RHEL is based on Fedora, but does not have all its packages available in its repositories. So the desktop itself is not an issue, but the issue is in the software. Rocky Linux 9.1 installs with a default GNOME 40 desktop, just like any average Linux distribution: We installed Rocky Linux 9.1 (the current latest version) and gave it a spin on our computer in order to see how well it plays as a desktop Linux distribution. The idea is to have a super-stable operating system as a base, while using Flatpak and/or 3rd-party package repositories to install additional software packages which are not in the official repositories, creating the best of both worlds.

Since the upstream is a Fedora-based distribution as well, then one can enjoy the latest desktop applications desired via Flatpak.

Also thanks for being based on RHEL, you will be getting enterprise-level stable software in your system, which is another nice addition.

It is wonderful to install your OS once and not need to upgrade it for the next decade.

Thanks for being based on RHEL, it will be supported with updates for 10 years.

Many people could consider this option viable because: The world has moved then to distributions like Rocky Linux, Ubuntu, Debian, openSUSE and others.Īll of these distributions are fairly good alternatives for CentOS in the server world, and perhaps Rocky Linux is the best bug-to-bug alternative for it, thanks to its devs focusing on being an exact copy of RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux).īut one could be wondering: Can Rocky Linux be used as a desktop Linux operating system instead of a server? After all, it does ship with a workstation installation option, and a normal GNOME desktop that can be used like any other distribution, so why not?

It has been two years now since Red Hat dropped the red letter for CentOS, and shifted focus towards CentOS Stream.

Rockylinux