Linux distribution: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:41, 26 July 2025

Revision as of 15:42, 26 July 2025

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A '''Linux distribution''',{{efn|Sometimes called a '''GNU/Linux distribution''', with some [[GNU/Linux naming controversy|related controversy]]}} often abbreviated as '''distro''', is an [[operating system]] that includes the [[Linux kernel]] for its [[kernel (operating system)|kernel]] functionality. Although the name does not imply [[distribution (marketing)|product distribution]] per se, a distro—if distributed on its own—is often obtained via a [[website]] intended specifically for the purpose. Distros have been designed for a wide variety of systems ranging from [[personal computer]]s (for example, [[Linux Mint]]) to [[Server (computing)|servers]] (for example, [[Red Hat Enterprise Linux]]) and from [[embedded device]]s (for example, [[OpenWrt]]) to [[supercomputer]]s (for example, [[Rocks Cluster Distribution]]).

A distro typically includes many components in addition to the Linux kernel. Commonly, it includes a [[package manager]] (such as [[APT (software)|apt]], [[DNF (software)|dnf]], or [[Arch Linux#Pacman|pacman]]), an [[Init|init system]] (such as [[systemd]], [[OpenRC]], or [[runit]]), [[GNU]] tools and [[Library (computing)|libraries]], documentation, [[Internet Protocol|IP]] network configuration utilities, the [[Getty (Unix)|getty]] TTY setup program, and many more. To provide a desktop experience (most commonly the [[Mesa (computer graphics)|Mesa]] userspace graphics drivers) a [[Windowing system|display server]] (the most common being the [[X.org Server]], or, more recently, a [[Wayland (display server protocol)|Wayland]] compositor such as [[Sway (window manager)|Sway]], [[KDE]]'s [[KWin]], or [[GNOME]]'s [[Mutter (software)|Mutter]]), a [[desktop environment]] (most commonly [[GNOME]], [[KDE Plasma]], or [[Xfce]]), a [[sound server]] (usually either [[PulseAudio]] or more recently [[PipeWire]]), and other related programs may be included or installed by the user.

Typically, most of the included software is [[free and open-source software]] {{endash}} made available both as [[Executable|binary]] for convenience and as [[source code]] to allow for modifying it. A distro may also include [[proprietary software]] that is not available in source code form, such as a [[device driver]] [[binary blob|binary]].<ref name="x3fEd">{{cite web | url = https://www.gnu.org/distros/common-distros.html | title = Explaining Why We Don't Endorse Other Systems | date = June 30, 2014 | access-date = January 5, 2015 | website = gnu.org | archive-date = April 24, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110424061731/http://www.gnu.org/distros/common-distros.html | url-status = live}}</ref>