AlmaLinux
| Company type | 501(c) organization |
|---|---|
| Industry | Linux distribution development |
| Founded | March 30, 2021 |
| Founder | CloudLinux |
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Benny Vasquez (board chairperson), Alejandro Iribarren (board member), Jun Yoshida (board member) |
| Products | AlmaLinux OS, AlmaLinux Build System (ALBS), Project ELevate |
| Owner | AlmaLinux OS Foundation |
| Website | almalinux |
AlmaLinux is a no-cost, open-source Linux distribution created by the AlmaLinux OS Foundation, a 501(c) organization, designed to provide a community-driven, enterprise-ready operating system that is fully binary-compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Its name, taken from the Spanish term "alma," meaning "soul," pays tribute to the Linux community.
The first stable version was released on March 30, 2021, with support guaranteed until March 1, 2029. AlmaLinux is constructed through transparent and reproducible methodologies utilizing the AlmaLinux Build System (ALBS), a bespoke build framework whose source code is openly accessible under an open-source license.
History
On December 8, 2020, Red Hat revealed it would discontinue CentOS, a free downstream derivative of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), shifting its focus toward CentOS Stream, a stable long-term support release serving as a preview platform for upcoming RHEL updates.
In reaction to this change, CloudLinux—the company behind the commercial CloudLinux OS—introduced AlmaLinux as a community-backed successor to CentOS Linux, aiming for binary compatibility with RHEL. A beta version became available on February 1, 2021, followed by the first official release on March 30, 2021. The AlmaLinux 8.x series will receive support through 2029. Prominent organizations including ARM, AWS, Equinix, and Microsoft endorse AlmaLinux. The AlmaLinux OS Foundation was founded on March 30, 2021, as a 501(c) organization to manage development and governance, with CloudLinux pledging $1 million annually.
Following the release of AlmaLinux version 8.6, the Foundation unveiled the AlmaLinux Build System (ALBS) on June 20, 2022.
In September 2022, the Foundation conducted its inaugural election, selecting a seven-member board elected by the community. Igor Seletskiy, CEO of CloudLinux and then board chairperson, resigned to strengthen AlmaLinux’s community-driven governance; Benny Vasquez succeeded him.
On December 7, 2022, both CERN and Fermilab adopted AlmaLinux as their designated operating system for scientific experiments.
After Red Hat announced new code restrictions on June 21, 2023, AlmaLinux declared it would cease efforts to be an exact RHEL clone but would continue ensuring binary compatibility.
In September 2023, the Foundation revealed plans to expand its board; by December 2023, Alejandro Iribarren (CERN) and Jun Yoshida (Cybertrust Japan) joined following elections.
Project ELevate
Launched in September 2021 by the AlmaLinux project, ELevate is a utility designed to facilitate in-place upgrades between major versions of enterprise Linux distributions. Engineered to be distribution-neutral, ELevate supports migration across different RHEL-based systems and encourages contributions from the community. By January 2024, its compatibility extended to additional repositories; in April 2024, it introduced upgrade paths from CentOS 6 to CentOS 7, enabling smooth transitions through enterprise Linux distributions up to version 9.
Build system
The AlmaLinux Build System (ALBS) automates package building for x86-64, AArch64, ppc64, and S390x platforms. Debuting with version 8.6 (Sky Tiger), ALBS consists of five main components: Git Service, Release System, Sign Server, Test System, and Build Node—all coordinated by a Master Service equipped with its own API.
Git Service
AlmaLinux retrieves source code directly from the Git repositories containing the RPM packages that compose Red Hat Enterprise Linux. A monitoring agent tracks updates in these repositories and transfers the source code to a public Gitea server, which visualizes build pipelines for each individual package. Additionally, this service provides an API to facilitate integration with other components of the AlmaLinux Build System (ALBS).
Build Node
The Build Node is responsible for transforming source code obtained from Git repositories into RPM packages, which are then prepared for distribution and installation. The resulting build outputs are stored separately to support subsequent processing steps.
Test System
AlmaLinux’s Test System (ALTS) employs container technology to establish isolated environments where the RPM package build artifacts are subjected to comprehensive test suites to ensure quality.
Release System and Sign Server
To guarantee the authenticity and integrity of software, AlmaLinux digitally signs each package using Pretty Good Privacy (PGP). The Sign Server handles signing of the build artifacts produced by the Build Node and returns them to storage. This process enables the Release System to publish the signed packages to official repositories.
AlmaLinux OS Kitten and the AlmaLinux Build Pipeline
Prior to June 2023, AlmaLinux reconstructed RHEL by utilizing publicly available sources from Red Hat. After shifting their strategy toward maintaining compatibility with RHEL, AlmaLinux began releasing bug fixes and security patches ahead of Red Hat, including remedies for vulnerabilities such as Zenbleed. They further distinguished their offerings with AlmaLinux 8.10 and 9.4 releases in May 2023 by restoring hardware support features that were disabled in RHEL.
In October 2024, AlmaLinux unveiled AlmaLinux OS Kitten, an early preview version of AlmaLinux OS 10 derived from CentOS Stream 10’s codebase. Kitten 10 introduced new capabilities like KVM support for IBM POWER architectures and SPICE support, thereby expanding options for the community.
By December, AlmaLinux announced the AlmaLinux OS 10 beta release, which integrated Kitten’s new features but aligned its software versions with Red Hat 10 rather than CentOS Stream. This results in Kitten containing more recent software packages compared to the official beta release, reflecting its foundation on CentOS Stream as opposed to Red Hat’s stable release cycle.
Releases
}See also
- Fedora Linux and CentOS Stream, the upstream sources that AlmaLinux is based upon
- Rocky Linux, created by The Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF)
- Oracle Linux
External links
| AlmaLinux version | Codename | Architectures | RHEL base | Kernel | AlmaLinux release date | RHEL release date | Delay (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scope="row" Template:Version | Purple Manul | x86-64 | 8.3 | 4.18.0-240 | 2021-03-30 | 2020-11-03 | 147 / 110 |
| scope="row" Template:Version | Electric Cheetah | x86-64, ARM64 | 8.4 | 4.18.0-305 | 2021-05-26 | 2021-05-18 | 8 |
| scope="row" Template:Version | Arctic Sphynx | x86-64, ARM64, ppc64le | 8.5 | 4.18.0-348 | 2021-11-12, 2022-02-25 | 2021-11-09 | 3 |
| scope="row" Template:Version | Sky Tiger | x86-64, ARM64, ppc64le, s390x | 8.6 | 4.18.0-372 | 2022-05-12 | 2022-05-10 | 2 |
| scope="row" Template:Version | Stone Smilodon | 8.7 | 4.18.0-425 | 2022-11-10 | 2022-11-09 | 1 | |
| scope="row" Template:Version | Sapphire Caracal | 8.8 | 4.18.0-477 | 2023-05-18 | 2023-05-16 | 1 | |
| scope="row" Template:Version | Midnight Oncilla | 8.9 | 4.18.0-513.5.1 | 2023-11-21 | 2023-11-14 | 7 | |
| scope="row" Template:Version | Cerulean Leopard | 8.10 | 4.18.0-553 | 2024-05-28 | 2024-05-22 | 6 | |
| scope="row" Template:Version | Emerald Puma | 9.0 | 5.14.0-70.13.1 | 2022-05-26 | 2022-05-17 | 9 | |
| scope="row" Template:Version | Lime Lynx | 9.1 | 5.14.0-162.6.1 | 2022-11-17 | 2022-11-15 | 2 | |
| scope="row" Template:Version | Turquoise Kodkod | 9.2 | 5.14.0-284.11.1 | 2023-05-10 | 2023-05-10 | 0 | |
| scope="row" Template:Version | Shamrock Pampas Cat | 9.3 | 5.14.0-362.8.1 | 2023-11-13 | 2023-11-07 | 6 |