🐧 Linux Distributions

56 distributions, one alphabetical list. Every tile goes to that project's own download page.

A AlmaLinux Red Hat family · dnf / rpm · Fixed releases, long support Free, community-governed enterprise distribution compatible with RHEL. Download page ↗ AL Alpine Linux Independent · apk · Fixed releases, twice a year Small and security-oriented, built on musl libc and BusyBox. Very common as a container base. Download page ↗ AL Amazon Linux Red Hat family · dnf / rpm · Fixed releases, long support Maintained by Amazon Web Services for AWS. Amazon Linux 2023 images can also be run in other virtual machines. Download page ↗ A antiX Debian family · apt / deb · Fixed releases Light, systemd-free distribution based on Debian Stable, for older hardware. Download page ↗ Arch Linux Independent · pacman · Rolling release Minimal base system that you assemble yourself, with a very detailed wiki. Download page ↗ AL Artix Linux Arch family · pacman · Rolling release Arch-based, with OpenRC, runit, s6 or dinit instead of systemd. Download page ↗ AL Asahi Linux Fedora family · dnf / rpm · Fixed releases Linux for Apple Silicon Macs, shipped as Fedora Asahi Remix. Download page ↗ B Bazzite Fedora family · rpm-ostree · Image-based, frequent updates Immutable, Fedora Atomic-based system aimed at gaming PCs and handhelds. Download page ↗ BL Bodhi Linux Ubuntu family · apt / deb · Fixed releases Lightweight Ubuntu-based system with the Moksha desktop. Download page ↗ C CachyOS Arch family · pacman · Rolling release Arch-based, with performance-optimised packages and kernels. Download page ↗ CS CentOS Stream Red Hat family · dnf / rpm · Continuous, ahead of RHEL The upstream development branch of the next RHEL minor release. Download page ↗ Debian Debian family · apt / deb · Fixed releases (Stable, Testing, Unstable) Volunteer-run universal operating system. The base for a very large number of other distributions. Download page ↗ D deepin Debian family · apt / deb · Fixed releases Developed in China, known for its own desktop environment, DDE. Download page ↗ D Devuan Debian family · apt / deb · Fixed releases A fork of Debian without systemd. Download page ↗ EO elementary OS Ubuntu family · apt / deb · Fixed releases Ubuntu-based, with its own Pantheon desktop and AppCenter. Download page ↗ E EndeavourOS Arch family · pacman · Rolling release Arch-based, with an installer and a close-to-vanilla Arch system. Download page ↗ F Fedora Fedora family · dnf / rpm · Fixed releases, about every six months Community distribution sponsored by Red Hat, and the upstream of RHEL. Editions for desktop, server and more. Download page ↗ FC Fedora CoreOS Fedora family · rpm-ostree · Automatic updates, three streams Minimal, automatically updating operating system for running containers. Download page ↗ FC Flatcar Container Linux Independent · image-based · Automatic updates, channels Minimal, immutable system for containers, a continuation of CoreOS Container Linux. Download page ↗ GL Garuda Linux Arch family · pacman · Rolling release Arch-based, with Btrfs snapshots and a gaming edition. Download page ↗ Gentoo Independent · Portage (emerge) · Rolling release Source-based and highly configurable with USE flags. Binary packages are available too. Download page ↗ GG GNU Guix System Independent · guix · Rolling release Declarative, transactional system configured in Scheme. Download page ↗ KL Kali Linux Debian family · apt / deb · Rolling release Debian-based, for penetration testing and security auditing. Download page ↗ KN KDE neon Ubuntu family · apt / deb · Rolling KDE on an LTS base Ubuntu LTS base with the newest KDE Plasma and applications, from the KDE project. Download page ↗ K Kubuntu Ubuntu family · apt / deb · Fixed releases (LTS and interim) The official Ubuntu flavour with the KDE Plasma desktop. Download page ↗ LL Linux Lite Ubuntu family · apt / deb · Fixed releases Ubuntu LTS-based with the Xfce desktop, aimed at newcomers and older hardware. Download page ↗ LM Linux Mint Ubuntu family · apt / deb · Fixed releases, long support Ubuntu-based, with Cinnamon, MATE and Xfce editions. A Debian-based edition exists too. Download page ↗ L Lubuntu Ubuntu family · apt / deb · Fixed releases (LTS and interim) The official Ubuntu flavour with the lightweight LXQt desktop. Download page ↗ M Mageia Independent · dnf / rpm · Fixed releases Community distribution that began as a fork of Mandriva Linux. Download page ↗ M Manjaro Arch family · pacman · Rolling release Arch-based, with its own repositories and a graphical installer. Download page ↗ ML MX Linux Debian family · apt / deb · Fixed releases Debian Stable-based, a collaboration between the antiX and former MEPIS communities. Download page ↗ NixOS Independent · nix · Fixed releases, twice a year, plus unstable The whole system is described in a declarative configuration, with atomic upgrades and rollbacks. Download page ↗ N Nobara Fedora family · dnf / rpm · Fixed releases Fedora-based, with gaming and multimedia fixes applied out of the box. Download page ↗ O openEuler Independent · dnf / rpm · Fixed releases, LTS and innovation RPM-based community distribution for servers, cloud and embedded, started by Huawei. Download page ↗ O openSUSE SUSE family · zypper / rpm · Leap fixed, Tumbleweed rolling Community distribution with a stable Leap line and a rolling Tumbleweed, plus the YaST and Btrfs tooling. Download page ↗ O OpenWrt Independent · opkg / apk · Fixed releases and snapshots Linux for routers and other embedded network devices. Download page ↗ OL Oracle Linux Red Hat family · dnf / rpm · Fixed releases, long support RHEL-compatible distribution from Oracle, free to download and use. Download page ↗ PS Parrot Security Debian family · apt / deb · Fixed releases Debian-based, for security testing, privacy and development. Download page ↗ PO Pop!_OS Ubuntu family · apt / deb · Fixed releases Ubuntu-based, from System76, with tiling features and good support for hybrid graphics. Download page ↗ Proxmox VE Debian family · apt / deb · Fixed releases Debian-based virtualisation platform for KVM virtual machines and LXC containers. Download page ↗ P PureOS Debian family · apt / deb · Rolling and fixed Debian-based, from Purism, with an emphasis on privacy and free software. Download page ↗ QO Qubes OS Independent · dnf / rpm · Fixed releases Security through compartmentalisation: applications run in separate Xen virtual machines. Download page ↗ RP Raspberry Pi OS Debian family · apt / deb · Fixed releases, follows Debian The Raspberry Pi Foundation's own Debian-based system for Raspberry Pi boards. Download page ↗ RH Red Hat Enterprise Linux Red Hat family · dnf / rpm · Fixed releases, long support Commercial enterprise distribution with paid support. A no-cost developer subscription exists for individuals. Download page ↗ RL Rocky Linux Red Hat family · dnf / rpm · Fixed releases, long support Community enterprise distribution compatible with RHEL. Download page ↗ S Slackware Independent · pkgtools (tgz) · Fixed releases when ready One of the oldest distributions still maintained, known for staying close to upstream and for its simplicity. Download page ↗ S Solus Independent · eopkg · Curated rolling release Built from scratch, home of the Budgie desktop, with a curated rolling model. Download page ↗ S SteamOS Arch family · pacman (read-only root) · Image-based updates Valve's Arch-based system for the Steam Deck and other handhelds. Download page ↗ SL SUSE Linux Enterprise SUSE family · zypper / rpm · Fixed releases, long support Commercial enterprise distribution from SUSE, with a free trial download. Download page ↗ T Tails Debian family · apt / deb · Regular releases Live system that routes everything through Tor and leaves no trace on the computer. Download page ↗ TC Tiny Core Linux Independent · tce · Fixed releases An extremely small system (the core is a few megabytes) that runs from RAM. Download page ↗ Ubuntu Ubuntu family · apt / deb · LTS every two years, interim every six months Debian-based, from Canonical. Desktop, Server and cloud images. Download page ↗ UM Ubuntu MATE Ubuntu family · apt / deb · Fixed releases (LTS and interim) The official Ubuntu flavour with the MATE desktop. Download page ↗ VL Void Linux Independent · xbps · Rolling release Independent, with the runit init system and a choice of glibc or musl. Download page ↗ X Xubuntu Ubuntu family · apt / deb · Fixed releases (LTS and interim) The official Ubuntu flavour with the Xfce desktop. Download page ↗ Zorin OS Ubuntu family · apt / deb · Fixed releases, long support Ubuntu-based, designed to feel familiar to people moving from Windows or macOS. Download page ↗

About these links

• Download pages, checked 2026-10-18. Distributions move their sites now and then. If a link is broken, tell me. A few sites block automated checkers, so those were opened by hand in a browser instead.
• Families describe where a distribution comes from, for example "Ubuntu family" is Debian-based and builds on Ubuntu. "Independent" means it does not derive from another distribution in this list.
• Package manager and release model are summarised from each project's own documentation and may change between versions. Read the project's page before you decide.
• Missing one? The list is meant to grow. Suggest a distribution and I will check its download page and add it.
• Looking for the BSD side? See the FreeBSD Corner.

Logos and credits

Disclaimer: All logos, trademarks, and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. TechCommune is an independent community site and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any Linux distribution listed here. Logos are shown only where the project publishes an official logo file and its trademark policy allows this kind of use. I use the unaltered file from the project's own brand or press page, only as a link to that project. Credits and terms:

• Arch Linux: Arch Linux logo from the official art page, used for non-commercial community linking under the Arch Linux trademark policy.
• Debian: Debian Open Use Logo, © 1999 Software in the Public Interest, Inc., used under CC BY-SA 3.0. Debian is a registered trademark of SPI.
• Gentoo: Gentoo "g" logo, CC BY-SA 4.0; Gentoo is a trademark of the Gentoo Foundation, Inc. See the Gentoo name and logo guidelines.
• NixOS: NixOS logo from the official branding page, CC BY-SA 4.0.
• Proxmox VE: Proxmox logo from the official media kit, used unaltered as a link to proxmox.com as the kit allows.
• Ubuntu: Ubuntu and the Circle of Friends logo are trademarks of Canonical Ltd, used for non-commercial community linking under the Canonical IP rights policy.
• Zorin OS: The Zorin logomark is a registered trademark of Zorin Technology Group Ltd, used for non-commercial purposes under the Zorin press kit terms.

Every other project gets a plain lettered tile, because I have not confirmed that its emblem is free to show. If you maintain a project and want your emblem changed or removed, contact me and I will do it.