -current tree with a new toolchain, and on 29 September the base system package was bumped to version 16.0. No build has been labelled alpha, beta or release candidate in the ChangeLog so far. This guide explains what has changed in -current since Slackware 15.0 came out in February 2022, what the September rebuild means, and how to test it without risking a machine you depend on.

If you want to try it on hardware you can throw away, a cloud VPS is the quickest option. Our comparison of the best Linux VPS hosting providers covers the ones that let you boot a custom ISO.

What happened in September 2026

The turning point was a single ChangeLog entry from 5 September 2026, in Volkerding's own words:

"Upgraded to binutils-2.47, gcc-16.2.0, and glibc-2.44, and compiled everything with them. There might be a light at the end of the tunnel, eh?"

"Compiled everything" is the important part. It was not a handful of packages updated one by one: the whole distribution was rebuilt against a new C library and a new compiler. That is the kind of change that brings build failures and ABI problems to the surface across the whole tree, and it is usually what comes right before a stable release starts to settle.

Three weeks later, two more changes pointed the same way:

• 21 September 2026: the main kernel in -current moved from the 6.18 series to Linux 7.2.
• 29 September 2026: the aaa_base package, which carries the system version, was upgraded to 16.0.

Volkerding has not announced a date and has not used the word "alpha" for this cycle. The ChangeLog is the only official source of progress.

Slackware -current at a glance (14 October 2026)

LILO has not been dropped. The ChangeLog shows it being rebuilt and fixed several times in September 2026, alongside GRUB 2.16. If you have only used GRUB, read up on LILO before you need to repair a boot on it.

Updates that landed right after the rebuild

-current keeps moving every day. Two days after the rebuild, the 7 September 2026 entry brought a batch of security fixes:

• util-linux 2.42.3, with fixes for five CVEs, among them CVE-2026-76642, CVE-2026-78410, CVE-2026-78409 and CVE-2026-78408.
• libpcap 1.10.7, with fixes for seven CVEs (CVE-2026-0799, CVE-2026-31912, CVE-2026-31911, CVE-2026-6244, CVE-2026-6554, CVE-2026-18313 and CVE-2026-18238). It matters if you use tcpdump or anything else that captures packets.
• python-numpy 2.5.3, taglib 2.3.2, rust-bindgen 0.73.1 and pkgconf 3.0.7 as routine updates.

If you already track -current, run slackpkg update && slackpkg upgrade-all often and read the ChangeLog before each run. There is no frozen snapshot to aim for.

Slackware is still not like other distros

If you mostly know Ubuntu, Fedora or Arch, three things are worth knowing before you test 16.0:

• No automatic dependency resolution. Slackware's package tools install what you give them and do not pull in dependencies the way apt, dnf or pacman do. Our comparison of apt, dnf, pacman and zypper explains the difference, and the SlackBuilds guide covers tools like sbopkg that help with third-party software.
• Plain boot scripts, no systemd. Services start from BSD-style scripts in /etc/rc.d, which you can read and edit directly.
• You configure the system yourself. The text installer copies packages and sets up the basics, and the rest is up to you. If you have done a manual Arch Linux install, the approach will feel familiar.

Who should test -current now, and who should wait

Test it now if:

• You maintain SlackBuilds or other third-party packages that have to build against GCC 16.2.0 and Glibc 2.44 before 16.0 is released.
• You already run -current on a test machine or a virtual machine that you update often.
• You want to report build failures or regressions while the tree is still being rebuilt.

Wait for the stable release if:

• You need a daily driver or a server. Slackware 15.0 is still supported and still receiving security updates.
• You are new to Slackware. Learning a system without a dependency resolver on a development branch doubles the number of things that can go wrong.
• You depend on third-party SlackBuilds that nobody has checked against the new toolchain yet.

How to test Slackware -current safely

If you have never installed Slackware, read our Slackware 15 installation guide first. The installer works the same way in -current.

1. Use a virtual machine or a spare disk. A VM in QEMU/KVM or VirtualBox is the safest choice. Take a snapshot before every slackpkg upgrade-all so you can go back in seconds.
2. Install from the current tree, not an old ISO. -current changes daily, so an ISO you downloaded last month is already behind. Update straight after installing.
3. Read the ChangeLog before each update. Volkerding writes breaking changes and manual steps directly into the official ChangeLog. During a development cycle it is the closest thing Slackware has to release notes.
4. Rebuild your SlackBuilds before trusting them. Anything compiled against the old GCC and Glibc should be treated as untested until it is rebuilt and checked against 16.2.0 and 2.44.
5. Keep a Slackware 15.0 install for comparison. If you are testing compatibility, you need a stable baseline next to the development one.

What comes next

Slackware has no release calendar. The project ships when Volkerding considers it ready, which is part of why more than four and a half years have passed since 15.0. In the 15.0 cycle the ChangeLog named its stages explicitly ("15.0-alpha1" in February 2021, then three release candidates before the final release in February 2022), so if 16.0 follows the same pattern those labels will appear there first. Following our Slackware guide or the ChangeLog itself is the reliable way to know.

Troubleshooting Slackware 16: Common Questions

Is Slackware 16 out?

No. As of 14 October 2026, Slackware 16.0 is still in development in -current. The base package was bumped to 16.0 on 29 September 2026, but no alpha, beta or release candidate has been announced.

Was there a Slackware 16 Alpha 1?

Not officially. The 5 September 2026 toolchain rebuild has been described as an alpha, including in an earlier version of this article, but the ChangeLog never uses that word for it. It was a full rebuild of -current with GCC 16.2.0, Glibc 2.44 and Binutils 2.47.

Can I upgrade from Slackware 15 to -current?

Technically yes, but it is a jump across a whole new toolchain and not something to try on a machine you rely on. Test on a separate install or a virtual machine, and keep your 15.0 system as it is.

Why has Slackware 16 taken so long?

Slackware does not follow a schedule, and this cycle included a full rebuild of every package against a new compiler and C library, plus the move to Plasma 6 and the Linux 7 kernel series.

Does Slackware 16 use GRUB or LILO?

Both are still shipped and maintained in -current, together with ELILO for UEFI. The ChangeLog shows fixes to LILO and to GRUB in September and October 2026.

Will my SlackBuilds work on Slackware 16?

Not guaranteed. Anything built against the previous toolchain should be rebuilt and tested against GCC 16.2.0 and Glibc 2.44 before you rely on it.

JM Carreira

I’ve used Linux since 2008 and it has been my main system since 2021. When an article has a “Tested on” box, I ran the steps on my Lenovo Tiny. More about me and the test machine.