I shared my predictions for 2026 at the tail-end of 2025.  I looked around at other sites’ predictions to see where we agree and where we don’t.

Linux World News predicted a variety of things for 2026.  Most of them are pretty obvious, for example: more projects will use LLMs, more code reviews with LLMs, European digital sovereignty efforts will pick up, etc.  These are pretty clear cases of following the trend line with your finger.

But there’s one thing they highlighted that I missed, which on reflection I think will be very impactful: gccrs.

The Rust Train

The Rust programming language has been coming on strong in the systems programming space.  There’s now Rust in the Linux kernel, for example, and efforts to rewrite a lot of the OS utilities in Rust.  Debian’s apt utility requires Rust.  Etcetera.

You can expect that for every month that goes by, you’ll need Rust more and more to build a Linux system.

The gccrs project seeks to add Rust support to gcc, which will make compilation much more universally available.  Quoting LWN:

The gccrs project will deliver a working Rust compiler this year; it will be usable to build the kernel’s Rust code. This ambitious project to bring Rust support to the GCC compiler seemed to languish for years, but has recently picked up its pace. In the coming year, it will begin to be useful, even though the to-do list is likely to remain long.

The availability of gccrs is important because, among other reasons, an increasing number important projects will require Rust to build over the course of the year. The availability of a GCC-based compiler will make that transition easier for many people, especially those working with architectures that the LLVM-based rustc compiler does not support. It is possible, though far from certain, that building the 2026 long-term-support kernel (likely 7.4, to be released on December 20) will require Rust for some use cases.

So not only will Rust be more available for everyone to compile, but this availability will allow it to be required in various software, and Rust will presumably enter a virtuous loop where its adoption grows rapidly.

raindog308

Raindog308 is a longtime LowEndTalk community administrator, technical writer, and self-described techno polymath. With deep roots in the *nix world, he has a passion for systems both modern and vintage, ranging from Unix, Perl, Python, and Golang to shell scripting and mainframe-era operating systems like MVS. He’s equally comfortable with relational database systems, having spent years working with Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.

As an avid user of LowEndBox providers, Raindog runs an empire of LEBs, from tiny boxes for VPNs, to mid-sized instances for application hosting, and heavyweight servers for data storage and complex databases. He brings both technical rigor and real-world experience to every piece he writes.

Beyond the command line, Raindog is a lover of German Shepherds, high-quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop RPGs, and hiking in deep, quiet forests.

His goal with every article is to help users, from beginners to seasoned sysadmins, get more value, performance, and enjoyment out of their infrastructure.

You can find him daily in the forums at LowEndTalk under the handle @raindog308.