What is gnu linux distribution
Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called “Linux,” and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project.
For more information see also the GNU/Linux FAQ, and Why GNU/Linux?
There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine’s resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. All the so-called “Linux” distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.
Many users do not understand the difference between the kernel, which is Linux, and the whole system, which they also call “Linux.” The ambiguous use of the name doesn’t help people understand. These users often think that Linus Torvalds developed the whole operating system in 1991, with a bit of help.
Programmers generally know that Linux is a kernel. But since they have generally heard the whole system called “Linux” as well, they often envisage a history that would justify naming the whole system after the kernel. For example, many believe that once Linus Torvalds finished writing Linux, the kernel, its users looked around for other free software to go with it, and found that (for no particular reason) most everything necessary to make a Unix-like system was already available.
What they found was no accident—it was the not-quite-complete GNU system. The available free software added up to a complete system because the GNU Project had been working since 1984 to make one. In the GNU Manifesto we set forth the goal of developing a free Unix-like system, called GNU. The Initial Announcement of the GNU Project also outlines some of the original plans for the GNU system. By the time Linux was started, GNU was almost finished.
Most free software projects have the goal of developing a particular program for a particular job. For example, Linus Torvalds set out to write a Unix-like kernel (Linux); Donald Knuth set out to write a text formatter (TeX); Bob Scheifler set out to develop a window system (the X Window System). It’s natural to measure the contribution of this kind of project by specific programs that came from the project.
If we tried to measure the GNU Project’s contribution in this way, what would we conclude? One CD-ROM vendor found that in their “Linux distribution,” GNU software was the largest single contingent, around 28% of the total source code, and this included some of the essential major components without which there could be no system. Linux itself was about 3%. (The proportions in 2008 are similar: in the “main” repository of gNewSense, Linux is 1.5% and GNU packages are 15%.) So if you were going to pick a name for the system based on who wrote the programs in the system, the most appropriate single choice would be “GNU.”
But that is not the deepest way to consider the question. The GNU Project was not, is not, a project to develop specific software packages. It was not a project to develop a C compiler, although we did that. It was not a project to develop a text editor, although we developed one. The GNU Project set out to develop a complete free Unix-like system: GNU.
Many people have made major contributions to the free software in the system, and they all deserve credit for their software. But the reason it is an integrated system—and not just a collection of useful programs—is because the GNU Project set out to make it one. We made a list of the programs needed to make a complete free system, and we systematically found, wrote, or found people to write everything on the list. We wrote essential but unexciting (1) components because you can’t have a system without them. Some of our system components, the programming tools, became popular on their own among programmers, but we wrote many components that are not tools (2). We even developed a chess game, GNU Chess, because a complete system needs games too.
By the early 90s we had put together the whole system aside from the kernel. We had also started a kernel, the GNU Hurd, which runs on top of Mach. Developing this kernel has been a lot harder than we expected; the GNU Hurd started working reliably in 2001, but it is a long way from being ready for people to use in general.
Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait for the Hurd, because of Linux. Once Torvalds freed Linux in 1992, it fit into the last major gap in the GNU system. People could then combine Linux with the GNU system to make a complete free system — a version of the GNU system which also contained Linux. The GNU/Linux system, in other words.
Making them work well together was not a trivial job. Some GNU components(3) needed substantial change to work with Linux. Integrating a complete system as a distribution that would work “out of the box” was a big job, too. It required addressing the issue of how to install and boot the system—a problem we had not tackled, because we hadn’t yet reached that point. Thus, the people who developed the various system distributions did a lot of essential work. But it was work that, in the nature of things, was surely going to be done by someone.
The GNU Project supports GNU/Linux systems as well as the GNU system. The FSF funded the rewriting of the Linux-related extensions to the GNU C library, so that now they are well integrated, and the newest GNU/Linux systems use the current library release with no changes. The FSF also funded an early stage of the development of Debian GNU/Linux.
Today there are many different variants of the GNU/Linux system (often called “distros”). Most of them include nonfree programs—their developers follow the “open source” philosophy associated with Linux rather than the “free software” philosophy of GNU. But there are also completely free GNU/Linux distros. The FSF supports computer facilities for a few of them.
Making a free GNU/Linux distribution is not just a matter of eliminating various nonfree programs. Nowadays, the usual version of Linux contains nonfree programs too. These programs are intended to be loaded into I/O devices when the system starts, and they are included, as long series of numbers, in the «source code» of Linux. Thus, maintaining free GNU/Linux distributions now entails maintaining a free version of Linux too.
Whether you use GNU/Linux or not, please don’t confuse the public by using the name “Linux” ambiguously. Linux is the kernel, one of the essential major components of the system. The system as a whole is basically the GNU system, with Linux added. When you’re talking about this combination, please call it “GNU/Linux.”
If you want to make a link on “GNU/Linux” for further reference, this page and https://www.gnu.org/gnu/the-gnu-project.html are good choices. If you mention Linux, the kernel, and want to add a link for further reference, https://foldoc.org/linux is a good URL to use.
Postscripts
Aside from GNU, one other project has independently produced a free Unix-like operating system. This system is known as BSD, and it was developed at UC Berkeley. It was nonfree in the 80s, but became free in the early 90s. A free operating system that exists today(4) is almost certainly either a variant of the GNU system, or a kind of BSD system.
People sometimes ask whether BSD too is a version of GNU, like GNU/Linux. The BSD developers were inspired to make their code free software by the example of the GNU Project, and explicit appeals from GNU activists helped persuade them, but the code had little overlap with GNU. BSD systems today use some GNU programs, just as the GNU system and its variants use some BSD programs; however, taken as wholes, they are two different systems that evolved separately. The BSD developers did not write a kernel and add it to the GNU system, and a name like GNU/BSD would not fit the situation.(5)
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What is gnu linux distribution
This page lists the GNU/Linux distributions that are entirely free as in freedom. Non-GNU-based free system distributions are listed separately.
The Free Software Foundation recommends and endorses these GNU/Linux distros, although we do not try to judge or compare them based on any criterion other than freedom; therefore, we list them in alphabetical order.
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These distros are ready-to-use full systems whose developers have made a commitment to follow the Free System Distribution Guidelines. This means they will include, and propose, exclusively free software. They will reject nonfree applications, nonfree programming platforms, nonfree drivers, nonfree firmware “blobs”, nonfree games, and any other nonfree software, as well as nonfree manuals or documentation.
If one of these distros ever does include or propose anything nonfree, that must have happened by mistake, and the developers are committed to removing it. If you find nonfree software or documentation in one of these distributions, you can report the problem, and earn GNU Bucks, while we inform the developers so they can fix the problem.
Fixing freedom bugs is an ethical requirement for listing a distro here; therefore, we list only distros with a development team that has told us it will remove any nonfree software that might be found in them. Usually the team consists of volunteers, and they don’t make legally binding commitments to users; but if we find out a distro is not properly maintained, we will de-list it.
We hope the other existing GNU/Linux distributions will become entirely free software so that we can list them here. If you wish to improve the state of free distros, helping to develop an existing free distro contributes more than starting a new one.
Please note that not all hardware works in the free world; each distro’s site should say which hardware it supports. We suggest that, after reading the short descriptions below, you consult these sites as well as other available information, to judge which distro is most convenient for you.
This page is maintained by the Free Software Foundation’s Licensing and Compliance Lab. You can support our efforts by making a donation to the FSF. Have a question not answered here? Check out some of our other licensing resources or contact the Compliance Lab at licensing@fsf.org.
The Free Software Foundation is not responsible for other websites, or how up-to-date their information is.
GNU/Linux distros for PCs and workstations
The distributions that follow are installable to a computer’s hard drive and/or can be run live.
| Distribution | Brief Description |
|---|---|
 | Dragora GNU/Linux-Libre, an independent GNU/Linux distribution based on concepts of simplicity. |
 | Dyne:bolic, a GNU/Linux distribution with special emphasis on audio and video editing. This is a “static” distro, normally run from a live CD. Since it will not receive security updates, it should be used offline. |
 | Guix System, an advanced GNU/Linux distro built on top of GNU Guix (pronounced “geeks”), a purely functional package manager for the GNU system. |
 | Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre, a long-term support simplicity-focused distribution based on Arch GNU/Linux. |
 | Parabola GNU/Linux-libre, a distribution based on Arch that prioritizes simple package and system management. |
| PureOS, a GNU distribution based on Debian with a focus on privacy, security, and convenience. | |
 | Trisquel, a GNU/Linux distribution based on Ubuntu that’s oriented toward small enterprises, domestic users and educational centers. |
 | Ututo S, a GNU/Linux 100% free distribution. It was the first fully free GNU/Linux system recognized by the GNU Project. |
Small GNU/Linux distros
Below is a list of small system distributions. These distributions are meant for devices with limited resources, like a wireless router for example. A free small system distribution is not self-hosting, but it must be developable and buildable on top of one of the free complete systems listed above, perhaps with the aid of free tools distributed alongside the small system distribution itself.
| Distribution | Brief Description |
|---|---|
 | libreCMC is an embedded GNU/Linux distro for devices with very limited resources. While primarily targeting routers, it offers support for a wide range of devices and use cases. In 2015, LibreWRT merged with libreCMC. |
 | ProteanOS is a new, small, and fast distribution for embedded devices. Its platform configuration feature allows binary packages to be configured at build-time and run-time for different hardware and use cases. |
How to get free GNU/Linux distros
In addition to their own sites, many of these distributions are available from mirror.fsf.org. Feel free to download or mirror the distributions from there, preferably using rsync. Free distribution maintainers can request a mirror for their project by mailing the FSF sysadmins.
Individual GNU packages (most of which are included in the free distributions here) are described separately.
See something we missed?
Do you know about a distribution that you expected to find on our list, but didn’t? First, check our page about why we don’t endorse some common distributions. That page explains the reasons why several well-known distributions don’t meet our guidelines. If the distribution isn’t listed there either, and you think it qualifies for a listing under our guidelines, then please let the distribution’s maintainers know about this page and encourage them to get in touch—we’d like to hear from them.
If you maintain a distribution that follows the Free System Distribution Guidelines and would like to be listed here, please write to with an introduction and a link to the project Web site. When you do, we’ll explain more about our evaluation process to you, and get started on it quickly. We look forward to hearing from you!
Historical
The distributions that follow were previously listed above, but are no longer recommended.
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