Linux kernel Tux the penguin, mascot of Linux[1] Linux kernel 3.0.0 booting Developer Linus Torvalds and thousands of collaborators Written in C and assembly[2] OS family Unix-like Initial release 0.01 (17 September 1991 (1991-09-17)) Latest release 4.10.3 (15 March 2017 (2017-03-15)) [±][3] Latest preview 4.11-rc2 (12 March 2017 (2017-03-12)) [±][4] Available in English Kernel type Monolithic License GNU General Public License, version 2[5][6] plus various optional freely redistributable (proprietary) binary blobs[7][8] Official website kernel.org