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Linux began in 1991 as a kernel project associated with Linus Torvalds. It became the foundation for a much larger free-software ecosystem when developers combined the kernel with other system components, including software from the GNU Project. The distinction matters: Linux is the kernel, while a Linux distribution packages that kernel with the software needed to make a usable operating system.
What is Linux?
Linux is the kernel at the center of many operating systems. A kernel is the core software that manages a computer’s hardware and provides basic services to the programs running on it. By itself, Linux is not the complete desktop or server system most people mean when they say they want to use Linux.
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The Linux kernel project recommends that people looking for a complete system use a distribution. A distribution combines the kernel with other software and tools into an installable operating system. The kernel project describes Linux as a Unix clone written from scratch by Torvalds with help from a loosely connected network of developers. Linux kernel project: About Linux Kernel
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| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Linux | The kernel: the core component that manages hardware and supports the rest of the system. |
| Linux distribution | A packaged, usable operating system that includes the Linux kernel and other software. |
How did Linux start?
The history of Linux sits alongside, but is distinct from, the history of GNU. In 1983, Richard Stallman announced plans for the GNU Project: an effort to build a free Unix-like operating system. That announcement predates the Linux kernel project and establishes that GNU’s system work was already underway. GNU Project: Initial Announcement of the GNU Project
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Torvalds developed the Linux kernel in 1991. The kernel project’s overview characterizes it as a Unix clone written from scratch by Torvalds with assistance from distributed developers. GNU’s account says the kernel was initially developed under proprietary terms and that Torvalds made it free software in 1992. Linux kernel project: About Linux Kernel GNU Project: About the GNU Project
Why do people say GNU/Linux?
The GNU Project’s historical account is that its system was largely complete but still lacked a kernel; Linux filled that gap. In this framing, combining Linux with the GNU system produced a complete free operating system. The GNU Project therefore uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the GNU system’s contribution. This is GNU’s account of the history and naming, not a claim that Linux was created as part of the GNU Project: Linux and GNU began as distinct projects. GNU Project: Linux and GNU
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In everyday usage, “Linux” often refers to a complete distribution, even though technically it names the kernel. “GNU/Linux” makes the GNU connection explicit. The terms reflect different emphases: the kernel’s name, the assembled operating system, and the contributions of projects that helped make it usable.
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Linux has grown from an individual kernel project into a large collaborative effort. The kernel documentation currently describes the codebase as more than 8 million lines of code, with more than 1,000 contributors per release. These are the documentation’s current figures, not fixed counts that apply to every release or future version. Linux kernel documentation: Introduction
Development takes place through public review and a regular release process. The project documentation describes a typical cycle of roughly two or three months, involving a merge stage followed by release candidates. The duration is a typical pattern rather than a guarantee that every cycle lasts exactly the same amount of time. Linux kernel documentation: How the development process works
What Linux’s history explains
- Linux is a kernel, not a complete system by itself. Distributions package it with the components people need to use an operating system.
- GNU and Linux have separate origins. GNU’s effort toward a free Unix-like system began before Torvalds developed the Linux kernel.
- Their combination shaped the free operating-system ecosystem. GNU’s account describes Linux as filling a kernel gap in its system.
- The kernel remains a collaborative project. Its documentation describes public development, review, and recurring releases.
Further reading on Linux’s early history
The University of Oxford Department of Statistics’ Linux handout points readers to Just for Fun: The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary, a book about Linux’s early history. University of Oxford: Who makes Linux?
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