CentOS (Community ENTerprise Operating System) is a community rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) that provided a free, enterprise‑grade platform for many years. The project began in 2004 and became a widely used server distribution due to its long lifecycle and binary compatibility with RHEL.
- 2004: CentOS is first released (March 18), based on RHEL 2.1.
- 2005: CentOS 4 released, establishing the modern CentOS series.
- 2007: CentOS 5 released with enhanced virtualization support.
- 2011: CentOS 6 released with improved security and performance.
- 2014: CentOS 7 released (July 7); CentOS joins Red Hat, formalizing collaboration while remaining community‑driven.
- 2019: CentOS 8 is released (September 24); CentOS Stream 8 announced as future direction.
- 2020: Red Hat announces CentOS Stream as the future direction; CentOS Linux 8 is slated for early EOL.
- 2021: CentOS Linux 8 reaches end of life (December 31); CentOS Stream becomes the primary path; CentOS Stream 9 released (September 15).
- 2024: CentOS Linux 7 reaches end of life (June 30); CentOS Stream 10 released (December 12).
- 2025: Secure Boot support added to CentOS Stream 9 and 10; CentOS Stream 8 reaches EOL (May 31).
- 2026: CentOS Stream remains the actively maintained rolling‑preview line for future RHEL releases; CentOS Connect 2026 conference held (January 29-30).
CentOS Stream continues as the upstream development branch for RHEL:
- Release Model: Rolling-release preview of upcoming RHEL minor releases
- Release Cycle: New major version every 3 years; 5-year maintenance lifecycle
- Active Versions:
- CentOS Stream 10 (December 2024, EOL 2030-01-01)
- CentOS Stream 9 (September 2021, EOL 2027-05-31)
- EOL Versions: CentOS Stream 8 (EOL May 31, 2024)
- Governance: Maintained by Red Hat with community contributions
- Development Model: Open development; anyone can contribute changes via Gerrit
- Use Cases: Production OS, development environment, RHEL preview, SIG foundation
- Secure Boot: Supported on CentOS Stream 9 (since 2025) and 10
- Package Manager: DNF 5 (Stream 10), DNF 4 (Stream 9)
| Version |
Release Date |
Status |
End of Support |
Secure Boot |
| CentOS Stream 10 |
2024-12-12 |
🟢 Active |
2030-01-01 |
✅ Yes |
| CentOS Stream 9 |
2021-09-15 |
🟢 Active |
2027-05-31 |
✅ Yes |
| CentOS Stream 8 |
2019-09-24 |
🔴 EOL |
2024-05-31 |
❌ No |
- 2024-2026: CentOS Stream 10 released (December 12, 2024) as the latest major version based on Fedora 40
- Security: Secure Boot implementation completed for Stream 9 (2025) and Stream 10; enhanced security for production deployments
- Community: CentOS Connect conferences continue to engage the community (2026 conference held January 29-30)
- EOL Transitions: CentOS Linux 7 EOL (June 2024) completed; migration paths to Stream, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux established
- CentOS Stream 8 EOL: Reached end of life on May 31, 2024; users migrated to Stream 9/10 or alternatives
- DNF 5: CentOS Stream 10 ships with DNF 5, the next-generation package manager
- Kernel Updates: Stream 10 includes Linux 6.12+ LTS kernel with modern hardware support
Browse CentOS history by year:
CentOS Linux was a downstream rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL):
| Characteristic |
Description |
| Source |
RHEL source code (released under open source licenses) |
| Binary Compatibility |
100% binary compatible with corresponding RHEL version |
| Release Cycle |
Followed RHEL release cycle with slight delay |
| Support |
Community-supported; ~10 year lifecycle per major version |
| Cost |
Free to use; no subscription required |
| Version |
Release Date |
EOL Date |
Support Duration |
Based On |
| CentOS 4 |
2005-03-18 |
2012-02-29 |
~7 years |
RHEL 4 |
| CentOS 5 |
2007-04-12 |
2017-03-31 |
~10 years |
RHEL 5 |
| CentOS 6 |
2011-07-10 |
2020-11-30 |
~9 years |
RHEL 6 |
| CentOS 7 |
2014-07-07 |
2024-06-30 |
~10 years |
RHEL 7 |
| CentOS 8 |
2019-09-24 |
2021-12-31 |
~2 years |
RHEL 8 |
In December 2020, Red Hat announced significant changes to CentOS:
| Change |
Impact |
| CentOS 8 EOL |
Accelerated from 2029 to December 31, 2021 |
| CentOS Stream Focus |
Shift to upstream development model |
| Community Reaction |
Mixed; some users migrated to alternatives |
| Alternatives Emerged |
AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux founded as RHEL clones |
CentOS Stream is a midstream distribution between Fedora and RHEL:
Fedora (Upstream) → CentOS Stream (Midstream) → RHEL (Downstream)
| Characteristic |
Description |
| Position |
Midstream - ahead of RHEL, behind Fedora |
| Purpose |
Preview of upcoming RHEL minor releases |
| Development |
Open development via Gerrit; community contributions welcome |
| Release Cycle |
Continuous delivery; major versions every ~3 years |
| Support |
5-year lifecycle per major version |
| Use Cases |
Production, development, RHEL preview, CI/CD |
| Version |
Release Date |
EOL Date |
Based On |
Kernel |
| Stream 8 |
2019-09-24 |
2024-05-31 |
Fedora 28 |
4.18 |
| Stream 9 |
2021-09-15 |
2027-05-31 |
Fedora 34 |
5.14 LTS |
| Stream 10 |
2024-12-12 |
2030-01-01 |
Fedora 40 |
6.12+ LTS |
CentOS Connect is the annual community conference:
| Year |
Date |
Location |
Notes |
| 2024 |
January |
Virtual/In-person |
Community engagement |
| 2025 |
January |
Virtual/In-person |
Stream 10 preview |
| 2026 |
January 29-30 |
Virtual/In-person |
Latest developments |
| Organization |
Role |
| Red Hat |
Primary sponsor and maintainer of CentOS Stream |
| CentOS Project |
Community governance body |
| CentOS Special Interest Groups (SIGs) |
Community-driven specialized projects |
| SIG |
Focus |
| Virtualization |
KVM, Xen, container technologies |
| Storage |
Ceph, GlusterFS, storage solutions |
| NFV |
Network Functions Virtualization |
| RISC-V |
RISC-V architecture support |
| AltArch |
Alternative architectures (ARM, POWER, etc.) |
Following the CentOS Stream transition, several alternatives emerged:
| Distribution |
Founded |
Model |
Notes |
| AlmaLinux |
2021 |
RHEL clone |
Community-owned; 1:1 binary compatible |
| Rocky Linux |
2021 |
RHEL clone |
Founded by CentOS co-founder Gregory Kurtzer |
| Oracle Linux |
2006 |
RHEL clone |
Oracle-supported; free tier available |
| RHEL Developer |
Ongoing |
RHEL |
Free developer subscription (up to 16 systems) |
- https://wiki.centos.org/About/Product
- https://www.centos.org/about/
- https://blog.centos.org/
- https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/centos-stream-building-innovative-future-enterprise-linux
- https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/centos-linux-8-eol