elementary OS began as a set of themes and apps for Ubuntu before becoming a full Linux distribution with a distinct desktop environment and curated apps.
- 2011: elementary OS 0.1 “Jupiter” is released.
- 2013: elementary OS 0.2 “Luna” ships with the Pantheon desktop.
- 2016: elementary OS 0.4 “Loki” arrives, aligned with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS.
- 2018: elementary OS 5.0 “Juno” launches on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS.
- 2021: elementary OS 6.0 “Odin” launches on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.
- 2024: elementary OS 8.0 “Circe” begins the 8.x series on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
- 2025: elementary OS 8.1 “Circe” ships as a point release.
Browse elementary OS history by year:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elementary_OS
- https://github.com/elementary/os/wiki/Release-Upgrades
- https://blog.elementary.io/os-8-available-now/
- https://blog.elementary.io/os-8-1-available-now/
- https://blog.elementary.io/os-7-1-available-now/
- https://blog.elementary.io/elementary-os-6-1-available-now/
- https://blog.elementary.io/introducing-elementary-os-5-1-hera/