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All distributions here share the following characteristics:
Adélie | Alpine | Ataraxia | KISS | Void | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
# packages | 2093 | 4132 | 1122 | 674 | 7039 |
Userland | GNU | BusyBox | OpenBSD | BusyBox (default) | GNU |
Release Schedule | Updates: Monthly ABI breaking: 18 months | 6 months | Rolling | Rolling | Rolling |
Intended use | General; desktop focus | General; server focus | Advanced users | Advanced users | General; desktop focus |
Documentation | WIP (intended: Complete) | Mostly complete | Minimal | Mostly complete | Complete |
Init system / Service manager | OpenRC | OpenRC | systemd | BusyBox runsv | runit |
Default shell | zsh | BusyBox ash | mksh | BusyBox (default) | Bash |
Package version policy | Stable | Latest | Latest | Latest | Mix |
Supports 32-bit? | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Runs on PowerPC?1 | Yes | No | Yes | No | Unofficially |
Adélie has the longest release cycle of any distribution, and is the only non-rolling distro outside of Alpine. We feel this is the best way to ensure stability.
Adélie is a general-purpose Linux distribution with a focus on desktop usage, but support for servers and other roles as well. Most other musl distributions focus on advanced users or non-interactive use.
Adélie focuses on shipping stable releases over the latest, bleeding-edge releases. This is for stability, security, and portability.
All distributions here share the following characteristics:
coreutils
package is used for shell utilities.Adélie | Arch | CentOS | Linux Mint | openSUSE Leap | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
# packages | 2093 | 8498 | 2442 | 22924 | 10728 |
Release Schedule | Updates: Monthly ABI breaking: 18 months | Rolling | 5 years | 6 months | Updates: Monthly ABI breaking: 3-4 years |
Intended use | General; desktop focus | General | Server focus | Desktop focus | General; desktop focus |
Documentation | WIP (intended: Complete) | Complete | Complete | Complete | Complete |
Init system / Service manager | OpenRC | systemd | systemd | systemd | systemd |
Default shell | zsh | Bash | Bash | dash | Bash |
Package version policy | Stable | Latest | Old | Stable | Stable |
Based on | Independent | Independent | RHEL/Fedora | Ubuntu | Independent |
Supports 32-bit? | Yes | Unofficially | No | Unofficially | No |
Runs on PowerPC?1 | Yes | No | 64-bit only | Unofficially2 | No |
Adélie strikes a balance between rolling and very-long-term release schedules by releasing new major versions every 18 months.
Adélie is an independent Linux distribution that uses zsh as its default shell, OpenRC instead of systemd, and runs on virtually all x86, PowerPC/IBM POWER, and ARM systems. Adélie additionally supports 32-bit computers.
Interested in a comparison not listed here? Reach out to our mailing list or IRC.