Red Hat’s decision to no longer release the source code of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) as unpacked source RPMs is having consequences for the AlmaLinux project. AlmaLinux was created as a 1:1 copy of RHEL, but now the AlmaLinux Foundation has announced that it is abandoning this goal. Instead, AlmaLinux will focus on being compatible with the Application Binary Interface (ABI), ensuring that applications compiled for RHEL or RHEL clones can also run on AlmaLinux.
The decision to shift focus from a 1:1 copy to ABI compatibility was made after a lengthy discussion by the AlmaLinux Foundation board. This change frees them from the burden of releasing an exact copy of RHEL’s source code. However, AlmaLinux still aims to provide a long-term, enterprise-quality distribution of Linux.
As a result of this decision, there are already changes in the development process. The AlmaLinux team plans to make the sources of their patches transparent by linking them in the comments. They also intend to ask bug reporters to test their reports under CentOS Stream, another RHEL clone. The goal is to focus on correcting errors in the right place.
AlmaLinux was initiated by the CloudLinux company as an alternative to the classic CentOS after Red Hat announced its discontinuation in favor of CentOS Stream. Both AlmaLinux and RockyLinux are meant to be freely available replicas that are binary compatible with RHEL. However, with Red Hat’s decision to only release the source code in the CentOS Stream GitLab, the process of extracting patches for RHEL clones becomes more complicated.
Overall, the shift in focus from a 1:1 copy to ABI compatibility has its consequences for the AlmaLinux project. The foundation hopes to explore new opportunities now that they are no longer bound to replicating RHEL exactly.
