Parabola GNU/Linux-libre

A fully free-software fork of Arch Linux, removing proprietary packages and non-free firmware from Arch's repositories and shipping the Linux-libre kernel instead of mainline Linux.

Specialty & Nicherolling-releaseArch-basedfree-softwareFSF-endorsedDownload ↗Official site ↗Docs / Wiki ↗

Based on

Arch Linux

First released

2009

Package manager

pacman

Desktop environments

None by default (fully user-chosen, matching Arch's install model)

Parabola takes Arch Linux's rolling-release model, pacman package manager, and DIY installation philosophy, and applies the Free Software Foundation's free-software guidelines to it -- stripping non-free packages and firmware from its repositories and replacing the standard Linux kernel with Linux-libre, a version with all proprietary firmware blobs removed. It's another of the small set of FSF-endorsed distributions, giving Arch-experienced users who care about strict software-freedom principles a way to keep Arch's technical model without compromising on that stance the way running plain Arch (which does include non-free options) would.

MirrorNest doesn't mirror distro ISOs — installation media should always come straight from the project's own official download page (linked above), so you get the correct checksum/signature to verify against.