All linux operating system list

The LWN.net Linux Distribution List

You have found the LWN.net Linux Distributions List. LWN has been tracking Linux distributions since 1999. Early versions of the list consisted of links on the side bars of the weekly Distribution page. By 2001 the list had grown to fill both sidebars of the weekly page, often trailing far below any actual mid-page content. So the list was moved to a flat file and released on October 11, 2001.

The next major release was on February 7, 2002. Additional information was added to each entry, and in the process links were fixed, entries moved to different categories and dead distributions were removed. Minor revisions have been made almost every week since then. A table of contents was added on May 9, 2002. There have been no major releases since then, however new distributions are added when found, dead distributions are removed when found, and link checking remains an ongoing (low-priority) process. Many thanks to Andrew Cater for a massive link-checking effort that took place in May 2020, resulting in a smaller and more up-to-date list.

We once hoped that this list would move to a searchable database, however that now seems unlikely to happen. We do hope you will enjoy this celebration of Linux diversity, with distributions large and small, specialized and generalized, old and new.

Maintenance of this list ends December 31, 2021.

Table of Contents

Leading Distributions

Leading distributions have usually been around for a while and are well-established. They generally support several architectures and are translated into multiple languages. Some come from companies that supply service and support contracts for their products, others are community projects.

Also well-known

There is often a fine line between «leading» and «well-known» distributions. Some might consider a few of these to be «leading» distributions.

Non-technical desktop

These are designed to be user-friendly, easy to install distributions with plenty of desktop applications.

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Linux Distribution List

There are more than 600 Linux Distributions that are actively maintained. The very common for all these is the same Linux Kernel. Each distro has its own uniqueness in the Desktop environment, apps, package managers, and project goals.

Here you can find a List of Linux distributions based on Debian, Ubuntu, RPM, RHEL, Arch Linux, and Independent.

Debian Based

Debian was initially released on 16th August 1993 with a strong emphasis on free software. Maintain and update through the work of the community. Use dpkg as the package manager. The core developers behind this are Ian Murdock, Bdale Garbee, and Debian Project Team. Debian is readily available on to download page.

antiX

• Focus: Fast, lightweight, and easy to install systemd-free. Best fit for older computers.
• Initial release date: 9 July 2007
• Package Manager: APT
• Download

Deepin

• Focus: Feature-rich desktop Environment. Built on Qt platform. The prominent user base is Chinese.
• Initial release date: 28 February 2004
• Package Manager: APT, dpkg
• Developer: Wuhan Deepin Technology Co., Ltd.
• Download

Kali Linux

• Focus: Primarily designed for digital forensics and penetration testing.
• Initial release date: 13 March 2013
• Package Manager: APT
• Developer: Offensive Security
• Download

MX Linux

• Focus: User-friendly and elegant desktop.
• Initial release date: 24 March 2014
• Package Manager: APT
• Developer: MX Dev Team
• Download

Parrot OS

• Focus: Designed primarily for security, privacy, and development.
• Initial release date: 10 April 2013
• Package Manager: APT
• Developer: Lorenzo “Palinuro” Faletra, Parrot Dev Team
• Download

PureOS

• Focus: Primary on privacy and security.
• Initial release date:
• Package Manager: dpkg
• Developer: Purism
• Download

SparkyLinux

• Focus: Desktop-oriented and lightweight
• Initial release date: 5 May 2012
• Package Manager: dpkg
• Developer: SparkyLinux team
• Download

Ubuntu Based

Ubuntu was initially released on 20th October 2004. It focuses on the modern operating systems on Linux for server, desktop, cloud, and IoT. Package Manager: GNOME Software, dpkg (APT), Snap. The team behind Ubuntu is Canonical Ltd. Download any time, free of cost from the Ubuntu website.

Kubuntu

• Focus: KDE Plasma Desktop Experience
• Initial release date: 31 October 2006
• Package Manager: dpkg, snapcraft
• Developer: Canonical, Blue Systems
• Download

Lubuntu

• Focus: LXQt desktop experience
• Initial release date: 30 December 2009
• Package Manager: APT
• Developer: Canonical, Julien Lavergne, Mario Behling
• Download

Ubuntu Budgie

• Focus: Budgie desktop environment experience
• Initial release date: 25 April 2016
• Package Manager: dpkg, snappy
• Developer: Ubuntu Budgie Team
• Download

Ubuntu Mate

• Focus: MATE desktop environment experience
• Initial release date: 23 October 2014
• Package Manager: dpkg
• Developer: Ubuntu MATE team
• Download

Ubuntu Unity

• Focus: Unity interface desktop experience
• Initial release date: 7 May 2020
• Package Manager: APT
• Developer: Rudra Saraswat
• Download

Ubuntu Studio

• Focus: Primarily designed for multimedia production.
• Initial release date: 10 May 2007
• Package Manager: APT
• Developer: Canonical
• Download

Xubuntu

• Focus: Xfce desktop environment experience
• Initial release date: 1 June 2006
• Package Manager: dpkg
• Developer: Canonical
• Download

Ubuntu Kylin

• Focus: Official Ubuntu version for prominent Chinese userland.
• Initial release date: 23 April 2013
• Package Manager: dpkg, APT, Snap, flatpak
• Developer: Canonical, National University of Defense Technology
• Download

Unofficial derivatives

Some of the unofficial derivatives of Ubuntu:

Elementary OS

• Focus: Desktop experience of macOS and Windows.
• Initial release date: 31 March 2011
• Package Manager: APT, Flatpak
• Developer: Elementary, Inc.
• Download

KDE neon

• Focus: Plasma 5 desktop environment experience with KDE tools.
• Initial release date: 8 June 2016
• Package Manager: APT
• Developer: KDE team
• Download

Linux Lite

• Focus: Customized experience of Xfce Desktop
• Initial release date: 26 October 2012
• Package Manager: dpkg
• Developer: Jerry Bezencon
• Download

Linux Mint

• Focus: Enhanced multimedia support and beginner friendly.
• Initial release date: 27 August 2006
• Package Manager: dpkb, Flatpak
• Developer: Clément Lefèbvre, Vincent Vermeulen, Oscar799, and community
• Download

Peppermint OS

• Focus: Lightweight adaptable on low hardware resources. XFCE desktop experience.
• Initial release date: 9 May 2010
• Package Manager: APT
• Developer: Peppermint OS Team
• Download

Pop! OS

• Focus: Customized modern GNOME (named COSMIC). Beginner-friendly desktop and gaming experience.
• Initial release date: 27 October 2017
• Package Manager: APT, Flatpak
• Developer: System76
• Download

Zorin OS

• Focus: Alternative to Windows and macOS. Beautiful graphical experience.
• Initial release date: 1 July 2009
• Package Manager: APT, dpkg, snap, flatpak
• Developer: Zorin Group
• Download

Rpm Based

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

• Focus: Performance-driven commercial purpose
• Initial release date: 22 February 2000
• Package Manager: RPM. Yum, DNF
• Developer: Red Hat Software
• Download – No cost developer subscription

Fedora Linux

• Focus: Beginners and advanced users friendly
• Initial release date: 6 November 2003
• Package Manager: DNF, Flatpak, OSTree
• Developer: Fedora Project, Red Hat Software, FLOSS community
• Download

Ultramarine

• Focus: More User-friendly by allowing users to install or package any software based on Fedora.
• Package Manager: DNF
• Developer: Ultramarine Core Team
• Download

openSUSE

• Focus: Strong and stable. For power users and developers.
• Initial release date: 6 October 2005
• Package Manager: ZYpp, YaST
• Developer: SUSE Team
• Download

RHEL Based

AlmaLinux

• Focus: Community focussed enterprise-grade server OS.
• Initial release date: 30 March 2021
• Package Manager: RPM
• Developer: The AlmaLinux OS Foundation
• Download

Rocky Linux

• Focus: Production grade with community support.
• Initial release date: 21 June 2021
• Package Manager: RPM, Flatpak
• Developer: Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation
• Download

Oracle Linux

• Focus: Cloud native computing tools and virtualization
• Initial release date: 26 October 2006
• Package Manager: RPM
• Developer: Oracle
• Download

CentOS Stream

• Focus: Reliable platform for innovation, upstream for RHEL.
• Initial release date: 24 September 2019
• Package Manager: Yum, DNF
• Developer: Red Hat Software & Community
• Download

Arch Linux Based

Asahi Linux

• Focus: Linux experience on Apple Silicon Macs
• Initial release date: 18 March 2022
• Package Manager: pacman
• Developer: Hector Martin; Alyssa Rosenzweig; Dougall Johnson; Sven Peter; Mark Kettenis
• Download

EndeavourOS

• Focus: Easy setup and beginner friendly.
• Initial release date: 15 July 2019
• Package Manager: Pacman, AUR
• Developer: Bryan Poerwoatmodjo, Fernando Omiechuk Frozi, Johannes Kamprad, Manuel
• Download

Garuda Linux

• Focus: Modern graphical user experience with stylish looks. Using modified versions of the KDE Plasma 5.
• Initial release date: 26 March 2020
• Package Manager: Pacman
• Developer: SGS, Shrinivas Vishnu Kumbhar, tbg, Nico, Yorper, Naman Garg, Filo, TNE, Petsam, Dalto, Zoeruda, Librewish, Eduard Tolosa
• Download

Manjaro

• Focus: User-friendliness and accessibility
• Initial release date: 10 July 2011
• Package Manager: pacman
• Developer: Manjaro GmbH & Co. KG
• Download

Independent

NixOS

• Focus: A unique approach to package management and system configuration.
• Initial release date: 2003
• Package Manager: Nix
• Developer: NixOS contributors
• Download

CRUX

• Focus: Designed for experienced users. Similar to BSD-based operating systems.
• Initial release date: December 2002
• Package Manager: pkgutils
• Developer: Per Lidén and CRUX community
• Download

Alpine Linux

• Focus: Designed with security in mind for power users.
• Initial release date: August 2005
• Package Manager: apk-tools
• Developer: Alpine Linux development team
• Download

Why are there many Linux distributions?

It’s free. Anyone who has core knowledge of Linux can create a new Linux Distro. The code is open source and the kernel source is readily available to clone.

Is there any main difference between Linux Distribution?

The prominent difference between Linux Distributions is in Desktop experience and software tools. Each Distro has a different user interface.

One of the key differences between Linux distros is the package manager they use. A package manager is a tool that allows you to install, update, and manage the software on your system. Different distros use different package managers, and this can affect the way you install and manage software on your system. For example, Ubuntu uses the apt package manager, while Fedora uses dnf.

Some are beginner-friendly, better gaming experience, multimedia specific so on. The uniqueness among all Linux Distro is they all use the same Linux kernel.

Which best Linux Distro You can Use for your Computer or Laptop?

Some of the commonly used Linux Distros are Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Fedora Linux, Pop OS, Debian, Manjaro, Elementary, and Garuda Linux.

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