This page provides general information about notableLinux distributionsin the form of a categorized list. Distributions are organized into sections by the major distribution orpackage management systemthey are based on.
Debian(aportmanteauof the names "Deb" and "Ian" ) Linux is a distribution that emphasizesfree software.It supports many hardware platforms. Debian and distributions based on it use the.debpackage format[2]and thedpkgpackage manager and its frontends (such asaptor synaptic).[3]
It is comparatively lightweight and suitable for older computers, while also providingkerneland applications, as well as updates and additions via theAptitudeand Debian-compatiblerepositories.
A Russian Linux-based computer operating system developed to meet the needs of the Russian army, other armed forces and intelligence agencies.[4]It provides data protection up to the level of "top secret" in Russian classified information grade. It has been officially certified by Russian Defense Ministry, Federal Service for Technical and Export Control[5]and Federal Security Service.[6]
A small Linux Distro and Live CD based on Debian Stable, featuring theOpenboxwindow manager and tint2 panel withGTK+applications.[10]Development has ended for CrunchBang as of February, 2015.[11]
Made to be a completely customizable OS, used for penetration testing. It is based on Debian and is used mostly by security experts.[17]Originally namedBackTrack(named after the homonym class of backtracking algorithms), it is developed by Offensive Security.[18]In March 2013, the Offensive Security team rebuilt BackTrack on Debian and released it under the name Kali Linux.[19]
A Debian-based version ofLinux Mintthat does not use any elements ofUbuntu linux,maintained to ensure continuity should Ubuntu stop being maintained or other issue effecting the core Mint distribution.[23]
A midweight OS based on Debian Stable with core components fromantiXand usingXfce,offering simple configuration, high stability, solid performance and medium-sized footprint.[27]
Desktop-oriented distribution, formerly known as Raspbian. Developed by theRaspberry Pi Foundationas the official OS for their family of low-powerRaspberry Pisingle-board computers.
A Debian-based Linux distribution which provides ready to use, out of the box operating system with a set of slightly customized lightweight desktops. Sparky is targeted to all the computer's users who want replace existing, proprietary driven OS to an open-sourced..
Open source project developing a family of free, Debian-based appliances optimized for ease of use in server-type usage scenarios.[41]Based on Debian since 2012; previously based on Ubuntu.
Enterprise distribution with integrated IT infrastructure and identity management system by the company Univention GmbH, Germany. A full version for up to 5 users for tests and for private use can be downloaded for free.[42]
Debian Live-based browser only distribution, similar to ChromeOS. However based onFirefoxanddwm,with no user sign-in, no special hardware required and designed for public places.[43]
Commercial open source network operating system includes routing, firewall, VPN, intrusion prevention and more. Designed to be an open source Cisco replacement.[44]
Free routing platform. Because VyOS is run on standard amd64, i586 and ARM systems, it is able to be used as a router and firewall platform for cloud deployments.
Ubuntu(named after theNguniphilosophy ofubuntu) is a distribution based on Debian, designed to have regular releases, a consistent user experience and commercial support on both desktops and servers.
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.[45][46]
A complete Linux based operating system that was targeted forprimaryandsecondary education.Outdated versions are freely available with community-based support. The Edubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined in the Edubuntu Manifesto: that software, especially for education, should be availablefree of chargeand that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities.[47]
An official derivative of Ubuntu usingMATE,a desktop environment forked from the now-defunct GNOME 2 code base, with an emphasis on thedesktop metaphor.[53]
An official derivative made for use in servers &IBM mainframes.Ubuntu Server handles mail, controls printers, acts as a fileserver, can hostLAMPand more.[54]
An official derivative of Ubuntu usingXfce.Xubuntu is intended for use on less-powerful computers or those who seek a highly efficient desktop environment on faster systems, and uses mostlyGTKapplications.[58]
Gobuntu was an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system, aiming to provide a distribution consisting entirely offree software.It was officially announced by Mark Shuttleworth on July 10, 2007, and daily builds of Gobuntu 7.10 began to be publicly released. The project ended around the release of 8.04 and has since merged into mainline Ubuntu as a 'free software' option.[59]
Based on Ubuntu andMythTV,providing applications for recording TV and acting as a media center.[60]On 4 November 2016 the development team announced the end of Mythbuntu as a separate distribution, citing insufficient developers.
Formerly an official Ubuntu variant,[61]but since the main Ubuntu 17.10, which usesGNOME Shellas its default desktop and GDM as its display manager, this distro has been merged into mainline releases.[62]
"Just Enough OS" – was described as "an efficient variant [...] configured specifically forvirtual appliances".[63]Since the release of Ubuntu 8.10 it has been included as an option as part of the standard Ubuntu Server Edition.
Netbook Edition was an official derivative of Ubuntu designed fornetbooksusing theIntel Atomprocessor. Starting fromUbuntu 11.04,Ubuntu Netbook Edition has been merged into the desktop edition.[64]
BackBox is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. It has been developed to perform penetration tests and security assessments. Designed to be fast, easy to use and provide a minimal yet complete desktop environment, thanks to its own software repositories, always being updated to the latest stable version of the most used and best known ethical hacking tools.[66]
An Ubuntu-based Linux distribution featuring the Moksha Desktop environment and targeting users who want a minimum of preinstalled software or low system requirements.[67]
Live CDgeared toward multimedia (audio and video) production, but comes with other non-media specific application (e.g. word processor, desktop publisher)[71]
A Linux distribution for ChromeOS devices by the community-supported GalliumOS project. Gallium is based onXubuntuand maintains compatibility with theUbunturepositories.[77]
Used the GNOME desktop environment with user interface enhancements to make it work more likeMac OS X,it also featuredGoogle Apps,Picasa,Google Gadgetsand other web-based applications, and came withWine 1.0pre-installed. Now discontinued.
Joli OS (formerly named Jolicloud) is in development and Pre-beta testing. Joli OS is built upon Debian and Ubuntu 9.10, but is tweaked to be more suitable for computers that have weaker specifications in terms of disk storage, memory and screen size. It is designed to run on relatively low-powered netbook computers.[78]
The purpose of Linux Lite is to introduceWindowsusers toLinux,and provide them with a comfortable and useful user experience. It is designed to be simple and suitable for newLinuxusers who want a lightweight, highly responsive, and fully functional environment.[82]
Linux Mint synchronizes its release-cycle with Ubuntu's long-term support, and is tailored to user-friendliness for desktop users.[83]Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) is Mint's Debian stable based version. Its purpose is to use Debian base packages/kernel under the hood should Ubuntu ever disappear. It's also used by Mint developers to develop their Cinnamon desktop.
An Ubuntu-based distro for people that have never used Linux before or for people that want an out-of-the-box working OS without having to tweak a fresh installation of Ubuntu or other Ubuntu-based distro.[94]
For academic and scientific use. Based on Ubuntu, but enhanced by GIS/maps, numerical modelling, 2D/3D/4D visualization, statistics, tools for creating simple and complex graphics, programming languages.
Knoppix(aportmanteauof the surnameKnopperfromKlaus KnopperandUnix) 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.[103]
Pacmanis a package manager that is capable of resolving dependencies and automatically downloading and installing all necessary packages. It is primarily developed and used byArch Linuxand its derivatives.
Arch Linuxis 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.
A cybersecurity-focused OS based on Arch Linux. It is designed to test security and run penetration tests. It includes window managers preconfigured, but no desktop environment.
An Arch and Debian derivative without anyblobs,without systemd support and withOpenRCas its default init system. Packages are built for i686 and x64. Unlike Arch, Hyperbola uses the long-term support model like Debian.
LinHES (Linux Home Entertainment Server) designed for use on home theater PCs (HTPCs), providing applications for recording TV and acting as a sound and video center.
Based on Arch Linux, using its own repositories and ships with eitherXfce,Plasma,GNOME,or the CLI as the default desktop environment. Additional community-driven editions are available that useMATE,Cinnamon,Openbox,Awesome,i3,BSPWM, orBudgieas a base.
An Arch derivative without anyblobs,plus various added packages. Packages are also built for ARMv7 in addition to i686 and x64.MATEand text-mode distributions available.
A general purpose Linux distribution designed for intermediate users. Has some influences from Slackware, and uses a heavily modified version of pacman, Pacman-G2, a fork of acvsversion of the complete rewrite of Pacman-G1 by Aurelien Foret (the old monolithic Pacman-G1 is written byJudd Vinet). The packages aretararchives compressed usingxz.[108]
An independent 64-bit only rolling-release Linux distribution inspired by Arch that features the latest KDE Plasma environment and the Qt toolkit.[109]
Red Hat LinuxandSUSE Linuxwere the original major distributions that used the.rpmfile 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 butRed Hat-sponsored distribution namedFedora,and a commercially supported distribution calledRed Hat Enterprise Linux,whereas SUSE Linux was divided intoopenSUSEandSUSE Linux Enterprise.
A Linux distribution co-developed betweenRed Flag SoftwareCo., Ltd.,Miracle LinuxCorp. andHaansoft,INC., focused on Chinese, Japanese and Korean support.
A Linux distribution for building a High-Performance Computing computer cluster, with a recent release supporting Cloud computing. It is based onRed Hat Enterprise Linuxbut with extensions to support large multi-node heterogeneous systems for clusters (HPC), Cloud, and Data Warehousing (in development).
Amazon Linux 2 is available as anAmazon Machine Image (AMI)for use on Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2). It is also available as a Docker container image and as a virtual machine image for use on Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM), Oracle VM VirtualBox, Microsoft Hyper-V, and VMware ESXi
A North Korean Linux distribution developed at the Korea Computer Center (KCC). It is offered only in a Korean language edition, localized with North Korean terminology and spelling.
Built by Jolla,Sailfish OSis a 4th generation mobile Linux system ported to a line of Sony Xperia handsets, with community ports available to alternative devices.
openSUSEis a community-developed Linux distribution, sponsored bySUSE.It maintains a strict policy of ensuring all code in the standard installs will be fromFOSSsolutions, includingLinuxkernel Modules.SUSE's enterprise Linux productsare all based on the codebase that comes out of the openSUSE project.
A distribution with a focus on polish and out-of-the-box desktop usability. It is available inStaticandRollingversions, based on openSUSE Leap and Tumbleweed.
Comes in two variations. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (previously branded Novell Linux Desktop) is a desktop-oriented Linux distribution supplied bySUSEand targeted at the enterprise market. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is a server-oriented Linux distribution targeted at the business market.
Mandriva Linuxis open-source distribution (with exceptions), discontinued in 2011. The first release was named Mandrake Linux and based on Red Hat Linux (version 5.1) andKDE1 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 ofGaël Duval,who wanted to focus on ease of use for new users. The last stable version was in 2011. Mandriva's developers moved toMageia[114]andOpenMandriva.[115]
A Russian distribution available in three different editions: ROSA Desktop Fresh, ROSA Enterprise Desktop and ROSA Enterprise Linux Server, with the latter two aiming at commercial users. Its desktop editions come bundled withproprietary softwaresuch asAdobe Flash Player,multimediacodecsandSteam.
ALT Linux is a set ofRPM-based operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel and Sisyphus packages repository. ALT Linux has been developed collectively by ALT Linux Team developers community and ALT Linux Ltd.
A Linux distribution originally introduced byCalderaand later developed by its subsidiaryCaldera Systems.It was later developed byCaldera International(which bought SCO and was renamedThe SCO Group). The distribution is no longer produced. Last release: 3.1.1 – Jan. 30, 2002
A port of Linux to IBM S/390 (later, zSeries) mainframe computers, done by the Millenux subsidiary of German company Thinking Objects Software GmbH. Discontinued in 2006.
Gentoois a distribution designed to have highly optimized and frequently updated software.[116]Distributions based on Gentoo use thePortagepackage management system withemerge[117]or one of the alternative package managers.
Discontinued Italian made Linux distribution based on Funtoo. It followed the "out of the box" philosophy, aiming to give the user a wide number of applications ready to use and a self-configured operating system. Like Gentoo, Sabayon used therolling releasemodel; it used a customized version of Red Hat's Anaconda Installer and included a Media Center application.
Slackwareis 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.
Originally a fork of Zenwalk, Salix is a complete Linux distribution fully backwards compatible with Slackware. It usesXfce,KDE,LXDE,FluxboxorRatpoisonas its default desktop environment. Salix OS is available as 32 and 64bit version, and also as Live CD versions.
Alive CDwhich aims to provide a complete desktop for general use for low-powered computers. Its download size is about 300 MB, almost the same as Puppy Linux's. It can run from RAM, from Live CD, USB or hard drive. Permanent installation of Slax is not recommended or supported; it is designed for "live" use only. Also can be run from a USB flash drive. Originally based on Slackware, then switched toDebiansince v9.2.1. Returned to a Slackware base as of v15.0.
Originally a minimal version of Slackware, Zenwalk has evolved into a very different operating system; however, compatibility with Slackware is still maintained.
Androidis a mobile operating system bought and currently being developed byGoogle,based on a Google modifiedLinux kerneland designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such assmartphonesandtablets.[120]Despite Android's core mobile focus, some laptop oriented derivatives likeAndroid-x86have come out over the years since its initial release.
/e/ (also known as /e/ OS and /e/OS, formerly Eelo) is an Android-based mobile operating system and associated online services. The operating system is a fork of LineageOS and Android.
Android-x86 is an open source project which produces an unofficial port of the Android mobile operating system. It is developed by the Open Handset Alliance, and is made to run on devices powered by x86 processors, rather than RISC-based ARM chips. Respective mods CyanogenMod and LineageOS for x86 were and are available.
CalyxOS is an operating system for smartphones based on Android with mostly free and open-source software. It is produced by theCalyx Instituteas part of its mission to "defend online privacy, security and accessibility."
CopperheadOS is a mobile operating system for smartphones, based on the Android mobile platform. It adds privacy and security features to the official releases of the Android Open Source Project by Google.
A discontinued open-source operating system for mobile devices, based on theAndroidmobile platform. LineageOS is an actively maintainedforkof CyanogenMod.[121][122]
DivestOS is a free operating system (OS) based on the Android mobile platform. It is a soft fork of LineageOS that aims to increase security and privacy, and support older devices. As much as possible it removes proprietary Android components and includes only free-software.
AnAndroid-based mobile operating system produced byAmazonfor its Fire Phone and Kindle Fire range of tablets, Echo and Echo Dot, and other content delivery devices like Fire TV.
GrapheneOS (formerly Android Hardening or AndroidHardening) is an Android-based, open source, privacy and security-focused mobile operating system for selected Google Pixel smartphones.
OmniROM is an open-source operating system for smartphones and tablet computers, based on the Android mobile platform. It involves a number of prominent developers from other projects, including the discontinued CyanogenMod operating system.[123]
Remix OS was a computer operating system for personal computers with x86 and ARM architectures that, prior to discontinuation of development, shipped with a number of 1st- and 3rd-party devices. Remix OS allowed PC users to run Android mobile apps on any compatible Intel-based PC.
A free operating system (OS) based on theAndroidmobile platform that aims to replace all proprietary Android components with free-software counterparts.
Resurrection Remix OS, abbreviated as RR, is a free and open-source operating system for smartphones and tablet computers, based on the Android mobile platform.
CRUX is a lightweight,x86-64-optimized Linux distribution targeted at experienced users. The focus is "keep it simple",which is reflected in a simpletar.xz-based package system,BSD-style initscripts, and a relatively small collection of trimmed packages. Inspiration forArch Linux.
A distribution built around theGNU Guixpackage manager, which providespurely functionalpackage management with build automation, build isolation, easy system upgrades and rollbacks, and an emphasis on free software.[124]Supports amongst others unprivileged package management and per-user profiles.
A Linux distribution which redefines thefile systemhierarchy by installing everything belonging to one application in one folder under /Programs, and using symlinks from /System and its subfolders to point to the proper files.
Declarative Linux distribution with atomic upgrades and rollbacks built on top ofNix package manager.Any package build is able to be freely edited and rebuilt from source. An official binary cache is also available for unmodified packages.
a lightweight Linux distribution made for both 32-bit and 64-bit. When installing programs with the distribution, the distribution will retrieve the Windows version rather than the Linux version due to it coming pre-installed with Wine (A compatibility layer for Windows applications), and not having any package manager.
A Linux distribution written entirely from scratch[125]and sharing some similarities withSlackware.Approved by the GNU Project as afreeoperating system.[126]
Embedded, gaming and point-of-sale Linux distribution developed by the Santa Cruz Operation (SCO), formerlyCaldera InternationalandCaldera Systems– based on Caldera OpenLinux 3.x and 4.x binaries.
A Linux-based operating system based on open source projects such as Mer and including a closed source UI. The project is being developed by the Finnish companyJolla.