openSUSE is a community Linux distribution rooted in SUSE Linux and maintained by the openSUSE Project. It has evolved into two main tracks: the stable Leap series and the rolling Tumbleweed series.
- 2005: The openSUSE Project is announced (August 8), opening SUSE Linux development to the community.
- 2006: openSUSE 10.2 becomes the first release under the openSUSE name (December 7).
- 2014: Tumbleweed becomes the official rolling release after merging with Factory (April 23).
- 2015: openSUSE Leap 42.1 launches (November 4), introducing the Leap series based on SUSE Linux Enterprise.
- 2018: openSUSE Leap 15.0 released with SLE 15 base.
- 2024: openSUSE Leap 15.6 is released (June 12).
- 2025: openSUSE Leap 16.0 is released (October 1) with new base, Agama installer, and SELinux default.
- 2026: openSUSE Leap 16.0 continues with monthly updates; Tumbleweed receives continuous rolling updates.
Browse openSUSE history by year:
openSUSE continues as a leading community Linux distribution with multiple release tracks:
| Version |
Release Date |
Track |
Kernel |
Support |
| Leap 16.0 |
2025-10-01 |
Leap |
6.12 LTS |
24 months |
| Leap 15.6 |
2024-06-12 |
Leap |
6.4 |
Legacy support |
| Tumbleweed |
Rolling |
Tumbleweed |
6.13+ |
Continuous |
| Track |
Description |
Update Frequency |
Recommended For |
| Leap |
Fixed releases based on SLE |
Major releases every ~2 years |
Production, enterprise, stability |
| Tumbleweed |
Rolling release |
Daily updates |
Developers, enthusiasts, latest software |
| Slowroll |
Slow-rolling release |
Monthly snapshots |
Balance between stability and freshness |
| Tool |
Purpose |
| YaST |
System configuration and administration |
| Zypper |
Command-line package manager |
| Myrlyn |
GUI package manager (Leap 16+) |
| Agama |
Web-based installer (Leap 16+) |
| Snapper |
Btrfs snapshot management |
| Cockpit |
Web-based system management |
| openQA |
Automated testing framework |
Major Changes:
- New Base: Built on SUSE Linux Enterprise 16 (SLES) and SUSE Linux Framework One
- Agama Installer: New web-based installer replaces YaST for installation
- SELinux Default: SELinux replaces AppArmor as default security module
- Wayland-First: Wayland is default display server; X11 deprecated
- 64-bit Only: x86-64-v2 minimum requirement (CPUs from 2008+)
- Y2038-Ready: Prepared for year 2038 Unix timestamp issue
- Annual Releases: Plan for annual minor releases through 2031 (Leap 16.6)
- Continuous Updates: Daily snapshot releases with latest software
- Kernel Updates: Latest stable kernels (6.13+)
- Desktop Updates: Latest KDE Plasma, GNOME, Xfce versions
- openQA Testing: Automated testing ensures snapshot quality
- New Track: Slowroll offers monthly snapshots between Leap and Tumbleweed
- Target Users: Users wanting newer software than Leap but more stability than Tumbleweed
| Version |
Release Date |
Base |
Kernel |
Support |
| 16.0 |
2025-10-01 |
SLE 16 |
6.12 LTS |
24 months |
| 15.6 |
2024-06-12 |
SLE 15 SP6 |
6.4 |
Legacy |
| 15.5 |
2023-06-07 |
SLE 15 SP5 |
5.14 |
Legacy |
| 15.4 |
2022-06-08 |
SLE 15 SP4 |
5.14 |
Legacy |
| 15.3 |
2021-06-02 |
SLE 15 SP3 |
5.3 |
Legacy |
| 15.2 |
2020-07-02 |
SLE 15 SP2 |
5.3 |
Legacy |
| 15.1 |
2019-05-22 |
SLE 15 SP1 |
4.12 |
Legacy |
| 15.0 |
2018-05-25 |
SLE 15 |
4.12 |
Legacy |
| 42.3 |
2017-07-26 |
SLE 12 |
4.4 |
Legacy |
| 42.2 |
2016-11-16 |
SLE 12 |
4.4 |
Legacy |
| 42.1 |
2015-11-04 |
SLE 12 |
4.1 |
Legacy |
| Year |
Snapshots |
Kernel |
Notes |
| 2026 |
Continuous |
6.13+ |
Latest rolling release |
| 2025 |
Continuous |
6.12+ |
Continuous updates |
| 2024 |
Continuous |
6.6+ |
Continuous updates |
- https://news.opensuse.org/2023/08/09/18-years-of-opensuse/
- https://en.opensuse.org/Archive:OpenSUSE_10.2
- https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Tumbleweed
- https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Leap
- https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:15.6
- https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:16.0
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenSUSE
- https://itsfoss.com/news/opensuse-leap-16-release/
- https://news.opensuse.org/