AlmaLinux Website
AlmaLinux is a powerful and flexible operating system based on Linux.
It can be used for software development, system administration, and cloud computing.
Almalinux is open-source nature allows developers to customize and optimize their environments for efficiency.
Learn more about AlmaLinux’s technology stack and tools for software developers.
AlmaLinux stands as a testament to the power of open governance and community collaboration. Whether you’re running mission-critical servers or developing cloud-native apps, it delivers a predictable, free, and enterprise-worthy platform.
Whether you’re spinning up microservices, managing a database cluster, or writing application code, AlmaLinux delivers a predictable, secure, and cost-effective platform that scales with your needs.

🐧 AlmaLinux: Is the Open-Source Champion of Enterprise Linux
In the ever-evolving world of Linux distributions, AlmaLinux has emerged as a powerful, community-driven alternative to traditional enterprise operating systems. Born from the ashes of CentOS’s shift in direction, AlmaLinux has quickly gained traction among developers, system administrators, and businesses seeking a stable, free, and open-source Linux distribution with long-term support.
🌱 Origins: From CentOS to AlmaLinux
In December 2020, Red Hat announced that CentOS Linux would be replaced by CentOS Stream, a rolling-release distribution that tracks just ahead of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). This decision left many users in search of a stable, binary-compatible alternative to RHEL.
Enter AlmaLinux.
Developed by the AlmaLinux OS Foundation and initially sponsored by CloudLinux, AlmaLinux was launched in early 2021 with a clear mission: to provide a 1:1 binary-compatible fork of RHEL, backed by the community and free from corporate control.

🚀 Almalinux Key Features
Enterprise-Grade Stability and performance: AlmaLinux is built to mirror RHEL, offering the same level of reliability and performance for production environments.
Free and Open Source: No subscriptions, no licensing fees—just pure open-source freedom.
Long-Term Support: Each major release is supported for 10 years, with regular security updates and bug fixes.
Multi-Architecture Support: Available for x86_64, ARM64 (aarch64), PowerPC (ppc64le), and IBM Z (s390x).
Community Governance: Managed by a non-profit foundation with a board composed of community members and industry stakeholders.
10-year support lifecycle for each major release
Seamless in-place upgrades via the ELevate tool
Modular repository architecture for app streams
Integrated container support (Podman, Buildah, Skopeo)
These pillars ensure both conservative sysadmins and DevOps teams can rely on AlmaLinux for production workloads.

Learn about the Tools in Almalinux for Software Development
AlmaLinux offers a rich set of tools, development environment and repositories tailored for developers:
Repositories
Base and AppStream for multiple versions of languages
EPEL for community-maintained packages
Modular streams to switch between runtime versions
Language Runtimes
Python (3.6, 3.8, 3.10+) with dnf module support
Node.js (12, 14, 16+) via AppStream
Java (OpenJDK 8, 11, 17)
Go, Ruby, PHP, Rust offered as modules
Build & CI/CD Toolchains
GCC, Clang, Make, CMake, Ninja
Maven, Gradle for Java
Podman & Buildah for container builds
Native runners for Jenkins, GitLab CI, GitHub Actions
IDEs & Editors
VS Code, JetBrains IDEs via official repos
Vim, Emacs, Nano in minimal installs
Automation & Infrastructure as Code
Ansible, Puppet, Chef available as packages
Terraform and Packer in EPEL

Containerization & Virtualization with Almalinux
AlmaLinux integrates modern container and VM tooling:
You can use containers like :
Podman, Buildah, Skopeo for daemon-less workflows
Kubernetes/OpenShift compatibility for orchestration
UBI (Universal Base Images) for streamlined container builds
Virtualization with:
KVM/QEMU with libvirt for high-performance VMs
LXC/LXD for lightweight system containers
Cloud images for AWS, Azure, GCP, VMware

Server Use Cases using Almalinux
Enterprise-grade workloads run smoothly on AlmaLinux:
Web and Application Servers
Apache, Nginx, Tomcat, WildFly
cPanel/Plesk integration for hosting
Databases & Caches
MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, MongoDB
Redis, Memcached for in-memory caching
Message Brokers & Streaming
RabbitMQ, Kafka for event-driven apps
High Availability & Load Balancing
Pacemaker/Corosync for clustering
HAProxy, Nginx load balancers
Monitoring & Logging
Prometheus, Grafana, Zabbix, Nagios
ELK stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana)

Release History of Almalinux
AlmaLinux 10.0 “Purple Lion” brought updated toolchains, enhanced SELinux policies, and expanded hardware enablement on May 27, 2025. The previous 9.x line continues receiving back-ported fixes until its 2032 end-of-life.
Major Version; Codename; Release Date; Kernel; EOL (Security)
10.0; Purple Lion; May 27, 2025; 6.12.0-*; May 2035
9.6; Sage Margay; May 20, 2025; 5.14.0-*; June 2032

Almalinux Performance and Tuning
Fine-tune AlmaLinux kernels and services for peak performance:
Kernel Parameters
sysctl profiles via tuned (throughput-performance, latency-sensitive)
NUMA awareness, huge pages, cgroups
Filesystems
XFS (default), ext4, option for Btrfs snapshots
Network
TCP window scaling, IRQ balancing, offload features

👮 Security & Compliance
Built-in layers safeguard your development and production environments:
Mandatory SELinux enforcing mode by default
Firewalld for dynamic firewall zones
OpenSCAP support for compliance scanning
FIPS-enabled crypto modules and signed repos
CIS Benchmarks and security hardening guides
Security and Support in Almalinux:
SELinux enforced by default
Regular CVE patches via the AlmaLinux CVE Tracker
Optional Extended Update Support for critical fixes beyond EOL
Community-driven security advisories and response teams
This multi-layered model combines upstream RHEL fixes with the agility of a volunteer-powered project.

Installation and Migration of Almalinux
Fresh Install:
Download the ISO from almalinux.org
Boot and follow the Anaconda installer prompts
In-place Migration:
Use the elevate-release RPM to switch from CentOS or RHEL
Run dnf migrate to align packages
The migration path supports major version jumps (e.g., 8→9, 9→10) without rebuilding servers from scratch.

🔄 Migration & Lifecycle
AlmaLinux smooths transitions and long-term maintenance:
In-place upgrades between major versions via the ELevate tool
10-year support lifecycle per major release
Regular security patches and back-ported fixes
Community forums, Slack, and mailing lists for peer support
Migration Made Easy:
One of AlmaLinux’s standout features is its seamless migration path. Users can convert existing CentOS, RHEL, or other compatible systems to AlmaLinux using the official ELevate tool, which supports in-place upgrades between major versions.

🧭 AlmaLinux 10.0 marks a major leap forward, introducing updated toolchains, enhanced hardware support, and improved security features.
Almalinux 10 is the latest release:
Version: 10.0;
Almalinux Latest Version is :
AlmaLinux OS 10.0 "Purple Lion"
Codename: Purple Lion
Release Date: May 27, 2025
Kernel Version: 6.12.0-55.9.1
Architectures Supported: x86_64, x86_64_v2, aarch64, ppc64le, s390x
Support Timeline (EOL):
Active support until May 31, 2030
Security support until May 31, 2035

🆕 Current Version of Almalinux
Version; Codename; Release Date; Kernel Version; EOL Support
AlmaLinux OS 9.6 "Sage Margay"
Release Date: May 20, 2025
Kernel Version: 5.14.0-570.12.1
Support Timeline (EOL): June 2032

🛠️ Use Cases of Almalinux
Web Hosting: A favorite among hosting providers for its stability and compatibility with cPanel, Plesk, and other tools.
Enterprise Servers: Ideal for databases, application servers, and virtual machines.
Development Environments: Offers a consistent platform for building and testing enterprise-grade applications.
Edge and Cloud Deployments: Lightweight and scalable for modern infrastructure needs.
🌍 Community and Ecosystem
The AlmaLinux community is vibrant and growing, with active forums, mailing lists, GitHub repositories, and regular updates from the AlmaLinux OS Foundation. The project also collaborates with other open-source initiatives to ensure compatibility and innovation.

💪 AlmaLinux has rapidly become a cornerstone of open-source enterprise distributions.
Born to fill the gap left by CentOS Linux, it offers binary compatibility with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and a community-governed, free-to-use license. This page explores its history, architecture, features, ecosystem, and future roadmap in detail.
Origins and Purpose
AlmaLinux launched in early 2021 after Red Hat shifted CentOS Linux to CentOS Stream. Backed by the AlmaLinux OS Foundation and initially sponsored by CloudLinux, the project set out to deliver a 1:1 binary-compatible fork of RHEL—ensuring enterprises retain a rock-solid, free alternative.

Architecture and Compatibility:
Multi-architecture support
x86_64, x86_64_v2
ARM64 (aarch64)
PowerPC (ppc64le)
IBM Z (s390x)
Package management
dnf and yum front ends
RPM package format
This broad hardware compatibility makes AlmaLinux a fit for datacenters, cloud providers, and edge devices alike.

Community and Governance
Managed by a non-profit foundation, AlmaLinux’s board includes community representatives and industry stakeholders. Contributors span from individual volunteers to cloud providers, ensuring transparent decision-making and shared ownership.

Ecosystem and Integrations
Major control panels: cPanel, Plesk
Container platforms: Kubernetes, OpenShift compatibility
Cloud images: AWS, Azure, GCP, VMware, OpenStack
CI/CD integrations: GitLab, Jenkins, GitHub Actions
A healthy partner network and numerous certified images make AlmaLinux a drop-in solution for diverse infrastructures.

Roadmap and Future of Almalinux
The next minor release, AlmaLinux 10.1, is projected for Q4 2025, focusing on further hardware enablement and updated developer toolsets. Long term, the project aims to:
Integrate hardened kernel options
Expand live-patch capabilities
Deepen edge-computing support

🔮 Next Version of Almalinux
There’s no official release date yet for AlmaLinux 10.1 or 9.7, but based on the release cadence (roughly every 6 months for minor versions), we can expect:
AlmaLinux 10.1 likely around late 2025
AlmaLinux 9.7 possibly in Q4 2025
The AlmaLinux team also introduced a development preview called AlmaLinux OS Kitten 10, which was released in October 2024. It's a pre-release build based on CentOS Stream 10, used to prepare for AlmaLinux 10.0 and beyond.
You can compare features between AlmaLinux 9 and 10, to decide which version is best for your setup.
🔮 The Road Ahead
AlmaLinux 10.1 is the next minor release expected later in Q4 2025, the project continues to evolve in lockstep with RHEL while maintaining its independence and community-first ethos. As more organizations seek alternatives to vendor-locked solutions, AlmaLinux is poised to become a cornerstone of the open-source enterprise ecosystem.