DistroWatch

DistroWatch is a news, learning, and reviews website dedicated to open source operating systems, such as Linux and the BSDs.

Website: https://distrowatch.com/
FAQ: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=faq
Find a distro: https://distrowatch.com/search.php
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Last Notes

2026-03-30 11:10:40 UTC

Ubuntu MATE seeks new contributors: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20159

2026-03-29 22:49:25 UTC

By popular demand, we are adding a new search feature for checking if a distribution includes age verification features: https://www.patreon.com/posts/154267310

2026-03-21 07:01:17 UTC

SysV init (aka the init software that doesn't facilitate spying on you) has a new release: https://www.patreon.com/posts/153568555

2026-03-16 10:36:25 UTC

The Manjaro community is planning a work strike in order to have concerns addressed: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20153

2026-03-13 22:17:58 UTC

Two of my friends collaborated and wrote a fantasy novel together, which I think is incredibly cool. If you'd like to check out their work both of them (and I) would appreciate the encouragement.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0GSCDZ4MT

2026-03-07 14:53:15 UTC

When impressed with postmarketOS on my PinePhone. It's been running smoothly for the past 46 days.

2026-03-06 23:42:50 UTC

Introduced a fix to how doasedit handles shell variables and text editor order: https://www.patreon.com/posts/152422793

2026-03-03 11:17:57 UTC

Origami Linux combines Fedora, an immutable base, the CachyOS kernel, and the COSMIC desktop: https://distrowatch.com/12747

2026-02-24 16:10:57 UTC

The Manjaro website is currently off-line following an expired certificate: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20140

2026-02-20 13:22:40 UTC

NetBSD's command line tools ports to other platforms: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20138

2026-02-17 14:18:05 UTC

Gentoo is migrating its source code repository to Codeberg: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20134

2026-02-16 14:07:33 UTC

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When it's true, it's not a hoax. PLM requires KDE. A pure KDE system requires PLM. People can work around the PLM component, but it still holds that a pureKDE requires systemd now.
The KDE team should be embarrassed by this attempt to gaslight the open source community.

2026-02-10 00:55:11 UTC

Redox OS being used to develop itself: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20132

2026-02-02 23:56:29 UTC

Our server update over the weekend has also led to improved cache handling so DistroWatch should load faster, particularly when under heavy traffic loads: https://www.patreon.com/posts/149795075

2026-02-02 12:33:51 UTC

Governments have largely ignored privacy, security, financial, and public good arguments for years.
It has only been when these same countries started facing external pressure, in the form of threats of invasion, when they started considering FOSS which would benefit their people and their budgets.
The increased adoption of FOSS is a win, but it should have happened many years ago, and it is a shame it took this long for governments to finally start doing the right thing for their people.(2/2)

2026-02-02 12:30:04 UTC

Lately it has been good to see so many communities, especially in European countries, look to open source software for their computing solutions.
Something that irks me though is that open source enthusiasts, IT people, developers, and privacy advocates have been pushing for governments to adopt Linux (and other open source platforms) for _decades_ with limited success.
(1/2)

2026-01-21 15:36:40 UTC

Another week, another denial of service attack. Thanks for bearing with us as we sort out the wave of traffic today.

2026-01-11 21:53:52 UTC

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Sure, of course it is, the packages are in the repositories. Doesn't mean the ISOs are available, tested, or propagated.

2026-01-11 20:27:48 UTC

Been updating Ron the Robot code, making it a little easier to work with over hotspots and Bluetooth. If you have a Kitronik robot and want to extend its functionality, I've got a lot of low-level code in place to make that easy: https://codeberg.org/thejessesmith/RobotServer

2026-01-11 20:26:07 UTC

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Linux Mint 22.3 has not been announced and it hasn't even been sent out to the mirrors yet. Probably not a good idea to tell people it's available. It's just going to lead to people not being able to find the ISO or, worse, overloading the server that syncs ISO files to the mirrors.

2026-01-08 14:41:49 UTC

20 years ago I used to receive endless comments and e-mails from people complaining about Linux being communist. Now I receive weekly complaints from people who claim Linux is fascist.
I guess people like to group together things they don't understand under one unified umbrella.

2026-01-07 00:39:16 UTC

Google is limiting Android source code releases to twice a year in 2026: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20115

2025-12-30 15:54:41 UTC

I put my Kitronik buggy robot in a plastic container and added tiny wooden paddles. Now I have a remote controlled boat. The code for piloting it is available in my repository:
https://codeberg.org/thejessesmith/RobotServer
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/809/312/259/615/334/original/449d07786ac78e20.jpg

2025-12-09 23:20:51 UTC

Canonical is packaging AMD drivers for AI processing: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20106

2025-10-23 17:09:57 UTC

Fedora has settled the debate on accepting contributions from LLM agents: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20080

2025-10-21 22:56:01 UTC

New features are available in KDE 6.5.0: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20079

2025-10-13 15:44:44 UTC

Fedora is under pressure from Red Hat to adopt more AI tools: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20075

2025-10-11 19:35:51 UTC

OpenBSD 7.8 and Linux Mint Debian Edition 7 should be arriving any day....

2025-10-09 17:58:55 UTC

Kubuntu 25.10 ships with Plasma 6.4 which uses Wayland by default: https://distrowatch.com/12590

2025-10-06 17:40:32 UTC

Frugalware Linux is shutting down after over 20 years in development: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20069

2025-10-01 16:13:17 UTC

Alpine planning to merge /usr: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20067

2025-09-29 00:17:46 UTC

DistroWatch Weekly talks about KDE Linux and GNOME OS, mobile Linux options, Murena introducing phones with kill switches, Redox OS running on a smartphone, Artix dropping GNOME: https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20250929

2025-09-25 10:12:53 UTC

YouTube broke popular download clients. yt-dpl is planning a fix: https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/issues/14404

2025-09-18 11:36:05 UTC

Also on the topic of security and network traffic, a new Security Onion is available: https://distrowatch.com/12559

2025-08-30 22:50:04 UTC

Day 2 with NetBSD is proving challenging, but now that the basic pieces are in place, I've been able to get the core applications I need and added some functionality.
I've got office software, e-mail, text editing, a music player (and volume control!), and I can restart/shutdown from within Xfce. It's been a busy day of getting things sorted, but I feel like it'll be easier from this point.

2025-08-30 00:51:28 UTC

I can already tell NetBSD is going to be challenging. I have used it before, but it has been a while since I made a solid go at it. There are several things not working out of the box that I will be tinkering with before I can get to work.

2025-08-10 21:42:19 UTC

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I feel like people are missing the point of this post. This is not about email management. It is about the insane levels of misinformation being sent to us, often by the project developers/PR teams, sometimes by their users, sometimes by people wanting to harm rival projects. We face a flood of misinformation every week we need to sort through, evaluate, and (sometimes) block.

2025-08-10 20:55:43 UTC

I maintain a (long) e-mail filter which contains a lists of accounts that send spam or repeatedly send us false information about distributions. It's getting long enough it takes Thunderbird several seconds to save it.

2025-08-09 18:21:34 UTC

Debian 13 is now available for download: https://distrowatch.com/12521

2025-08-08 21:25:04 UTC

This explains well why I'm always skeptical of developers/projects who push non-readable file formats: https://adele.pages.casa/md/blog/why-I-prefer-human-readable-file-formats.md

2025-08-08 12:46:37 UTC

Reasons why age verification for legal content is problematic.
https://www.girlonthenet.com/blog/age-verification-whats-the-harm/

2025-07-31 20:42:32 UTC

A Btrfs corruption bug appears to affect recent versions of the Linux kernel, particularly on Fedora (where Btrfs is the default filesystem): https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20037

2025-07-29 20:26:49 UTC

My Kitronik robot now accepts instructions over Bluetooth, allowing it to roam in areas where I don't have access to wi-fi.
https://github.com/slicer69/RobotServer

2025-07-23 22:46:24 UTC

Wayback 0.1 has been released and, while still in its early stages, can run X11 desktops on a Wayland display server: https://wayback.freedesktop.org/news/2025/07/23/wayback-0.1-released/

2025-07-22 23:27:10 UTC

The FreeBSD Foundation is working to make it possible to enable a desktop environment at install time on FreeBSD: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20033

2025-07-20 18:54:55 UTC

A good analogy for dealing with encroaching technologies.
https://blog.foxtrotluna.social/theyre-putting-blue-food-coloring-in-everything/

2025-07-19 15:15:38 UTC

Malware has been discovered in, and removed from, the Arch User Repository: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20031

2025-07-18 17:51:27 UTC

My Kitronik robot now has an option to "play". When this directive is given, the robot will avoid nearby objects/people, follow things moving away from it, and wander around the rest of the time.
https://github.com/slicer69/RobotServer

2025-07-10 19:38:01 UTC

A reminder that Ubuntu 24.10 and its community editions have reached the ends of their supported life spans: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20027

2025-07-09 15:06:21 UTC

A series of articles comparing Wayland vs X11 performance across multiple GPUs and multiple distributions: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20024

2025-06-27 23:59:56 UTC

Oracle Linux 10.0 is now available for people to download and try: https://distrowatch.com/12487

2025-06-23 23:46:59 UTC

Canonical plans to remove GPU exploit mitigation in order to boost Intel's performance by 20%: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20013

2025-06-20 13:52:19 UTC

We now have over 1,000 open source operating systems in our database. Which means we've been adding an average of about one Linux distribution per week for 20 years.

2025-06-20 00:04:16 UTC

Hammer Slackware services are moving to new servers: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20011

2025-06-12 13:22:52 UTC

Bad news for Pixel owners and the open source projects trying to support them: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=20008

2025-06-11 14:18:14 UTC

About of a third of the projects in our database do not run systemd. It's unfortunate to see GNOME turn its back on so many members of the open source community: https://blogs.gnome.org/adrianvovk/2025/06/10/gnome-systemd-dependencies/

2025-06-07 00:39:34 UTC

This degree of compiler speed is impressive. I am curious to see how its code performance compares to LLVM.
https://news.itsfoss.com/tpde-compiler-backend/

2025-05-27 17:42:29 UTC

AlmaLinux OS 10.0 released with compatibility for x86_64-v2, which was dropped by their upstream distro: https://distrowatch.com/12456

2025-04-29 15:31:54 UTC

For people who want to see what is coming next in AlmaLinux OS: https://distrowatch.com/12435

2025-04-27 23:45:33 UTC

OpenBSD 7.7 is now available for download: https://distrowatch.com/12432

2025-04-23 19:51:20 UTC

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Writing code.

2025-04-22 20:11:49 UTC

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Not sure why you are so quick to spread misinformation but it is not welcome here.

2025-04-22 20:10:58 UTC

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I did verify it. When the VPN is enabled everything except the GrapheneOS update tools works and connects to the Internet. The OS update tool reports there is no Internet connection.
As soon as the VPN is disabled the OS update tool connects and downloads the new update. Turning the VPN back on causes the update tool and GrapheneOS store to stop working.

2025-04-22 18:48:15 UTC

Discovered today that GrapheneOS (and its native apps) will not update when a VPN is in place on the phone. Aurora Store and F-Droid will update, but Graphene system updates and default app store don't work over the VPN.
Had been wondering why I hadn't received updates in recent weeks to the core OS, but most apps were updating successfully. Disabled the VPN temporarily and GrapheneOS updated itself, then re-enabled the VPN.

2025-04-18 22:55:29 UTC

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They're not warping your words, they exactly quoted your words. Maybe you should take a step back and think about what you're saying before throwing mud at another open source project.

2025-04-17 21:11:20 UTC

The past few Ubuntu release announcements have made it seem like the developers are not enthusiastic about their distributions and are in a holding pattern. The community spins in particular mostly read like "We had to put up an announcement, the kernel has been updated." There doesn't seem to be much innovation happening.
(The exception seems to be Ubuntu Studio. They still convey excitement and a sense of adding something new to the ecosystem.)

2025-04-17 16:27:32 UTC

Ubuntu, and its many community editions, have arrived: https://distrowatch.com/12415

2025-04-10 16:49:56 UTC

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Windows allows non-admin users to create any folder they want in C: \ ?
That seems like a pretty big security issue on its own.

2025-04-02 15:35:45 UTC

@npub1hpw…cd0d has a new Project Leader who will begin work next month. Welcome to Jef Spaleta! https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=19972

2025-04-01 12:05:07 UTC

@npub1djg…3wvl has introduced several upgrades to Tumbleweed, including package updates for GNOME and Plasma: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=19971

2025-03-27 12:21:56 UTC

A new update from @npub1kx4…0z0u brings fresh translations and more Flatpak support to the Desktop Profiler: https://distrowatch.com/12390

2025-03-24 19:19:57 UTC

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"A lot of the people saying it's better or saying it's worse are probably just guessing inaccurately."
They may be. The reason I asked for examples was you wrote "Battery consumption is much lower in a fresh install of GrapheneOS than the stock OS."
I'm curious on what data that statement was based?

2025-03-23 19:32:59 UTC

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My Pixel 6a running GrapheneOS can easily last two days without a charge, with light/medium use. Though, as privacy_guru pointed out, that's not unexpected for this device. So I'd be curious to see if any direct comparisons have been made.

2025-03-23 16:42:02 UTC

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Have there been any demonstrations or benchmarks published which demonstrate the power savings? I imagine people would find the comparison interesting.

2025-03-23 13:09:52 UTC

Solid minor update from Endeavour to update packages and address a few issues: https://endeavouros.com/news/mercury-neo-with-linux-6-13-7-and-arch-mirror-ranking-bug-fix/

2025-03-19 18:20:35 UTC

@npub1e6c…rv9t 2025.1a is now available with upgrades to Xfce and KDE Plasma: https://distrowatch.com/12381

2025-03-18 13:58:29 UTC

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Yes, thank you for catching the typo. To be clear, the ISO _boots_ just fine, but when I try to open/mount the included squash filesystem image it fails: "wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on /dev/loop1"

2025-03-18 12:51:05 UTC

Anyone else having trouble with the @npub1hpw…cd0d 41 Beta Workstation ISO? The checksum is right, but the squash filesystem included in the ISO is corrupted.

2025-03-17 12:07:34 UTC

@npub1lxt…4044 is gearing up for a new Project Leader election: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=19964

2025-03-11 16:39:16 UTC

Garuda is experimenting with a new COSMIC desktop edition: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=19958

2025-03-07 23:31:40 UTC

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I figured it out, sort of. I can get the system to take a screenshot if I tap power + volume up + volume down at the same time. Just power and one of the volume buttons does nothing, but holding down both volume directions at the same time will take a screenshot. Well, it takes it about every third attempt, not every time.
Going to try this one a few other Android-compatible OSes and see if it's consistent.

2025-03-07 14:39:37 UTC

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I have not installed any software on the OS, this is a completely fresh install of GrapheneOS on a new Pixel 6a. No apps, no add-ons, no third-party launchers.
It's not in a case, the phone is "naked".

2025-03-07 14:27:43 UTC

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Thank you, I appreciate the offer, but I'm not looking to troubleshoot the issue. I'm just observing weird behaviour. This isn't something I need to fix.

2025-03-07 13:26:07 UTC

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If I hold Power and Volume Down at the same time the volume slider appears and the volume is decreased. This only happens when running GrapheneOS, when running stock Android from the OEM it takes a screenshot.
When the Volume Down button is pressed on its own, the volume is lowered. The button definitely works.

2025-03-07 00:51:52 UTC

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I did do the power + volume down combination at the same time and confirmed it worked under the stock Android system the phone came with.. It does not work when running GrapheneOS.

2025-03-07 00:21:37 UTC

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Power and volume down does nothing on GrapheneOS the way it does on Android or Murena. It also is not in the recent apps screen unless an app is open. And it does not appear in the power/emergency/restart menu. I am looking for an option to take screenshots of the home screen and pull down menu.

2025-03-06 23:00:38 UTC

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My step after that is figuring out how to take a screenshot. It's not in the power menu like in other Android-based projects. I can snapshot a specific open app, but not the home screen or apps menu.

2025-03-06 22:44:35 UTC

Really liking the @npub1kwa…e0nj WebUSB installer so far. It's well documented and makes the process point-n-click. So far it seems to be working as advertised.

2025-03-06 22:42:07 UTC

I have an unlocked Pixel 6a which I hope to use to test drive a few mobile, open source projects. @npub1kwa…e0nj is at the top of the list. Trying ouot its web installer now.

2025-03-04 14:07:19 UTC

The @npub1vnu…8mqn project is expanding its list of supported devices and seeking a new name: https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=19955

2025-02-19 17:50:44 UTC

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Yesterday I wrote all of my Python code with semi-colons at the end of each line because I'd just finished working on a C project. The Python interpreter took it as an insult and refuses to speak with me today.

2025-02-17 01:34:34 UTC

DistroWatch Weekly looks at Rhino Linux 2025.1, Xfce 4.20 (on MX Linux), and shares tips on using command line tools to manage input on Wayland. Also talks about the OBS dispute with Fedora, UBports testing 24.04, Asahi's change in leadership, and GhostBSD switching to a fixed base: https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20250217

2025-02-06 01:38:30 UTC

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Thank you, I'm definitely intrigued by some o the unique features..

2025-02-05 20:07:28 UTC

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I don't have more time to troubleshoot it this week, but would be happy to try again after the spring release season. Please remind me in July and I will give it another test run and maybe we can sort out any issues together?

2025-02-05 19:10:57 UTC

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Just one - I can't get it to boot on any test machines or in a VM. It just instantly blank screens. No boot menu, no boot messages, just instant crash with nothing on the screen.

2025-02-05 14:33:32 UTC

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Funny you mention this, I just tried out the latest ISO of Serpent OS this week.

2025-01-30 17:18:29 UTC

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I'd like to give it a test run. Perhaps someone in the GrapheneOS team would send us a demo model so we can try it and add it to our database?

2025-01-30 16:25:38 UTC

I've started playing with Orbitiny, the Qt-based desktop environment. There were a few bumps in the road getting set up, but it seems like a solid release for a version 0.1. Certainly enough features for a future review.
Also planning to review iodeOS in the near future for anyone looking for a privacy-focused mobile OS. It's going to be a fun February for me!

2025-01-28 15:27:21 UTC

postmarketOS has added an option for the Lomiri interface (previously known as Unity 8). In a addition, we've added Lomiri as a searchable interface/desktop on our Search page.
https://distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=showheadline&story=19910

2025-01-27 13:52:16 UTC

Please bear with us, the web server is still up and running, though we know some people are having trouble connecting. We currently suspect that our upstream provider is getting a flood of traffic. So some connections are slow or dropping.