Try Linux Distributions Online
Browse Linux distributions, exact releases, and desktops, then launch an available target as a browser virtual machine. No local install required.
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Endless OS10 targets, 10 availableEndless OS is built by a nonprofit foundation for a specific audience: households, schools, and communities where internet access is expensive, slow, or absent. Its striking design choice is shipping knowledge with the computer, preloading offline encyclopedias, lessons, and utilities so the machine is useful the day it arrives. Technically it departs from ordinary Debian ancestry: the root filesystem is read-only and updated atomically through OSTree, applications install exclusively as Flatpaks, and there is no traditional package manager for the base system, which makes the OS hard to break and easy to keep current. The desktop is a simplified, app-grid take on GNOME aimed at people who may never have used a computer before. Deployments concentrate in education programs around the world. Its unusual system model is easiest to understand firsthand, and an OpenFactory browser VM shows both the content library and the locked-down design.View distribution
Fedora Linux82 targets, 82 availableFedora is the community distribution sponsored by Red Hat and the proving ground where much of the modern Linux stack appeared first, from early adoption of Wayland and PipeWire to SELinux enabled by default. It follows an upstream-first philosophy, landing changes in the original projects rather than carrying private patches, and publishes releases on a famously regular twice-yearly cadence. Fedora Workstation ships a very current GNOME desktop, while official spins cover KDE Plasma, Xfce, and other environments, and Atomic variants offer image-based desktops with rollback. Packaging is RPM managed by DNF, with Flatpak integrated for applications. Because Red Hat Enterprise Linux is periodically branched from this stream, Fedora is where administrators preview the enterprise future. It attracts developers and enthusiasts who want fresh software backed by engineering discipline. A Fedora session in an OpenFactory browser VM is an easy way to see where mainstream Linux is heading.View distribution
FreeBSD11 targets, 11 availableFreeBSD releases and editions tracked in the OpenFactory public operating-system catalog.View distribution
Garuda Linux19 targets, 19 availableGaruda Linux is an Arch-based desktop distribution that goes maximalist where Arch goes minimal. Its flagship KDE Plasma edition arrives with bold neon theming, a dock, and heavy visual effects, and further editions cover GNOME, Xfce, and other environments. The technical signature is safety netting for a rolling release: the installer sets up Btrfs with automatic snapshots wired into the boot menu, so a bad update can be rolled back from GRUB in one reboot. Garuda leans into gaming as well, with helper tools that install launchers, compatibility layers, and drivers in a few clicks. Package management is pacman with the Arch repositories plus Garuda's own additions, and the Fish shell greets you in the terminal by default. It fits users who want current software wrapped in dramatic looks and recovery options. A browser VM on OpenFactory shows the theming instantly, no installation required.View distribution
Gentoo Linux6 targets, 6 availableGentoo is the archetypal source-based distribution: its Portage system compiles software on your machine according to USE flags, which switch individual features on or off at build time, so the resulting system reflects choices most distributions make on your behalf. That produces deep configurability, from compiler optimizations to init systems, with OpenRC as the traditional default and systemd fully supported as an alternative. Gentoo is a rolling release, and it now also publishes official binary packages, letting users skip long compiles where customization matters less. Its documentation, especially the Gentoo Handbook and wiki, is respected well beyond the distribution itself. Installing Gentoo by hand remains a rite of passage that teaches how Linux systems are actually assembled, and it rewards patience and careful reading. An OpenFactory browser VM offers a forgiving place to attempt that famous installation without risking a working computer.View distribution- Haiku7 targets, 7 availableHaiku releases and editions tracked in the OpenFactory public operating-system catalog.View distribution
Kali Linux2 targets, 2 availableKali Linux is the standard-issue toolkit distribution for penetration testers and security researchers, developed by the training company OffSec as the successor to BackTrack. It builds on Debian as a rolling platform and preinstalls hundreds of specialized tools for reconnaissance, exploitation, wireless analysis, reverse engineering, and digital forensics, organized into task-based menus. The default desktop is Xfce, and thoughtful touches abound: an undercover mode that mimics a Windows desktop, a forensic boot mode that avoids touching evidence drives, and builds for ARM boards, containers, mobile devices through NetHunter, and Windows environments via WSL. The system defaults to an unprivileged user rather than root. Kali is intended for professionals and students operating with authorization, and most of its tooling assumes you know the rules of engagement. Practicing in an OpenFactory browser VM keeps that exploration contained and disposable.View distribution
KDE Neon5 targets, 5 availableKDE neon comes from KDE itself, and it exists to answer one question: what does the newest KDE software feel like on a stable foundation? It combines an Ubuntu long-term-support base with continuously updated builds of the Plasma desktop, KDE Frameworks, and KDE applications, delivered as soon as the project releases them rather than months later through a distribution's cycle. Channels range from the polished user edition to testing and unstable streams that track development branches. KDE positions neon as a delivery vehicle for its software rather than a full traditional distribution, and its scope is deliberately narrow: current KDE on a known base, with packages managed through APT alongside growing use of containerized formats. It is the natural choice for Plasma enthusiasts, theme developers, and bug reporters. An OpenFactory browser VM will show you the current state of Plasma with no installation ceremony.View distribution- KolibriOS6 targets, 6 availableKolibriOS releases and editions tracked in the OpenFactory public operating-system catalog.View distribution
Kubuntu14 targets, 14 availableKubuntu is the official Ubuntu flavor built around KDE Plasma, one of the longest-running pairings in the Ubuntu family: Canonical's base and cadence underneath, Qt-powered KDE software on top. Plasma gives it a character quite different from stock Ubuntu's GNOME, with a traditional panel and menu by default, configurability that reaches down to individual widgets, and the KDE application ecosystem, from the Dolphin file manager to the Kate editor. Releases follow Ubuntu's April and October schedule with long-term-support versions, and packages come from the shared Ubuntu archive via APT, with Plasma's Discover handling graphical software management. Kubuntu stays closer to upstream KDE defaults than heavily themed Plasma distributions, which makes it a fair baseline for judging Plasma itself. It suits users who want mainstream Ubuntu plumbing under a more adjustable desktop. OpenFactory will run that combination in a browser VM while you make up your mind.View distribution
Linux Lite7 targets, 7 availableLinux Lite is a distribution with a stated mission: make the move away from Windows as gentle as possible. It builds on Ubuntu's long-term-support releases and configures the Xfce desktop into a familiar single-taskbar layout, with a menu, system tray, and window controls where a Windows user expects to find them. The project supplements this with its own utilities, including a welcome application that walks through first steps and graphical helpers for updates, tweaks, and system cleaning that keep new users out of the terminal. The application selection favors mainstream tools people already recognize, such as a full office suite and a familiar browser. Because Xfce is economical with resources, Linux Lite is frequently recommended for reviving older laptops and desktops. Updates follow the slow, predictable LTS cadence. If you are evaluating it for a relative or an old machine, an OpenFactory browser VM shows the exact desktop they would see.View distribution
Linux Mint Cinnamon31 targets, 31 availableLinux Mint's Cinnamon edition is the project's flagship and the reason many people meet Mint at all. Cinnamon is a desktop environment that Mint itself leads: a traditional layout with a panel, menu, and system tray, built on modern GNOME technology but arranged the way longtime desktop users expect. The distribution sits on Ubuntu's long-term-support base, adds its own X-Apps so core accessories look consistent across editions, and ships practical tools of its own, including the Update Manager and Timeshift snapshot integration for undoing bad changes. Mint declines to enable Ubuntu's Snap system by default, preferring deb packages and Flatpak. Releases follow the LTS rhythm, so the ground moves rarely and support windows are long. It is a steady recommendation for Windows switchers and for anyone who wants a desktop that behaves predictably. OpenFactory lets you drive Cinnamon in a browser VM before installing anything.View distribution
Linux Mint Debian Edition4 targets, 4 availableLMDE, short for Linux Mint Debian Edition, answers a strategic question: could Mint survive without Ubuntu? It rebuilds the Mint experience, Cinnamon desktop included, directly on Debian stable, and the project maintains it partly as working proof that its tools and desktop are portable to another base. For users, LMDE feels strikingly close to mainline Mint: the same Software Manager, Update Manager, Timeshift snapshots, and X-Apps, delivered as deb packages over APT. The differences live underneath, where Debian's slower, more conservative archive replaces Ubuntu's, hardware enablement is less aggressive, and Ubuntu-specific conveniences are absent. LMDE ships only the Cinnamon desktop, which keeps the maintenance surface small for the team. It appeals to people who like Mint's polish but prefer Debian's independence. Booting LMDE through OpenFactory next to regular Mint is a practical way to spot what the Ubuntu layer actually contributes.View distribution
Linux Mint MATE11 targets, 11 availableLinux Mint MATE carries the same Ubuntu LTS foundation and Mint tooling as the Cinnamon edition but swaps the desktop for MATE, the community continuation of the classic GNOME 2 interface. That gives it a menu-driven, panel-based workflow that predates modern desktop redesigns, plus a reputation for running smoothly where Cinnamon's compositing feels heavy. All the Mint essentials are present: the Software Manager, the Update Manager with its careful update logic, Timeshift snapshots, and the shared X-Apps, along with APT and Flatpak for packages and no Snap enabled by default. MATE's lighter footprint makes this edition a common pick for older hardware, virtual machines, and people who simply preferred how GNOME 2 worked. Compared with the Xfce edition, MATE offers a somewhat fuller set of integrated applets and panel options. Launching the MATE edition on OpenFactory makes the differences from Cinnamon easy to see directly.View distribution
Linux Mint Xfce11 targets, 11 availableLinux Mint Xfce is the lightest of Mint's three official desktop editions, pairing the project's Ubuntu LTS base and house tools with the Xfce environment. Xfce has spent decades refining a simple idea: a fast, modular desktop with a conventional panel and menu that stays out of the way and changes slowly between releases. In Mint's hands it comes pre-themed to match the family look, so it feels less austere than many Xfce setups. Everything that defines Mint elsewhere applies here too, from the Software Manager and Update Manager to the Timeshift snapshot workflow and the preference for deb and Flatpak packaging over Snap. This edition is the usual answer for aging laptops, low-memory machines, and users who rank responsiveness above visual effects, while remaining a complete daily desktop. Running it in an OpenFactory browser VM is a fair test of how modest its demands really are.View distribution
Lubuntu12 targets, 12 availableLubuntu is the official Ubuntu flavor dedicated to the LXQt desktop, continuing a lineage that began with LXDE and migrated when that project's Qt-based successor matured. Its reason for being is efficiency: LXQt is a modular environment that uses noticeably less memory than mainstream desktops while still providing a complete, conventional experience with a panel, menu, and system tray. Lubuntu pairs that with sensible lightweight application choices and, unusually among Ubuntu flavors, the Calamares installer rather than Ubuntu's own. The base remains standard Ubuntu, with APT, deb packages, the shared archive, and the April and October release rhythm including long-term-support versions. The modern project describes itself as a functional distribution for a wide range of hardware rather than strictly a system for old computers, though aging machines remain a sweet spot. An OpenFactory browser VM demonstrates just how little LXQt asks of a system.View distribution
Mageia9 targets, 9 availableMageia is the community continuation of Mandriva Linux, created as a nonprofit association when the original French company faltered, and it preserves a lineage that once introduced many Europeans to desktop Linux. The inheritance shows in its tooling: the Mageia Control Center gathers hardware setup, package management, and system configuration into one friendly hub, a hallmark of the Mandrake and Mandriva tradition. Packages are RPMs, installable through the classic urpmi tools or DNF, and the project runs its own build system and repositories. Releases are fixed rather than rolling, each maintained for a comfortable window, and installation offers KDE Plasma, GNOME, Xfce, and lighter desktops from one image. The community is famously multilingual, with strong French roots. Mageia suits users who want a traditional, integrated desktop distribution outside the biggest families. An OpenFactory VM brings that experience into your browser within minutes.View distribution
Manjaro29 targets, 29 availableManjaro is built on Arch but deliberately paces it. Packages pass through Manjaro's own testing branches before reaching stable users, so updates arrive in curated batches rather than the moment upstream publishes them. Around that base the project adds friendly tooling: a graphical installer, the pamac package manager with a software-center interface, hardware detection that configures drivers automatically, and a utility for installing and switching between multiple kernels. Official editions ship KDE Plasma, GNOME, and Xfce desktops, with community builds covering many more. The Arch User Repository stays available for the long tail of software, though AUR builds sometimes expect newer libraries than Manjaro's held-back base provides, a known trade-off. Manjaro appeals to people who want rolling-release software without daily vigilance. OpenFactory can put its desktop in a browser tab so you can judge the polish yourself.View distribution
MX Linux23 targets, 23 availableMX Linux comes from a collaboration between the antiX community and veterans of the discontinued MEPIS project, and the result has a large and active user community. Its base is Debian stable, its default boot arrangement uses sysVinit while keeping systemd components available for compatibility, and its flagship desktop is a carefully tuned Xfce, with official KDE Plasma and Fluxbox editions alongside. What most distinguishes MX is its toolbox: the MX Tools collection covers turning a running system into an installable snapshot ISO, driver setup, package selection from multiple sources, and dozens of smaller chores, each behind a simple graphical utility. The antiX heritage also brings excellent live-USB features with persistence. MX suits pragmatic users who want a stable system with unusually good self-service tooling. With OpenFactory, a browser session gets you into those tools in minutes rather than an afternoon.View distribution
Nitrux4 targets, 4 availableNitrux is a Debian-based distribution that departs from its parent in almost every visible layer. It boots without systemd, using OpenRC for init, and treats AppImage portable bundles as a preferred way to ship applications, reducing dependence on the traditional package layer. Its desktop work is built on Qt and KDE technologies, including the project's own Maui application suite, which produces convergent apps designed to adapt between desktop and touch form factors, all wrapped in a strong visual identity. The project iterates rapidly and is unafraid of structural change, which keeps it interesting to watch and occasionally demanding to follow; root filesystem immutability has featured in its recent designs. Nitrux attracts users drawn to opinionated engineering and distinctive aesthetics rather than conservative defaults. Because its choices are easier seen than described, opening Nitrux in an OpenFactory browser VM is the sensible first step.View distribution
NixOS28 targets, 28 availableNixOS is built on a radical premise: the entire operating system is described in configuration files, and the running machine is derived from that description. Using the Nix package manager, every package and system generation lives in an isolated store, so upgrades are atomic, several versions of anything can coexist, and any change can be undone by booting a previous generation from the menu. Rebuild the same configuration on another machine and you get the same system, which is why NixOS appears in development environments, reproducible research, and fleets managed as code. The package collection behind it is enormous, spanning a stable channel and a fast-moving unstable one. The cost is a learning curve: the Nix language and its ecosystem take real study, and conventional Linux habits do not always transfer. Experimenting inside an OpenFactory browser VM removes the risk while you climb that curve.View distribution
Nobara Linux13 targets, 13 availableNobara is a Fedora remix maintained by the developer behind the popular GloriousEggroll community builds of Proton, the compatibility layer for running Windows games, and that pedigree explains its priorities. It takes Fedora and adds what gamers and streamers usually bolt on by hand: multimedia codecs, patched kernels and drivers, fixes for popular titles and capture software, and preinstalled tools for managing game launchers. Chores that stock Fedora leaves to the user, such as enabling third-party media support or NVIDIA drivers, are handled by friendly first-run tooling. Nobara publishes a themed flagship desktop alongside more standard KDE Plasma and GNOME editions, and package management remains Fedora's RPM and DNF with Flatpak on top. Updates follow Fedora's rhythm with Nobara's patches carried forward. It suits players who like Fedora's freshness but not its stock friction. An OpenFactory VM shows the desktop conveniences in your browser, though real game testing belongs on hardware.View distribution
Open Build Service Server1 targets, 1 availableA promoted Open Build Service appliance for package-building and repository labs.View distribution
Mobian2 targetsDebian adapted for phones and tablets, with Phosh and Plasma Mobile images for supported devices.View distribution
How it works
From a browser test to your own Linux image
1. Choose a target
Pick a distribution family, release, desktop, and an available launch target.
2. Launch a clean VM
Use the real desktop in your browser. The temporary machine is discarded when the session ends.
3. Build what you need
For supported targets, select packages and settings, test the result, and download the built image.
Questions about trying Linux online
- Can I try Linux online without installing it?
- Yes. Choose an available distribution, release, and desktop, then open its launch page. OpenFactory starts a remote virtual machine and renders it in your browser, so you do not need to repartition your computer, create a USB installer, or install local virtualization software.
- Do files and settings persist between browser VM sessions?
- No. Each launch uses a fresh overlay over an immutable source image. Files and settings work normally during the session, but the machine state is discarded when the session ends. Each visitor gets a separate environment and never inherits changes made by another visitor.
- Does every catalog release have an exact launch image?
- No. Use the availability filter and the target page to confirm what can launch. Some historical catalog entries can use a current or compatible launch source. If an exact release matters for testing, verify the reported version inside the guest before relying on the result.
- Can I customize a distro after trying it?
- For supported build targets, yes. OpenFactory provides a separate builder where you can select packages, services, users, and security settings, test the generated image in a browser VM, and download the completed artifact. Build and output options vary by target.