Rocky Linux FAQ
Does Rocky Linux cost anything or require a subscription?
Section titled “Does Rocky Linux cost anything or require a subscription?”No. Rocky Linux is forever free — no subscription wall, no paid repositories. Unlike RHEL’s free developer subscription model, all Rocky repos are open to everyone.
How compatible is Rocky Linux with RHEL, exactly?
Section titled “How compatible is Rocky Linux with RHEL, exactly?”Rocky Linux is a downstream rebuild of RHEL sources targeting 100% bug compatibility (ABI/binary compatible); differences from upstream concentrate in trademarks, artwork and default repo URLs. Architecture coverage and release details follow each version’s official release notes (e.g. Rocky 10’s architecture support differs from RHEL’s). Whether commercial software supports Rocky is up to each vendor’s own compatibility matrix — verify against vendor docs before selecting; do not assume “certified for RHEL” implies “certified for Rocky”.
How fast do security updates arrive?
Section titled “How fast do security updates arrive?”They track RHEL errata, typically hours to days across all mirrors. Check pending advisories with dnf updateinfo list; for production consider automatic security updates (main-site reference ↗).
Rocky Linux vs AlmaLinux — how do I choose?
Section titled “Rocky Linux vs AlmaLinux — how do I choose?”Technically near-identical (both binary-compatible RHEL community distributions). The differences are governance and commitment style: AlmaLinux emphasizes stable back-tracking of fixes and foundation governance; Rocky emphasizes community independence under RESF. See the hub’s comparison matrix. Switching cost between them is minimal (migrate2rocky / almalinux-deploy).
What are the official support channels?
Section titled “What are the official support channels?”Community support: official forums, Mattermost, IRC. There is no commercial SLA; if you need one, choose a RHEL subscription or a third-party support vendor. This site (and all pages on it) is unofficial community documentation, not affiliated with RESF.
How should I pick a mirror?
Section titled “How should I pick a mirror?”For production in mainland China prefer Aliyun / TUNA / USTC mirrors (low latency, high bandwidth); verification and directory layout on the download page. Mirror lag is typically hours; for security-critical flows use the official source directly.
Can I still upgrade from CentOS 7 to Rocky?
Section titled “Can I still upgrade from CentOS 7 to Rocky?”Not in-place directly. ELevate currently does not support Rocky as an upgrade target; viable paths are reinstall-and-migrate, or an ELevate→AlmaLinux→migrate2rocky relay — see Migrate to Rocky Linux.