CINXE.COM
GNU/Linux Distros - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation
<!DOCTYPE html> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <link rel="author" href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org" /> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" href="/graphics/gnu-head-mini.png" /> <meta name="ICBM" content="42.355469,-71.058627" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/layout.min.css" media="screen" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/print.min.css" media="print" /> <!-- Parent-Version: 1.97 --> <!-- This page is derived from /server/standards/boilerplate.html --> <title>GNU/Linux Distros - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> <link rel="alternate" title="Free GNU/Linux distributions" href="http://www.gnu.org/distros/distros.rss" type="application/rss+xml" /> <!-- begin translist file --> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="/distros/distros.html" hreflang="x-default" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="en" hreflang="en" href="/distros/distros.en.html" title="English" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" href="/distros/distros.ar.html" title="العربية" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="de" hreflang="de" href="/distros/distros.de.html" title="Deutsch" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="es" hreflang="es" href="/distros/distros.es.html" title="español" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" href="/distros/distros.fa.html" title="فارسی" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" href="/distros/distros.fr.html" title="français" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" href="/distros/distros.hr.html" title="hrvatski" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="it" hreflang="it" href="/distros/distros.it.html" title="italiano" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" href="/distros/distros.ja.html" title="日本語" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="lt" hreflang="lt" href="/distros/distros.lt.html" title="lietuvių" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" href="/distros/distros.nl.html" title="Nederlands" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" href="/distros/distros.pl.html" title="polski" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="pt-br" hreflang="pt-br" href="/distros/distros.pt-br.html" title="português" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" href="/distros/distros.ro.html" title="română" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" href="/distros/distros.ru.html" title="русский" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" href="/distros/distros.sk.html" title="slovenčina" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="sq" hreflang="sq" href="/distros/distros.sq.html" title="Shqip" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" href="/distros/distros.tr.html" title="Türkçe" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" href="/distros/distros.uk.html" title="українська" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="zh-cn" hreflang="zh-cn" href="/distros/distros.zh-cn.html" title="简体中文" /> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" lang="zh-tw" hreflang="zh-tw" href="/distros/distros.zh-tw.html" title="繁體中文" /> <!-- end translist file --> <!-- start of server/banner.html --> <!-- start of head-include-2.html --> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/server/banners/fundraiser.css" media="screen" /> <style type="text/css" media="screen"><!-- .progress-bar { width: 9%; } .percentage { text-align: left; left: 100%; padding-right: 1em; padding-left: .5em; } --></style> <style type="text/css" media="screen"> <!-- TRANSLATORS: Change direction to rtl if you translate the fundraiser and your script is right-to-left. --> #fundraiser { direction: ltr; } </style> <!-- end of head-include-2.html --> </head> <body> <div class="inner"> <!-- start of server/body-include-1.html --> <div id="top"> <p><a class="skip" href="#content"><b>Skip to main text</b></a></p> </div> <div id='fundraiser'> <div class="message"> <p class="headline"><b>Come build a better world with us!</b></p> <p><a href="https://my.fsf.org/donate?mtm_campaign=fall24&mtm_source=banner">Please don't scroll past this. We've been building a better world with free software since 1985. Today, we ask for your support. Only with your help can the FSF continue to be the cornerstone of a more just digital society! Donate to help us reach the goal of USD $400,000 by Dec 31.<span class="gnun-split"></span></a></p> <p class="button"><a href="https://my.fsf.org/donate?mtm_campaign=fall24&mtm_source=banner">Donate<span class="gnun-split"></span></a> </p> <div style="clear: both"></div> </div><!-- .message --> <div class="progress"> <div class="progress-bar"><span class="percentage">$38,694</span></div> <span class="goal">$400,000<span class="gnun-split"></span> </span> </div><!-- .progress --> </div><!-- #fundraiser --> <div style="clear: both"></div> <div id="header" role="banner"> <p id="gnu-banner"> <a href="/"> <img src="/graphics/heckert_gnu.transp.small.png" height="48" width="49" alt=" [A GNU head] " /><strong>GNU</strong> <span class="hide">Operating System</span></a><br /> <small id="fsf-support">Supported by the <a href="#mission-statement">Free Software Foundation</a></small> </p> <div id="switches"> <div id="search-button" class="switch"> <a href="//www.gnu.org/cgi-bin/estseek.cgi"> <img id="search-icon" height="30" width="30" src="/graphics/icons/search.png" alt=" [Search www.gnu.org] " /></a> </div> <div id="language-button" class="switch"> <a href="#language-container"> <img id="language-icon" height="30" width="37" src="/graphics/icons/translations.png" alt=" [Other languages] " /></a> </div> </div><!-- #switches --> </div><!-- #header --> <!-- end of server/body-include-1.html --> <!-- start of server/body-include-2 --> <div style="clear: both"></div> <div id="navigation" role="navigation"> <a id="more-links" href="#navigation" title="More..."> <span>Site navigation</span></a> <a id="less-links" href="#content"><b>Skip</b></a> <ul> <li id="tabAboutGNU"><a href="/gnu/gnu.html">ABOUT GNU</a></li> <li id="tabPhilosophy"><a href="/philosophy/philosophy.html">PHILOSOPHY</a></li> <li id="tabLicenses"><a href="/licenses/licenses.html">LICENSES</a></li> <li id="tabEducation"><a href="/education/education.html">EDUCATION</a></li> <li id="tabSoftware"><a href="/software/software.html">SOFTWARE</a></li> <li id="tabDistros" class="active"> <span class='no-display'>=</span> <a href="/distros/distros.html">DISTROS</a> <span class="gnun-split"></span> <span class='no-display'>=</span> </li> <li id="tabDoc"><a href="/doc/doc.html">DOCS</a></li> <li id="tabMalware"><a href="/proprietary/proprietary.html">MALWARE</a></li> <li id="tabHelp"><a href="/help/help.html">HELP GNU</a></li> <li id="tabAV"><a href="/audio-video/audio-video.html">AUDIO & VIDEO</a></li> <li id="tabArt"><a href="/graphics/graphics.html">GNU ART</a></li> <li id="tabFun"><a href="/fun/humor.html">FUN</a></li> <li id="tabPeople"><a href="/people/people.html">GNU'S WHO?</a></li> <li><a href="//directory.fsf.org">SOFTWARE DIRECTORY</a></li> <li><a href="https://h-node.org/">HARDWARE</a></li> <li><a href="/server/sitemap.html">SITEMAP</a></li> </ul> <div style="clear: both"></div> </div><!-- /"navigation --> <!-- end of server/body-include-2 --> <div id="content" role="main"> <!-- end of server/banner.html --> <div class="article reduced-width"> <h2>GNU/Linux Distros</h2> <div class="thin"></div> <p> Free distributions (or “distros”) of the <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux system</a> only include and only propose free software. They reject nonfree applications, nonfree programming platforms, nonfree drivers, nonfree firmware “blobs,” and any other nonfree software and documentation. If they discover that by mistake some had been included, they remove it. </p> <h3 id="freeDistros">Free GNU/Linux Distros</h3> <p> We recommend that you use a free GNU/Linux system distribution, one that does not include proprietary software at all. That way you can be sure that you are not installing any nonfree programs. Here is our list of such distros:<br /> <a href="/distros/free-distros.html"> Free GNU/Linux distributions</a>.</p> <p> All of these existing distros could use more development help. Thus, if you want to make an effective contribution to free GNU/Linux distributions, we suggest that you join the development of an existing free distro rather that starting a new free distro. </p> <h3 id="freeNonDistros">Free Non-GNU Distros</h3> <p> These system distributions are free but quite different from GNU. Using them is not similar to using GNU/Linux. However, they satisfy the same ethical criteria that we apply to GNU/Linux distros.<br /> <a href="/distros/free-non-gnu-distros.html"> Free Non-GNU distributions</a>.</p> <p> All of these existing distros could use more development help. Thus, if you want to make an effective contribution in this area, we suggest that you join the development of an existing free distro rather that starting a new free distro. </p> <h3 id="distroGuidelines">Free Distro Guidelines</h3> <p> Here is the list of problems that can prevent a distro from being considered entirely free:<br /> <a href="/distros/free-system-distribution-guidelines.html"> Guidelines for free system distributions</a>.</p> <h3 id="otherDistros">Common Distros</h3> <p> Many common and well-known GNU/Linux software distributions don't meet our guidelines. You can read about their problems here:<br /> <a href="/distros/common-distros.html"> Why we can't endorse many well-known GNU/Linux distros</a>.</p> <p> We appeal to the developers of these distros to remove the nonfree parts and thus make them entirely free software. </p> <h3 id="optionallyFree">Optionally Free Is Not Enough</h3> <p> Some GNU/Linux distributions allow the user the option of installing only free software. You can read:<br /> <a href="/distros/optionally-free-not-enough.html"> Why optionally free is not enough.</a></p> <h3 id="whyImportant">Why Is This Important?</h3> <p> When a GNU/Linux distro includes nonfree software, it causes two kinds of problems:</p> <ul> <li>If you install it, you may install and use nonfree software.</li> <li>It gives people the wrong idea of what the goal is.</li> </ul> <p> The first problem is a direct problem: it affects users of the distro, if they install the nonfree software. However, the second problem is the more important one, because it affects the community as a whole. </p> <p> The developers of nonfree distros don't say, “We apologize for the presence of nonfree components in our distribution. We don't know what possessed us to include them. We hope that next release we will keep our minds on freedom.” If they did, they would have less of a bad influence. </p> <p> Instead, they generally present the nonfree software in their systems as a positive feature; they say that their goal is “the best possible user experience,” or something like that, rather than freedom. In other words, they lead people to place convenience above freedom—working directly against our campaign to make freedom the primary goal. </p> <p> The fact that these distros don't deliver freedom is why we don't endorse them. That they teach people not to value freedom is why we are strongly concerned about this issue. </p> </div> </div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above --> <!-- begin server/footer-text.html --> <div style="clear:both"></div> <div id="language-container"> <div class="backtotop"> <hr class="no-display" /> <a href="#top"><b>▲</b></a> </div> <div id="languages" class="rounded-corners"> <div class="button"> <a href="#top" class="close"><span>BACK TO TOP</span></a> </div> <div id="set-language" class="button"> <span class="gnun-split"></span> <a href="/server/select-language.html?callback=/distros/distros.html.en" rel="nofollow"> Set language <span class="gnun-split"></span> </a> </div> <p>Available for this page:</p> <div id="translations"> <p> <span dir="ltr" class="original">[en] <a lang="en" hreflang="en" href="/distros/distros.en.html">English</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[ar] <a lang="ar" hreflang="ar" href="/distros/distros.ar.html">العربية</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[de] <a lang="de" hreflang="de" href="/distros/distros.de.html">Deutsch</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[es] <a lang="es" hreflang="es" href="/distros/distros.es.html">español</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[fa] <a lang="fa" hreflang="fa" href="/distros/distros.fa.html">فارسی</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[fr] <a lang="fr" hreflang="fr" href="/distros/distros.fr.html">français</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[hr] <a lang="hr" hreflang="hr" href="/distros/distros.hr.html">hrvatski</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[it] <a lang="it" hreflang="it" href="/distros/distros.it.html">italiano</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[ja] <a lang="ja" hreflang="ja" href="/distros/distros.ja.html">日本語</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[lt] <a lang="lt" hreflang="lt" href="/distros/distros.lt.html">lietuvių</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[nl] <a lang="nl" hreflang="nl" href="/distros/distros.nl.html">Nederlands</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[pl] <a lang="pl" hreflang="pl" href="/distros/distros.pl.html">polski</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[pt-br] <a lang="pt-br" hreflang="pt-br" href="/distros/distros.pt-br.html">português</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[ro] <a lang="ro" hreflang="ro" href="/distros/distros.ro.html">română</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[ru] <a lang="ru" hreflang="ru" href="/distros/distros.ru.html">русский</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[sk] <a lang="sk" hreflang="sk" href="/distros/distros.sk.html">slovenčina</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[sq] <a lang="sq" hreflang="sq" href="/distros/distros.sq.html">Shqip</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[tr] <a lang="tr" hreflang="tr" href="/distros/distros.tr.html">Türkçe</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[uk] <a lang="uk" hreflang="uk" href="/distros/distros.uk.html">українська</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[zh-cn] <a lang="zh-cn" hreflang="zh-cn" href="/distros/distros.zh-cn.html">简体中文</a> </span> <span dir="ltr">[zh-tw] <a lang="zh-tw" hreflang="zh-tw" href="/distros/distros.zh-tw.html">繁體中文</a> </span> </p> </div> </div> </div> <div id="mission-statement" role="complementary"> <div class="backtotop"> <hr class="no-display" /> <a href="#header"><span>BACK TO TOP </span>▲</a> </div> <div style="clear: both"></div> <blockquote> <p style="direction:ltr; text-align:left"><a href="//www.fsf.org"><img id="fsfbanner" src="/graphics/fsf-logo-notext-small.png" alt=" [FSF logo] " width="75" height="25" /></a><strong> “The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a nonprofit with a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom. We defend the rights of all software users.”</strong></p> </blockquote> <div id="support-the-fsf" class="button"> <a class="join" href="//www.fsf.org/associate/support_freedom?referrer=4052">JOIN</a> <a class="donate" href="//donate.fsf.org/">DONATE</a> <a class="shop" href="//shop.fsf.org/">SHOP</a> </div> </div> <!-- end server/footer-text.html --> <div id="footer" role="contentinfo"> <div class="unprintable"> <p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to <a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p> <p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, replace it with the translation of these two: We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection. Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org"> <web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> <p>For information on coordinating and contributing translations of our web pages, see <a href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations README</a>. --> Please see the <a href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations README</a> for information on coordinating and contributing translations of this article.</p> </div> <!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should be under CC BY-ND 4.0. Please do NOT change or remove this without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first. Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the document. For web pages, it is ok to list just the latest year the document was modified, or published. If you wish to list earlier years, that is ok too. Either "2001, 2002, 2003" or "2001-2003" are ok for specifying years, as long as each year in the range is in fact a copyrightable year, i.e., a year in which the document was published (including being publicly visible on the web or in a revision control system). There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. --> <p>Copyright © 2009, 2012, 2015, 2022 Free Software Foundation, Inc.</p> <p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.</p> <!-- start of server/bottom-notes.html --> <div id="bottom-notes" class="unprintable"> <p><a href="//www.fsf.org/about/dmca-notice">Copyright Infringement Notification</a></p> <div id="generic"> </div> </div> <!-- end of server/bottom-notes.html --> <p class="unprintable">Updated: <!-- timestamp start --> $Date: 2022/01/22 17:47:18 $ <!-- timestamp end --> </p> </div> </div><!-- for class="inner", starts in the banner include --> </body> </html>