DistroIndependentFixed release
Rocky Linux
Enterprise Linux, rebuilt by the community. Rocky Linux is a bug-for-bug compatible rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, free to use and supported for ten years.
At a glance
Rocky Linux
- Family
- Independent
- First release
- 2021
- Release model
- Fixed release (10-year lifecycle per major release)
- Package manager
- dnf (rpm)
- Init system
- systemd
- Architecture
- x86_64, aarch64
- Installer
- Anaconda
- Default desktop
- GNOME (workstation; server images have no desktop)
Overview
Rocky Linux was created in 2021 after Red Hat shifted CentOS to a rolling stream. It rebuilds RHEL sources into a free, community-governed enterprise operating system with a ten-year support lifecycle per major release.
It targets servers, workstations, and high-performance computing, where stability and binary compatibility with RHEL matter more than new features. The default workstation desktop is GNOME, and server images ship without one.
Is it for you?
Good fit if you…
- run enterprise servers that need RHEL compatibility without a subscription
- need a ten-year support lifecycle for production systems
- migrate from CentOS Linux to a stable rebuild
Look elsewhere if you…
- want a desktop distro with the latest apps (try Fedora)
- need a rolling release (try Arch Linux)
Everyday commands
Full cheat sheet →sudo dnf check-updatesudo dnf upgradednf search <query>sudo dnf install <package>sudo dnf remove <package>Official resources
- Rocky Documentation ↗docs.rockylinux.org
- Download ↗rockylinux.org
- Forum ↗forums.rockylinux.org