CentOS (Community Enterprise Operating System) began as a community-driven rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Historically, its core philosophy rested on a few guiding principles:

  1. Stability and Reliability
    CentOS strove to be a stable, predictable environment suitable for production use. Because it rebuilt Red Hat Enterprise Linux source packages and maintained binary compatibility, users benefited from the enterprise-grade performance and security of RHEL—without proprietary branding or licensing fees.

  2. Openness and Freedom
    True to the open-source ethos, the CentOS Project emphasized giving users the freedom to run, modify, and share enterprise Linux. CentOS was—and remains—free to download and free to use, which helped foster a global community of hobbyists, small businesses, and large-scale enterprise users alike.

  3. Community Collaboration
    A key philosophy was that CentOS should be shaped by its users. Community involvement in testing, feedback, documentation, and support was central to its development and upkeep. This transparent, community-first approach allowed enthusiasts and professionals to collectively ensure the distribution’s quality.

  4. Enterprise-Ready but Accessible
    While positioned as an enterprise-class Linux distribution, CentOS also endeavored to remain approachable for newcomers. Because it required no subscription fees, many organizations used it to learn about, evaluate, or run enterprise-grade Linux technologies without the same financial overhead as commercial distributions.

  5. Long-Term Support
    One of the main draws of CentOS was that it followed the RHEL release cycle for its major versions, meaning it typically provided up to 10 years of support (including security updates and fixes). This emphasis on long-term stability and support resonated with users needing dependable infrastructure.

The Transition to CentOS Stream

Over time, Red Hat and the broader CentOS community introduced CentOS Stream, changing the release philosophy somewhat. Instead of simply rebuilding RHEL, CentOS Stream is a “rolling preview” of the next minor release of RHEL. This approach means that CentOS Stream users see the newest packages before they appear in RHEL. The overarching goals remain:

  • Openness: CentOS Stream encourages more direct community contributions and interactions with Red Hat engineers.
  • Transparency: By “streaming” changes into CentOS, the development path to future RHEL releases is visible, making it easier for contributors to propose changes, test, and give feedback.
  • Continuity: CentOS Stream still serves as a free, enterprise-oriented distribution, but with a shorter “lag” compared to RHEL—indeed, sometimes it’s slightly ahead.

Despite the shift, the CentOS Project’s core philosophy remains the same at heart: to provide a collaborative, open, and enterprise-focused Linux platform that welcomes input from individuals and organizations. The method of how that platform stays in sync (or slightly ahead) of Red Hat Enterprise Linux has changed with CentOS Stream, but the project’s values of stability, community engagement, and open-source principles persist.