CloudLinux has named the free CentOS replacement AlmaLinux, previously code-named Project Lenix.

Following Red Hat’s December 2020 announcement that the CentOS stable release is no longer under development, CloudLinux launched a project to deliver a drop-in replacement. The project was code-named Project Lenix.

Project Lenix has now crystallized into AlmaLinux, a 1:1 binary compatible fork of RHEL 8, with a migration path from CentOS to AlmaLinux. Future RHEL releases will also be forked into a new AlmaLinux release.

CloudLinux backs AlmaLinux with $1 million annual investment in development, and a commitment to supporting AlmaLinux through 2029.

“The demise of the CentOS stable release left a very large gap in the Linux community which prompted CloudLinux to step in and launch a CentOS alternative,” said Igor Seletskiy, CEO and founder of CloudLinux Inc.

“For CloudLinux it was an obvious move: the Linux community was in need, and the CloudLinux OS is a CentOS clone with significant pedigree – including over 200,000 active server instances. AlmaLinux is built with CloudLinux expertise but will be owned and governed by the community. We intend to deliver this forever-free Linux distribution this quarter,” Seletskiy added.

The team at CloudLinux has spent 10 years building, developing, and supporting the CloudLinux OS. CloudLinux OS supports enterprise-scale server fleets in the cloud and is in itself a version of CentOS, the free RHEL fork.

AlmaLinux will be available in the first quarter this year.