[Reno, NV, June 22, 2023] – Rocky Linux, a prominent community-driven open-source distribution of Enterprise Linux (EL), remains confident in its ability to continue as a bug-for-bug compatible and freely available alternative to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), despite changes in accessibility. Red Hat’s announcement yesterday states that the sources for RHEL will no longer be accessible from git.centos.org. While this decision does change the automation we use for building Rocky Linux, we have already created a short term mitigation and are developing the longer term strategy. There will be no disruption or change for any Rocky Linux users, collaborators, or partners.
“I believe that open source should always be freely available and completely stable. It should never be hidden behind a paywall, nor should it be controlled by a single company,” states Gregory Kurtzer, founder of the Rocky Linux project and chair of the board of the Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation, which hosts the project. “Red Hat’s decision to limit the distribution of their sources has created a minor inconvenience for the Rocky Linux team, but due to fast development and an amazing group, there is no disruption to Rocky Linux users. Moving forward we are becoming even more stable, supported, and secure.”
The Rocky Linux community strongly believes in the open source value of collaboration. Rocky Linux contributors have participated as a responsible part of the EL ecosystem, regularly contributing upstream to CentOS Stream as well as Fedora, and other open source projects. These contributions strengthen the entire EL community.
Rocky Linux remains dedicated to its mission of delivering a community-based, accessible, and transparent EL operating system. The project pledges to keep its promise to maintain the full life-span of support for Rocky 8 and 9, and to continue to produce future RHEL-compatible versions as long as the option remains, allowing organizations to maintain the flexibility, control, and freedom they rely upon for their critical infrastructure. This is the open source way.
Rocky Linux, founded in 2020, emerged as a leading distribution of community-driven open-source Enterprise Linux in response to Red Hat’s premature end-of-life announcement of CentOS as a stable downstream RHEL distribution. The Rocky Linux project is hosted by the Rocky Enterprise Software Foundation (RESF), which was created with the mission to ensure the longevity, stewardship, and innovation of enterprise-class open-source software, always maintaining its free availability.
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For media inquiries or further information, please contact:
Krista Burdine | Community Manager | Rocky Enterprise Linux Foundation | hello@resf.org