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| Important Note |
Please note that we have put together a series of common search results for people looking for distributions that are beginner friendly, offer UEFI support, Secure Boot support, do not use systemd or that have a Raspberry Pi edition. Clicking any of the above links will take you immediately to the appropriate search results.
If you are looking for an article, tutorial or feature, please use our
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| Package search |
Search the DistroWatch database for distributions using a particular package. If you are looking for a distribution with the latest kernel, select "linux" from the drop-down box below and type the version number into the text box next to it. Please note that the best way to obtain the GNOME version is by searching for "nautilus", while KDE Plasma is represented by the "plasma-desktop" package. Apache 2.x is listed as "httpd". As for versioning, if no version number is provided, this page will return any recent versions of the selected package. It is also possible to perform searches for distributions which do not contain a specific package. This returns a list of distributions where the given package is not present on the installation media.
The package version search offers the ability to search for packages which are close
to a specific version, exactly equal to a specific version, greater than or less than
a given version. The second field in the search form allows visitors to switch between
these relations. Most people will probably want to use the like option as it will
search for packages close to a given version. When no version is specified, like
finds packages close to the latest version.
Have fun and let us know how we can improve the search engine!
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| Search by Distribution Criteria (Simple Search Form) |
This section allows you to search for a particular distribution based on certain criteria. Select the criteria from the drop-down and check boxes below and hit the Submit Query button to get a list of known distributions that match your choice.
The following distributions match your criteria (sorted by popularity):
1. Debian (4)
The Debian Project is an association of individuals who have made common cause to create a free operating system. This operating system is called Debian. Debian systems currently use the Linux kernel. Linux is a completely free piece of software started by Linus Torvalds and supported by thousands of programmers worldwide. Of course, the thing that people want is application software: programs to help them get what they want to do done, from editing documents to running a business to playing games to writing more software. Debian comes with over 50,000 packages (precompiled software that is bundled up in a nice format for easy installation on your machine) - all of it free. It's a bit like a tower. At the base is the kernel. On top of that are all the basic tools. Next is all the software that you run on the computer. At the top of the tower is Debian -- carefully organizing and fitting everything so it all works together.
2. Fedora (8)
Fedora (formerly Fedora Core) is a Linux distribution developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and owned by Red Hat. Fedora contains software distributed under a free and open-source license and aims to be on the leading edge of such technologies. Fedora has a reputation for focusing on innovation, integrating new technologies early on and working closely with upstream Linux communities. The default desktop in Fedora is the GNOME desktop environment and the default interface is the GNOME Shell. Other desktop environments, including KDE, Xfce, LXDE, MATE and Cinnamon, are available. Fedora Project also distributes custom variations of Fedora called Fedora spins. These are built with specific sets of software packages, offering alternative desktop environments or targeting specific interests such as gaming, security, design, scientific computing and robotics.
3. TrueOS (9)
TrueOS has as its goals to be an easy-to-install-and-use desktop and server operating system, based on FreeBSD. To accomplish this, it provides a graphical installation to enable even UNIX novices to easily install and get it running. It pre-configures desktop environments, video, sound, and networking so that the desktop can be used immediately. A graphical software installation program makes installing pre-built software as easy as other popular operating systems.
4. FreeBSD (38)
FreeBSD is a UNIX-like operating system for the i386, amd64, IA-64, arm, MIPS, powerpc, ppc64, PC-98 and UltraSPARC platforms based on U.C. Berkeley's "4.4BSD-Lite" release, with some "4.4BSD-Lite2" enhancements. It is also based indirectly on William Jolitz's port of U.C. Berkeley's "Net/2" to the i386, known as "386BSD", though very little of the 386BSD code remains. FreeBSD is used by companies, Internet Service Providers, researchers, computer professionals, students and home users all over the world in their work, education and recreation. FreeBSD comes with over 20,000 packages (pre-compiled software that is bundled for easy installation), covering a wide range of areas: from server software, databases and web servers, to desktop software, games, web browsers and business software - all free and easy to install.
5. Gentoo Linux (43)
Gentoo Linux is a versatile and fast, completely free Linux distribution geared towards developers and network professionals. Unlike other distros, Gentoo Linux has an advanced package management system called Portage. Portage is a true ports system in the tradition of BSD ports, but is Python-based and sports a number of advanced features including dependencies, fine-grained package management, "fake" (OpenBSD-style) installs, safe unmerging, system profiles, virtual packages, config file management, and more.
6. NixOS (60)
NixOS is an independently developed GNU/Linux distribution that aims to improve the state of the art in system configuration management. In NixOS, the entire operating system, including the kernel, applications, system packages and configuration files, are built by the Nix package manager. Nix stores all packages in isolation from each other; as a result there are no /bin, /sbin, /lib or /usr directories and all packages are kept in /nix/store instead. Other innovative features of NixOS include reliable upgrades, rollbacks, reproducible system configurations, source-based model with binaries, and multi-user package management. Although NixOS started as a research project, it is now a functional and usable operating system that includes hardware detection, KDE as the default desktop, and systemd for managing system services.
7. DragonFly BSD (65)
DragonFly is an operating system and environment designed to be the logical continuation of the FreeBSD-4.x OS series. These operating systems belong in the same class as Linux in that they are based on UNIX ideals and APIs. DragonFly is a fork in the path, so to speak, giving the BSD base an opportunity to grow in an entirely new direction from the one taken in the FreeBSD-5 series.
8. BlackArch Linux (66)
BlackArch Linux is an Arch Linux-based distribution designed for penetration testers and security researchers. It is supplied as a live DVD image that comes with several lightweight window managers, including Fluxbox, Openbox, Awesome and spectrwm. It ships with over a thousand specialist tools for penetration testing and forensic analysis.
9. Ultimate Edition (74)
Ultimate Edition, first released in December 2006, is a fork of Ubuntu and Linux Mint. The goal of the project is to create a complete, seamlessly integrated, visually stimulating, and easy-to-install operating system. Single-button upgrade is one of several special characteristics of this distribution. Other main features include custom desktop and theme with 3D effects, support for a wide range of networking options, including WiFi and Bluetooth, and integration of many extra applications and package repositories.
10. OpenBSD (82)
The OpenBSD project produces a free, multi-platform BSD 4.4-based UNIX-like operating system. Its efforts emphasize portability, standardisation, correctness, proactive security and integrated cryptography. The project also develops the widely-used and popular OpenSSH (OpenBSD Secure Shell) software, which provides encrypted communication sessions over a computer network using the SSH protocol.
11. heads (114)
heads is a privacy-focused Linux distribution designed to make it easy for users to access the Internet anonymously using the Tor network. heads is based on Devuan and features only free (libre) software. The Linux kernel has had non-free blobs removed.
12. NetBSD (117)
NetBSD is a free, secure, and highly portable UNIX-like Open Source operating system available for many platforms, from 64-bit AlphaServers and desktop systems to handheld and embedded devices. Its clean design and advanced features make it excellent in both production and research environments, and it is user-supported with complete source. Many applications are easily available through The NetBSD Packages Collection.
13. LinuxBBQ (201)
LinuxBBQ is a multi-purpose operating system based on Debian's "unstable" branch and spiced up with kernels and tools from siduction, Grml and Linux Mint. LinuxBBQ offers different flavours and desktops which are released as "editions" (with no version numbers) and which can be customised and remixed by the user. The individual editions are built to include most major desktop environments (with the exception of GNOME) and there is a special edition offering a choice of no fewer than 53 window managers - everything from aewm to xmonad.
14. MidnightBSD (212)
MidnightBSD is a FreeBSD-derived operating system. A critical goal of the project is to create an easy-to-use desktop environment with graphical ports management, and system configuration using GNUstep. The vast majority of the operating system will maintain a BSD license. MidnightBSD was forked from FreeBSD 6.1 beta.
15. Exherbo (222)
Exherbo is a source-based Linux distribution inspired by the flexibility found in Gentoo Linux (among others). Designed primarily for developers and advanced users who are expected to take an active role in the development of the distribution, Exherbo offers a decentralised development model, original code, and a fast and flexible package manager called Paludis.
16. GoboLinux (233)
GoboLinux is a modular Linux distribution - it organizes the programs in a new, logical way. Instead of having parts of a program thrown at /usr/bin, other parts at /etc and yet more parts thrown at /usr/share/something/or/another, each program gets its own directory tree, keeping them all neatly separated and allowing the user to see everything that's installed in the system and which files belong to which programs in a simple and obvious way.
17. T2 SDE (259)
T2 is an open source system development environment (or distribution build kit if you are more familiar with that term). T2 allows the creation of custom distributions with bleeding edge technology. Currently, the Linux kernel is normally used - but we are expanding to Hurd, OpenDarwin and OpenBSD; more to come. T2 started as a community driven fork from the ROCK Linux Project with the aim to create a decentralised development and a clean framework for spin-off projects and customised distributions.
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| Search by Distribution Criteria (Advanced Search Form) |
The advanced search form allows you to fine tune your search criteria by including multiple items in your search. Once completed, it will also allow you to display the result either as a list of all matching distributions with their descriptions, or in a sorted tabular format.
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