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Community-driven FOSS distributions

I've compiled a list of community-driven, non-corporate FOSS operating systems. What I mean by "community-driven" is distributions that are self-governed, where decisions regarding the direction of the distribution are ultimately made by the community itself and its leadership. This is in contrast to distributions where corporations like IBM/Red Hat, Canonical, and Novell have decision-making power over the direction of the distribution.

AlmaLinux

  • DESCRIPTION : Production-grade enterprise distribution that is binary compatible with RHEL.
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : systemd

Alpine Linux

  • DESCRIPTION : Small, simple, and secure.
  • USERLAND : Musl, BusyBox
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : OpenRC

antiX Linux

  • DESCRIPTION : Fast, lightweight, systemd-free and elogind-free Debian-based Linux distro. Anti-fascist.
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : runit, SysV

Arch Linux

  • DESCRIPTION : Rolling release, cutting edge. Flexible, minimal, Keep It Simple.
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : systemd

Artix Linux

  • DESCRIPTION : Rolling release based on Arch Linux. Fast, simple, and systemd-free.
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : OpenRC, runit, s6, or Dinit

CalyxOS

  • DESCRIPTION : Privacy and security-focused Android-based OS for smartphones, foldables, and tablets. Produced by the Calyx Institute.
  • USERLAND : Android
  • KERNEL : Android
  • INIT : Android

Chimera Linux

  • DESCRIPTION : Simple, transparent.
  • USERLAND : Musl, BSD, LLVM compiler and runtime stack
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : Dinit

Debian GNU/Linux

  • DESCRIPTION : General purpose OS.
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : systemd

Devuan GNU+Linux

  • DESCRIPTION : General purpose. Fork of Debian without systemd. Promotes INIT Freedom.
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : SysV, OpenRC

DragonFly BSD

  • DESCRIPTION : Forked from FreeBSD 4.8. Features the HAMMER2 filesystem, virtual kernels, SMP scalability, and swapcache.
  • USERLAND : DragonFly BSD
  • KERNEL : DragonFly BSD
  • INIT : BSD RC

FreeBSD

  • DESCRIPTION : Native ZFS support. LLVM compiler and runtime. Jails, Bhyve, ports tree contains a wide variety of packages. Firm monolithic coupling between kernel and userland.
  • USERLAND : FreeBSD
  • KERNEL : FreeBSD
  • INIT : BSD RC

GNU Guix System

  • DESCRIPTION : Features Guix functional package manager, based on Nix. Uses Guile Scheme for declarative system configuration. 100% libre.
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux-libre
  • INIT : GNU Shepherd

Gentoo Linux

  • DESCRIPTION : Built from the ground up using the Portage package manager. Packages are traditionally compiled locally from source, but the project now offers binary packages.
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : systemd or OpenRC

GrapheneOS

  • DESCRIPTION : Privacy and security-focused Android OS for Google Pixel devices.
  • USERLAND : Android
  • KERNEL : Android
  • INIT : Android

Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre

  • DESCRIPTION : 100% libre. Arch Linux package manager with LTS patchsets from Debian.
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux-libre
  • INIT : systemd

Linux Mint

  • DESCRIPTION : Based on Ubuntu LTS. Described as "Ubuntu sans Canonical".
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : systemd

MX Linux

  • DESCRIPTION : Based on Debian stable and using core antiX components with additional software created by the MX community. Beginner-friendly.
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : SysV, systemd, OpenRC, runit

NetBSD

  • DESCRIPTION : Focuses on code clarity, careful design, and portability.
  • USERLAND : NetBSD
  • KERNEL : NetBSD
  • INIT : BSD RC

OpenBSD

  • DESCRIPTION : Emphasizes portability, standardization, correctness, proactive security, and integrated cryptography. Minimal base system.
  • USERLAND : OpenBSD
  • KERNEL : OpenBSD
  • INIT : BSD RC

Parabola GNU/Linux-libre

  • DESCRIPTION : 100% libre version of Arch Linux.
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux-libre
  • INIT : systemd

Qubes OS

  • DESCRIPTION : Security-focused desktop OS. Aims to provide security through isolation via the virtualization technology of the Xen hypervisor.
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : systemd

Rocky Linux

  • DESCRIPTION : Production-grade enterprise distribution, bug-for-bug compatible with RHEL. Describes itself as "self-imposed not for-profit."
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : systemd

Slackware

  • DESCRIPTION : Oldest Linux distribution still maintained since 1993. Aims for design stability and simplicity. Makes few as possible modifications to upstream packages. No automatic dependency resolution of packages.
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : SysV

Tails

  • DESCRIPTION : Anonymity and privacy focused distribution. Connects to the internet exclusively through Tor. Designed to be booted as a live DVD or USB and never writes to the hard drive. Leaves no digital footprint by default.
  • USERLAND : GNU
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : systemd

Void Linux

  • DESCRIPTION : Uses X Binary Package System (XBPS) for package management. Offers choice of musl or glibc.
  • USERLAND : Musl or GNU libc
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : runit

postmarketOS

  • DESCRIPTION : Alpine Linux-based distribution for phones. Aims to extend the life of consumer electronics by supporting older devices that are victims of planned obsolescence.
  • USERLAND : Musl
  • KERNEL : Linux
  • INIT : OpenRC, but plans to include systemd

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