The leader of Apple’s main Linux distribution for Mac resigns, citing burnout and criticizing Linus Torvalds' leadership.
Héctor Martín has left his position at Asahi Linux.
Hector Martin has decided to resign from his position as the leader of the Asahi Linux project, a Linux distribution created specifically for Macs with M-series processors. The primary reason behind this decision has been burnout, exacerbated by tensions within the Linux community, which have increased his workload due to the resistance from some developers.
In a letter addressed to the community, Martin described how what started as a "dream project" has turned into a job task. He detailed that creating this Linux distribution, intended for Apple Silicon architecture, was a daunting process, done "from scratch, without support or documentation from the manufacturers," and proved to be more complicated than getting Linux to run on a PS4.
Over the years, Martin has faced what he describes as "entitled users," who have flooded his inbox with requests and complaints about battery life, USB-C display support, and next-generation chip support. The developer noted that, regardless of the achievements made, there were always more demands: "No matter how much we did, they always wanted more."
Although Martin had tried to avoid burnout by limiting the time spent on certain tasks, such as kernel integration, the situation reached a point where the development of Asahi Linux began to affect his personal life. Despite Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, expressing interest in making Linux run smoothly on M-series Macs, Martin mentioned that he received no response to his request to discuss the specific challenges of this operating system.
At the end of his letter, Martin expressed his desire to have free time to relax and not worry about pending functionalities to implement. He announced that his resignation from leadership of Asahi Linux is effective immediately and suggested that those who supported him financially consider contributing instead to the Asahi Linux OpenCollective, while also being open to new job opportunities.