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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 web sites, or how up-to-date their information is.

This page lists the GNU/Linux distributions that are entirely free as in freedom. All of the distributions that follow are installable to a computer's hard drive; most can be run live.

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. We encourage you to read these brief descriptions and to consult their respective web sites and other information to choose the one best for you.

These distros are ready-to-use full systems whose developers have made a commitment to follow the Guidelines for Free System Distributions. This means these distros 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.

All of the distributions that follow are installable to a computer's hard drive; most can be run live. Not all hardware works in the free world; each distro's site should say which hardware it supports.

We endorse these distros only for freedom. We do not try to judge or compare these distros based on any other criterion; therefore, we list them in alphabetical order. We suggest you consult their respective web sites and other information to judge which one is most convenient for you.

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.

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.

Non-GNU-based free system distributions are listed in a separate file.

We list companies that sell hardware preinstalled with a free GNU/Linux distribution separately.

Individual GNU packages (most of which are included in the free distributions here) are described separately.

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 touchwe'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 us at 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!

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List of Free GNU/Linux Distributions - GNU Project - Free ...

See audio-video.gnu.org for recordings of Richard Stallman's speeches.

Free software means that the software's users have freedom. (The issue is not about price.) We developed the GNU operating system so that users can have freedom in their computing.

Specifically, free software means users have the four essential freedoms: (0) to run the program, (1) to study and change the program in source code form, (2) to redistribute exact copies, and (3) to distribute modified versions.

Software differs from material objectssuch as chairs, sandwiches, and gasolinein that it can be copied and changed much more easily. These facilities are why software is useful; we believe a program's users should be free to take advantage of them, not solely its developer.

For further reading, please select a section from the menu above.

We also maintain a list of most recently added articles.

We also keep a list of Organizations that Work for Freedom in Computer Development and Electronic Communications.

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Free Software philosophy - GNU

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To use free software is to make a political and ethical choice asserting the right to learn, and share what we learn with others. Free software has become the foundation of a learning society where we share our knowledge in a way that others can build upon and enjoy.

Currently, many people use proprietary software that denies users these freedoms and benefits. If we make a copy and give it to a friend, if we try to figure out how the program works, if we put a copy on more than one of our own computers in our own home, we could be caught and fined or put in jail. Thats whats in the fine print of the license agreement you accept when using proprietary software.

The corporations behind proprietary software will often spy on your activities and restrict you from sharing with others. And because our computers control much of our personal information and daily activities, proprietary software represents an unacceptable danger to a free society.

What if there were a worldwide group of talented ethical programmers voluntarily committed to the idea of writing and sharing software with each other and with anyone else who agreed to share alike? What if anyone could be a part of and benefit from this community even without being a computer expert or knowing anything about programming? We wouldnt have to worry about getting caught copying a useful program for our friendsbecause we wouldnt be doing anything wrong.

In fact, such a movement exists, and you can be part of it. The free software movement was started in 1983 by computer scientist Richard M. Stallman, when he launched a project called GNU, which stands for GNU is Not UNIX, to provide a replacement for the UNIX operating systema replacement that would respect the freedoms of those using it. Then in 1985, Stallman started the Free Software Foundation, a nonprofit with the mission of advocating and educating on behalf of computer users around the world.

There are now many variants or 'distributions' of this GNU operating system using the kernel Linux. We recommend those GNU/Linux distributions that are 100% free software; in other words, entirely freedom-respecting.

Today, free software is available for just about any task you can imagine. From complete operating systems like GNU, to over 5,000 individual programs and tools listed in the FSF/UNESCO free software directory. Millions of people around the worldincluding entire governmentsare now using free software on their computers.

The FSF also provides other important resources to the community.

The most important support you can give to free software is to use free software on your own computer and advocate within your community for others to adopt it. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter the Free Software Supporter to hear about ways you can get involved.

You can support our mission by donating or becoming a card carrying member of the Free Software Foundation. We also sell free software text books, T-shirts and other gift items from our online store.

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What is free software and why is it so important for ...

The free software movement is a social movement[1] with the goal of obtaining and guaranteeing certain freedoms for software users, namely the freedom to run the software, to study and change the software, and to redistribute copies with or without changes. Although drawing on traditions and philosophies among members of the 1970s hacker culture and academia, Richard Stallman formally founded the movement in 1983 by launching the GNU Project.[2]

Stallman founded the Free Software Foundation in 1985 to support the movement.

The philosophy of the movement is that the use of computers should not lead to people being prevented from cooperating with each other. In practice, this means rejecting "proprietary software", which imposes such restrictions, and promoting free software,[3] with the ultimate goal of liberating everyone in cyberspace[4] that is, every computer user. Stallman notes that this action will promote rather than hinder the progression of technology, since "it means that much wasteful duplication of system programming effort will be avoided. This effort can go instead into advancing the state of the art".[5]

Members of the free-software movement believe that all users of software should have the freedoms listed in The Free Software Definition. Many of them hold that it is immoral to prohibit or prevent people from exercising these freedoms and that these freedoms are required to create a decent society where software users can help each other, and to have control over their computers.[6]

Some free software users and programmers do not believe that proprietary software is strictly immoral, citing an increased profitability in the business models available for proprietary software or technical features and convenience as their reasons.[7]

"While social change may occur as an unintended by-product of technological change, advocates of new technologies often have promoted them as instruments of positive social change." This quote by San Jose State professor Joel West explains much of the philosophy, or the reason that the free source movement is alive. If it is assumed that social change is not only affected, but in some points of view, directed by the advancement of technology, is it ethical to hold these technologies from certain people? If not to make a direct change, this movement is in place to raise awareness about the effects that take place because of the physical things around us. A computer, for instance, allows us so many more freedoms than we have without a computer, but should these technological mediums be implied freedoms, or selective privileges? The debate over the morality of both sides to the free software movement is a difficult topic to compromise respective opposition.[8]

The Free Software Foundation also believes all software needs free documentation, in particular because conscientious programmers should be able to update manuals to reflect modification that they made to the software, but deems the freedom to modify less important for other types of written works.[9] Within the free software movement, the FLOSS Manuals foundation specialises on the goal of providing such documentation. Members of the free software movement advocate that works which serve a practical purpose should also be free.[10]

The core work of the free software movement focused on software development. The free software movement also rejects proprietary software, refusing to install software that does not give them the freedoms of free software. According to Stallman, "The only thing in the software field that is worse than an unauthorised copy of a proprietary program, is an authorised copy of the proprietary program because this does the same harm to its whole community of users, and in addition, usually the developer, the perpetrator of this evil, profits from it."[11]

Some supporters of the free-software movement take up public speaking, or host a stall at software-related conferences to raise awareness of software freedom. This is seen as important since people who receive free software, but who are not aware that it is free software, will later accept a non-free replacement or will add software that is not free software.[12]

Margaret S. Elliot, a researcher in the Institute for Software at the University of California Irvine, not only outlines many benefits that could come from a free software movement, she claims that it is inherently necessary to give every person equal opportunity to utilize the Internet, assuming that the computer is globally accessible. Since the world has become more based in the framework of technology and its advancement, creating a selective internet that allows only some to surf the web freely is nonsensical according to Elliot. If there is a desire to live in a more coexistent world that is benefited by communication and global assistance, then globally free software should be a position to strive for, according to many scholars who promote awareness about the free software movement. The ideas sparked by the GNU associates are an attempt to promote a "cooperative environment" that understands the benefits of having a local community and a global community.[13]

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Free software movement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia