AlmaLinux: Versions, Support Dates & vs Rocky Linux

This is a working reference on AlmaLinux — the same material our Linux server support team uses when assessing enterprise Linux estates. It covers what AlmaLinux is, the current versions and their support end dates, what ABI compatibility with RHEL means in practice, migration paths from CentOS, and how it compares with Rocky Linux.

What is AlmaLinux

AlmaLinux is a free enterprise Linux distribution built to be application-compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It was launched in 2021 by CloudLinux Inc. as a replacement for CentOS Linux after Red Hat ended that distribution, and was then handed to an independent non-profit. The AlmaLinux OS Foundation is a 501(c)(6) non-profit that owns and governs the project; CloudLinux remains the largest sponsor at $1M per year, alongside more than 25 other sponsors, but holds no special control over the foundation.

The distribution is positioned as "community owned and governed, forever-free," with no paid tier, no license keys, and no registration requirement. Membership in the foundation is open, and the board is elected by members.

Versions and support dates

Three major versions are current. Each major version receives roughly ten years of updates: an active-support phase with full updates and minor releases, followed by a security-support phase with security fixes only. Dates below are from the AlmaLinux release notes wiki.

AlmaLinux 8 is past active support: 8.10 is the final minor release, and the branch now receives security updates only, through May 2029. Individual minor versions (9.7, 10.1, and so on) are superseded when the next minor release ships; only the newest minor of each major version receives updates.

ABI compatibility with RHEL, not bug-for-bug

Until mid-2023, AlmaLinux rebuilt RHEL sources 1:1 and aimed for bug-for-bug identity with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. After Red Hat restricted public access to RHEL source code in June 2023, the foundation board changed course, as documented in its "Future of AlmaLinux" announcement: the target is now ABI compatibility — applications built for RHEL run unmodified on AlmaLinux — rather than an exact copy of RHEL's source tree.

Practically, this means:

• Software, drivers, and kernel modules built for a given RHEL major version are expected to work on the matching AlmaLinux version. The project states that everything from applications to kernel modules that works on RHEL works on AlmaLinux.
• AlmaLinux can accept bug fixes and security patches outside Red Hat's release cycle, so a fix may land in AlmaLinux before the corresponding RHEL update — and occasionally a bug present in RHEL will be absent in AlmaLinux, or the reverse.
• Releases are no longer gated on reproducing RHEL exactly, which in practice has let AlmaLinux ship some updates and hardware-enablement changes faster than a pure rebuild could.

For background on the upstream product this tracks, see our Red Hat Enterprise Linux reference.

Migrating from CentOS

Two official tools cover the common paths, both documented on the AlmaLinux wiki.

almalinux-deploy: same-version conversion

The almalinux-deploy script converts a running EL system to AlmaLinux of the same major version in place. Supported sources include CentOS 8, CentOS Stream 8/9/10, Rocky Linux 8/9/10, Oracle Linux 8/9/10, RHEL 8/9/10, and others; systems running cPanel, Plesk, or DirectAdmin are supported. The system must be at least version 8.4 on EL8, with 512 MB free in /boot, and a backup or snapshot taken first. The tool is run as sudo bash almalinux-deploy.sh after downloading it from the AlmaLinux GitHub repository.

ELevate: major-version upgrades

The ELevate project handles in-place upgrades between major versions using the Leapp framework: CentOS 7 to AlmaLinux 8, EL8 to EL9, and EL9 to EL10. Each run is a single hop, so a CentOS 7 machine reaching AlmaLinux 9 or 10 goes through sequential upgrades (7 to 8, then 8 to 9, then 9 to 10). ELevate carries migration metadata for common third-party repositories — EPEL, Docker CE, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, nginx, and others — which is the part most upgrade attempts fail on without it.

Extended security coverage for EL8

AlmaLinux 8 itself receives security updates from the project through May 31, 2029 — several release cycles after active support ended in 2024, and at no cost. This differs from CentOS Linux 8, which lost all upstream updates at the end of 2021. Beyond the project's own window, commercial vendors sell extended lifecycle patching for EL systems: TuxCare (a CloudLinux company) offers Extended Lifecycle Support and live kernel patching (KernelCare) for AlmaLinux and other EL distributions, which is the usual route for hosts that must outlive the 2029 date.

AlmaLinux vs. Rocky Linux

Both distributions exist for the same reason — the end of CentOS Linux — and both target RHEL compatibility. The differences are structural rather than functional; a detailed profile of the other project is in our Rocky Linux reference.

For workloads, the choice rarely changes anything: both run the same RHEL-targeted software. The decision usually comes down to governance preference and whether strict source identity with RHEL (Rocky) or independence from Red Hat's source distribution decisions (AlmaLinux) matters to the organization.

Commercial support and control panels

The project itself sells nothing; paid support comes from third parties, principally TuxCare/CloudLinux, along with the support arms of major hosting and hardware vendors. AlmaLinux is a supported operating system for cPanel & WHM — cPanel adopted it as its lead RHEL-compatible platform after CentOS ended — and for Plesk and DirectAdmin, which is why it is now the default OS on much of the shared-hosting market.

FAQ

Is AlmaLinux free?

Yes. There is no paid edition, no subscription, and no registration. The project is funded by sponsors through the AlmaLinux OS Foundation.

Is AlmaLinux the same as RHEL?

No. It is ABI-compatible: applications, drivers, and kernel modules built for RHEL run on the matching AlmaLinux version, but since 2023 the source code is not guaranteed to be an exact copy of RHEL's.

How long is AlmaLinux supported?

Roughly ten years per major version. AlmaLinux 8 receives security updates until May 31, 2029; AlmaLinux 9 until May 31, 2032; AlmaLinux 10 until May 31, 2035.

Can I upgrade CentOS 7 directly to AlmaLinux 9?

Not in one step. ELevate performs single-hop upgrades, so the path is CentOS 7 to AlmaLinux 8, then 8 to 9 (and optionally 9 to 10), with validation between hops.