This page provides general information about notable

Linux distribution A Linux distribution (often abbreviated as distro) is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and, often, a package management system. Linux users usually obtain their operating system by downloading one ...

s in the form of a categorized list. Distributions are organized into sections by the major distribution or

package management system A package manager or package-management system is a collection of software tools that automates the process of installing, upgrading, configuring, and removing computer programs for a computer in a consistent manner. A package manager deals w ...

they are based on.

RPM-based

Red Hat Linux Red Hat Linux was a widely used Commercial software, commercial Open-source software, open-source Linux distribution created by Red Hat until its discontinuation in 2004. Early releases of Red Hat Linux were called Red Hat Commercial Linux. R ...

and SUSE Linux were the original major distributions that used the

.rpm RPM Package Manager (RPM) (originally Red Hat Package Manager, now a recursive acronym) is a free and open-source package management system. The name RPM refers to the file format and the package manager program itself. RPM was intended primaril ...

file format, which today is used in several package management systems. Both of these were later divided into commercial and community-supported distributions. Red Hat Linux was divided into a community-supported but

Red Hat Red Hat, Inc. is an American software company that provides open source software products to enterprises. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, with other offices worldwide. Red Hat has become ass ...

-sponsored distribution named

Fedora A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...

, and a commercially supported distribution called

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is a commercial open-source Linux distribution developed by Red Hat for the commercial market. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is released in server versions for x86-64, Power ISA, ARM64, and IBM Z and a desktop version ...

, whereas SUSE Linux was divided into

openSUSE openSUSE () is a free and open-source software, free and open source RPM Package Manager, RPM-based Linux distribution developed by the openSUSE project. The initial release of the community project was a beta version of SUSE Linux 10.0. Addi ...

and

SUSE Linux Enterprise SUSE Linux Enterprise (often abbreviated to SLE) is a Linux-based operating system developed by SUSE. It is available in two editions, suffixed with Server (SLES) for servers and mainframes, and Desktop (SLED) for workstations and desktop comp ...

Fedora-based

is a community supported distribution. It aims to provide the latest software while maintaining a completely

Free Software Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, no ...

system.

RHEL-based

is a commercial open-source Linux distribution developed by

for the commercial market.

Other Fedora-based

openSUSE-based

is a community-developed Linux distribution, sponsored by

SUSE SUSE ( , ) is a German-based multinational open-source software company that develops and sells Linux products to business customers. Founded in 1992, it was the first company to market Linux for enterprise. It is the developer of SUSE Linux Ent ...

. It maintains a strict policy of ensuring all code in the standard installs will be from

FOSS Fos or FOSS may refer to: Companies *Foss A/S, a Danish analytical instrument company * Foss Brewery, a former brewery in Oslo, Norway *Foss Maritime, a tugboat and shipping company Historic houses * Foss House (New Brighton, Minnesota), United ...

solutions, including

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...

kernel Modules. SUSE's enterprise Linux products are all based on the codebase that comes out of the openSUSE project.

Mandriva-based

Mandriva Linux Mandriva Linux (a fusion of the French distribution Mandrake Linux and the Brazilian distribution Conectiva Linux) is a discontinued Linux distribution developed by Mandriva S.A. Each release lifetime was 18 months for base updates (Linux, syste ...

is open-source distribution (with exceptions), discontinued in 2011. The first release was named Mandrake Linux and based on Red Hat Linux (version 5.1) and

KDE KDE is an international Free software movement, free software community that develops free and open-source software. As a central development hub, it provides tools and resources that allow collaborative work on this kind of software. Well-know ...

1 in July 1998. It had since moved away from Red Hat's distribution and became a completely separate distribution. The name was changed to Mandriva, which included a number of original tools, mostly to ease system configuration. Mandriva Linux was the brainchild of

Gaël Duval Gaël Duval (born 1973) is a French entrepreneur. In July 1998, he created Mandrake Linux (now Mandriva Linux), a Linux distribution originally based on Red Hat Linux and KDE. He was also a co-founder of MandrakeSoft (now merged in Mandriva) ...

, who wanted to focus on ease of use for new users. The last stable version was in 2011. Mandriva's developers moved to

Mageia Mageia is a Linux-based operating system, distributed as free and open source software. It was forked from the Mandriva Linux distribution. The Greek term () means enchantment, fascination, glamour, wizardry. The first release of the software ...

and

OpenMandriva OpenMandriva Lx is a Linux distribution forked from Mandriva Linux. It is maintained by the OpenMandriva Association. History Origin of the distribution OpenMandriva Lx is a community Linux distribution. Originally an offering of Mandriva Linu ...

Other RPM-based

Debian-based

Debian Debian (), also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software, developed by the community-supported Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock on August 16, 1993. The first version of D ...

Linux is a distribution that emphasizes

free software Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, no ...

. It supports many hardware platforms. Debian and distributions based on it use the

.deb deb is the format, as well as extension of the software package format for the Debian Linux distribution and its derivatives. Design Debian packages are standard Unix ar archives that include two tar archives. One archive holds the cont ...

package format and the

dpkg dpkg is the software at the base of the package management system in the free operating system Debian and its numerous derivatives. dpkg is used to install, remove, and provide information about .deb packages. dpkg (Debian Package) itself is a ...

package manager and its frontends (such as

apt Apt. is an abbreviation for apartment. Apt may also refer to: Places * Apt Cathedral, a former cathedral, and national monument of France, in the town of Apt in Provence * Apt, Vaucluse, a commune of the Vaucluse département of France * A ...

or synaptic).

Ubuntu-based

Ubuntu Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: ''Desktop'', ''Server'', and ''Core'' for Internet of things devices and robots. All the ...

is a distribution based on Debian, designed to have regular releases, a consistent user experience and commercial support on both desktops and servers.

Current official derivatives

These Ubuntu variants, also known as Ubuntu flavours, simply install a set of packages different from the original Ubuntu, but since they draw additional packages and updates from the same repositories as Ubuntu, all of the same software is available for each of them.

Discontinued official derivatives

Unofficial derivatives

Unofficial variants and derivatives are not controlled or guided by

Canonical Ltd. Canonical Ltd. is a UK-based privately held computer software company founded and funded by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth to market commercial support and related services for Ubuntu and related projects. Canonical employs staff ...

and generally have different goals in mind.

Knoppix-based

Knoppix KNOPPIX ( ) is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD (Live CD) or a USB flash drive (Live USB), one of the first live operating system distributions (just after Yggdrasil Linux). Knoppix was developed b ...

, itself, is based on Debian. It is a live distribution, with automated hardware configuration and a wide choice of software, which is decompressed as it loads from the drive.

Other Debian-based

Pacman-based

Pacman originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game, maze action game, action video game developed and released by Namco for Arcade game, arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its l ...

is a package manager that is capable of resolving dependencies and automatically downloading and installing all necessary packages. It is primarily developed and used by

Arch Linux Arch Linux () is an independently developed, x86-64 general-purpose Linux distribution that strives to provide the latest stable versions of most software by following a Rolling release, rolling-release model. The default installation is a minim ...

and its derivatives.

Arch Linux-based

is an independently developed, x86-64 general-purpose Linux distribution that strives to provide the latest stable versions of most software by following a rolling-release model. The default installation is a minimal base system, configured by the user to only add what is purposely required.

Other Pacman-based

Gentoo-based

Gentoo is a distribution designed to have highly optimized and frequently updated software. Distributions based on Gentoo use the

Portage Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...

package management system with emerge or one of the alternative package managers.

Slackware-based

Slackware Slackware is a Linux distribution created by Patrick Volkerding in 1993. Originally based on Softlanding Linux System, Slackware has been the basis for many other Linux distributions, most notably the first versions of SUSE Linux distributions ...

is a highly customizable distribution that stresses ease of maintenance and reliability over cutting-edge software and automated tools. It is generally considered a distribution for advanced users.

Android-based

Android is a mobile operating system bought and currently being developed by

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

, based on a Google modified

Linux kernel The Linux kernel is a free and open-source, monolithic, modular, multitasking, Unix-like operating system kernel. It was originally authored in 1991 by Linus Torvalds for his i386-based PC, and it was soon adopted as the kernel for the GNU ope ...

and designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as

smartphones A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, which ...

and tablets.

Source-based

Other distributions

The following distributions have not been categorized under the preceding sections.

Historical distributions

References

External links

Linux free distros
(

Free Software Foundation The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a 501(c)#501(c)(3), 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Richard Stallman on October 4, 1985, to support the free software movement, with the organization's preference for software being distributed ...

)
Repository tracking

The LWN.net Linux Distribution List
– Categorized list with information about each entry.
Distrowatch
– Announcements, information, links and popularity ranking for many Linux distributions.
Linux Distros
– Information and ISO files for many oldest Linux distributions. {{FOSS

Linux Distributions A Linux distribution (often abbreviated as distro) is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and, often, a package management system. Linux users usually obtain their operating system by downloading one ...