What are Distro Forks, Flavors & Clones? Explaining Confusing Linux Terms

Are you new to Linux and looking for a distro? You may see various confusing terms like Fork, Flavor or Remix when choosing a distro. In this video, we're going to decode these terms to help you pick the one that works for you.
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[@ericjohnson5990]

Please make a video more about Rhel!

[@joshua_lee732]

Please don't because I can almost garauntee he'll get it wrong.

[@dasgeek]

Awesome video!

[@GiorgioCosani-u8p]

Have you ever heard of Archlinux? Apparently not.

[@abrandguru7472]

are you kidding? the guy has been using Linux for longer than Arch has existed. He even used to contribute to Arch and other Arch based distros.

[@GiorgioCosani-u8p]

Why doesn't he talk about it? Did they break up badly?@@abrandguru7472 ☺

[@MegaManNeo]

@@GiorgioCosani-u8p Because Arch is a learning tool aimed at advanced users rather than one of the base distros.

[@abrandguru7472]

@@GiorgioCosani-u8p This video started with the sentence "are you new to Linux?", so he is talking to beginners and thus Arch Linux is not relevant in this video because Arch is not for beginners. Besides, he talked about Arch in the previous video right before this one.

[@ryanmktaylor]

Great video, would love to here more about the RHEL drama ;)

[@KM-sv4dh]

Thank you for the video. It explains a lot for soneobe who is already using Linux. New linux users will still be lime wtf

[@staninjapan07]

Thank you. I suspect I must have been asking the wrong question, or phrasing my questions poorly, when trying to understand the differences. Though this is helpful, it does not help me understand the difference, "mechanically" (or in terms of code if that is more meaningful) between, say, Debian and Arch. Perhaps I should ask what the differences are between Arch / Debian / Fedora. Or perhaps I should ask: why can't I say "Linux is Linux"? I seem to be having great difficulty in finding answers. I want answers because, as a fairly new Mint user, I want to know whether I should continue with it (it's great so far on an old macbook pro) or whether I should change, but I would only consider chaning after understand the basic principles behind the differences. A lot to learn. Thank you again.

[@Appalling68]

1:47 I love this representation of the Linux "family tree." I have a 1m x 1.5m beautiful poster of this on my home office wall, which the wife just hates. LOL! Nice, informative short video there, son. 👍 p.s. All Linux users (especially newbies) should download this tree to really get a feel of what Linux's roots really are.

[@pctlc]

That's a forking good video😁😁

[@chrisoreta]

Love your videos bro..keep it up. I have always loved Linux and have been playing around with it for years...but 4 weeks ago I finally got fed up with Windows on my laptop and completely wiped it off and installed Linux Mint....I've never felt better😂😂. So now I have two Linux Laptops...one with Ubuntu and one with Mint.

[@benbalach]

SUSE Linux Enterprise is based off of openSUSE Tumbleweed. openSUSE Leap is based off of SUSE Linux Enterprise.

[@AssociateMinisterReserveDeacon]

A. Mr. Michael Tunnell please talk about the 8 Major Linux Distribution Families. B. Mr. Michael Tunnell the only other KZbinr I've seen talk about The 8 Major Distribution Families is DistroTube (Derrick Taylor). C. Mr. Michael Tunnell I've found understanding Linux so much easier once I understood the following concepts: 1. A Major Distribution / Parent Distribution. .2. Derivative Distribution / Child Distribution. 1. A Major Distribution / Parent Distribution is a Distribution (Version) that's used as a starting base to create a Derivative Distribution / Child Distribution. 2. A Derivative Distribution / Child Distribution is a Distribution created from a Major Distribution / Parent Distribution. D. Mr. Michael Tunnell The 8 Major Distributions / Parent Distributions are: 1. Arch 2. Debian 3. Fedora 4. Gentoo 5. OpenSUSÉ 6. Slackware 7. Ubuntu 8. Distributors not :based on the other 7 distributors listed above. E. Mr. Michael Tunnell the parts of a Major Distribution / Parent Distribution that are used to create The Derivative Distribution / Child Distribution are listed in the following list below. 1. Package Manager: A software program used to handle the installation, removal, and update of the following software listed below. A. Application packages. B. Distribution Upgrade. C. Security updates. 2. Software Packaging Formats: The file format used vy a distribution to package software. 3. Software Repository: A location on the internet that contains software that can be installed on a distribution. A. A Major Distribution / Parent Distribution will have their own independent software repositories listed ib their software sources. B. A Derivative Distribution / Child Distribution will have 1 or more software repositories from The Major Distribution / Parent Distribution listed in their software sources. C. Derivative Distribution / Child Distribution may have 1 or more independent software repositories in addition to 1 or more of The Major Distribution / Parent Distribution software repositories listed in their software sources. F. Mr. Michael Tunnell The 8 Main Distributions / Parent Distributions are listed in the left side of the chart in the following list below.. The Derivative Distribution / Child Distribution is listed on the right side of the chart in the following list below. 1. Arch > Manjaro. 2. Debian > Ubuntu. 3. Fedora > Red Hat Linux. 4. Gentoo > Sabayon Linux. 5. OpenSUSE > Gecko Linux. 5. Slackware > Slax Linux. 7. Ubuntu > Linux Mint. 8. Independent > 4M Linux. G. Mr. Michael Tunnell do you think knowing The 8 Major Distribution Families will help a person better understand Linux? H. Mr. Michael Tunnell do you think knowing The 8 Major Distribution Families will help a person to better troubleshoot the technical issue(s) they may have with Linux? I. Mr. Michael Tunnell what do you think of my writing style and communicating style? J. Mr. Michael Tunnell please continue to get on life's stage and let your Godly inner light shine. Please continue to climb life's ladder and let the world see The Great and Wonderful Gifts, Talents, and Treasures that are inside of you. K. Mr. Michael Tunnell You Go Gentleman!!! L. Mr. Marlene Reviews Please Stay Safe. M. Mr. Michael Tunnell God Bless You!!!

[@michael_tunnell]

Hello there, thank you so much for watching and commenting. C. I don’t use those terms because patent and child suggests a relationship between the projects but that’s not always the case. However it is a good way to break it down. Maybe I should have used that to explain. D. In my opinion, there aren’t 8 major families. For example, Gentoo and Slackware are not used widely enough to be considered a major family. Sure, they are families but they aren’t major because there are very few derivatives of both and they require extensive experience to use lowering them to a minor family. D.Part2. Ubuntu and Debian are the same family. Yes there are separate derivatives for Ubuntu but it’s still the same family. Also “not based on the others” is not a family. These are independent distros but they aren’t a family because they aren’t based on anything. D.Part3. If major families were to be listed in my opinion it would be Arch, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE (sorted alphabetically) and that’s it. The rest are still families but they aren’t major families. E.Part1. This is incorrect. The parts used is a wide variety of things and cannot be broken down to specifics because every derivative retains different things. E.Part2. For example Linux Mint and elementary OS are both based on Ubuntu but neither of them use the Distribution Upgrade that Ubuntu has. There are endless amounts of differences between derivatives and base distros so this simply can not be defined at all. E.Part3. PCLinuxOS is another good example, they forked from Mandriva so they use RPM but instead of using an RPM package manager like DNF, they use APT which wasn’t originally made for RPM. So even the package manager isn’t necessarily going to stick around either. E.3.B. Not all derivatives will use a repository from the parent distro. For example, Linux Mint and Trisquel are both based on Ubuntu. Linux Mint directly pulls from Ubuntu and even users are directly using Ubuntu repos. However, Trisquel users only pull directly from Trisquel and never Ubuntu. E.3.C. This is not a requirement either, there are some remixes that dont have their own repo and just offer a different default configuration. F. yes those relationships between distros are correct but like I said earlier in the comment Debian > Ubuntu > Linux Mint is all one family G. I do not believe so. I think there are only 4 major families and I addressed 3 of them in this video. However, I only briefly addressed it because going into detail on this topic is just too much for beginners. I think the concept is enough for beginners and most people dont need more than that. I also think it is just too complicated for beginners to be a helpful topic beyond what I addressed in the video. In order to cover this topic you have to go very far in depth on the subject otherwise the video will have to make a lot of generalizations that are often incorrect due to exceptions. H. I do not. I think it will help them to know what family the distro they use is in. If they use Linux Mint it would be helpful to know that they are in the Ubuntu/Debian family and that could help them solve issues but I see no value to the average user for them to know the relationship between Arch and Endeavour if they are using the Ubuntu/Debian family. I. I think it is very robust and nicely organized. :D When I first saw your comment and how long it was, I considered not responding because its a lot but with the organizational style it makes it very simple to reply to a specific section. I like that. J. I will continue doing what I do, thanks so much for your kind words.

[@Can_You_Hear_Me]

watching from open suse

[@Bob-of-Zoid]

Oh dear, I think I'm forked!

[@JTCPingas]

I utilize Fedora ofc

[@diegomanjarres4094]

Yes, drama drama drama

[@ChrisTay229]

"I know what you're thinking... Who cares?" Actually laughed out loud, great video man really well done

[@maisondereve758]

Merci - contenu clair et bien expliqué, j'ai suivi 2 ~ 3 videos de la chaine. Je m'abonne.

[@alan_core]

New to the channel, great content :=) (Gentoo user here)

[@dardevelin]

All old news, but good ones for the new ones A+

[@user-mi3dj6gu3c]

Where was this video when I got into Linux a few months ago. I've now settled with Mint.

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

Hoping it's Linux Mint Debian Edition....

[@romany8125]

Mint is good. Stay away from Arch 😈

[@unkown34x33]

never gonna use Linux as my main PC but learning about its interesting:) thanks! they don't teach this in schools

[@michael_tunnell]

Hey there, glad I could help with some info but I’m curious, why wouldn’t you use it as your main PC?

[@yash1152]

6:34 i want to learn how to soft fork a software.

[@Endermen1094]

Would you consider archlinux arm/archlinux 32 clones or forks

[@michael_tunnell]

Oh that's an interesting question, I would personally classify them as Soft Forks, almost Flavors but not. It is a Soft Fork because it gets updates from Arch. It is almost a Flavor but not exactly. Arch Linux ARM was given permission to use the Arch Linux name like a Flavor would but it is a completely separate project and Arch Linux does not promote the ARM project as something to download. They recognize it and allow it to use the name but thats where it ends so I would say it is close to being a Flavor but is really a Soft Fork. As for the Arch 32, I dont know much about how that one works but I suspect similar situation as ALARM

[@tostoday]

No wonder Linus Torvalds likes Chromebooks 😀

[@CoasterMan13Official]

A lot of linux distros are forks of each other.

[@michael_tunnell]

Most distros are forks, yea

[@Gfish17]

Mint is my favorite so far.

[@heatherbrown1558]

Great video. You expland things in detail. I have used Linux for a few years and didn't know the difference between them all. I use Parrdus from Turkey and it's based on debian

[@guilherme5094]

Excellent explanation👍!

[@kvelez]

Great video.

[@amolbhoi386]

please give the examples

[@michael_tunnell]

I gave a few examples in the video like Debian and Ubuntu or Fedora and Red Hat

[@fuseteam]

chris titus: you only need to know about debian, fedora and arch michael tunnell: there are three major pairs: debian/ubuntu, opensuse/suse and fedora/rhel

[@michael_tunnell]

This video is about explaining the concepts behind distribution relationships, it’s not about any distros in particular

[@fuseteam]

@@michael_tunnell ah fair point, i just found the difference in the distros chosen to explain distro relationship fun to see xd

[@johnarnold893]

I always thought Fedora was a spinoff of Redhat since Redhat was around some time before Fedora existed.

[@michael_tunnell]

The overall history of this is complicated but basically yes, Fedora was a spin-off of Red Hat because originally Red Hat was a single workstation product. They switched to enterprise and turned the desktop side into Fedora. Later they rebased RHEL on top of Fedora because Fedora moves faster and can innovate easier.

[@outofstepbaritone]

Something of note: Ubuntu doesn't pull new stuff from Debian's infrastructure, but packages it itself.

[@michael_tunnell]

This is true and a good note. I felt I said that but maybe I just implied that with the Soft Fork section. Thanks for commenting

[@SMCwasTaken]

I like your pfp

[@MegaManNeo]

This is a good explanation to those who are already used to Linux but those outside of the spectrum would probably still be like wtf? It's not because of you, Michael. You did a fantastic job explaining differences but just like everything else in Linux/FOSS world, there is just too many terms people will easily get confused with.

[@michael_tunnell]

This is a problem and by the time I’m done with this series I hope to have broken it down for as many people as possible. This is the first installment of my series Linux Explained

[@fuseteam]

the independant distros, gentoo and arch that weren't mentioned:

[@michael_tunnell]

I can’t mention every distribution of Linux, I don’t want to make a 2 hour video on this 😆

[@fuseteam]

@@michael_tunnell 🤣

[@mks-h]

You don't have to remember the spins, respins, flavors, etc. They are just marketing-friendly ways to name what's essentially a fork that is close to upstream (which is a more useful term - a synonym to parent/original). Some are advertised as official, some are not. And every distro calls them differently.

[@michael_tunnell]

Thanks for the comment, much appreciated. In my opinion, saying everything is a fork adds confusion to the term because a fork is a specific term to describe a full diversion. Everything else can be debated I suppose but I think this video is valuable in that it breaks down the differences that exist and I do suggest eliminating redundant terms as well. I think saying everything is a fork is kind of giving too much credit to the projects that are not doing much. If someone takes a distro and makes something where they simply change a theme and the name and nothing else then I wouldnt call that a fork because it would diminish the term for projects that do something significant.

[@mks-h]

@@michael_tunnell your term for fork is wrong. Most of the time the fork stays close to upstream, and differs only slightly. When upstream updates - the fork merges their changes with the update (If necessary). What you meant is probably the hard fork - when you fork a project, dissociate from it, and go in your own direction. You also use forks for OSS development - fork a project, implement something, and merge it back.

[@michael_tunnell]

I respectfully disagree with your assessment. I don’t know what you based the statement that forks stay close to upstream on but it’s not the case. Fork is the duplicating of a project regardless of what kind of project it is. A hard fork is complete trajectory change without resyncing and a soft fork has resyncing. However this is always upstream to downstream and is not relevant to whether or not the downstream contributes back upstream. If someone makes a fork on GitHub they are simply making a duplicate. If they never even touch a single line of code, it’s still a fork. Merging anything back is irrelevant to whether or not a project is a fork. Essentially, fork is just another term for Duplicate. Clones are also forks but a distinct type of fork which is why they are classified differently.

[@mks-h]

@@michael_tunnell this contradicts your previous comment, where you said that fork means a so-called full diversion. Also, you say more-or-less what I said, and I find this weird - just as weird, as the formal speech we use 😅

[@michael_tunnell]

Furthermore I would like to submit additional evidence to the matter at hand with video documentation which has been reviewed and is playable above . . . translation = oh yea my bad, I said something weird in my earlier comment but at least the video had it right LOL

[@peterbreis5407]

It's like with junk food, they are all so bad, the "next one" has to be better. Never that you are barking up the wrong tree, for obvious reasons.

[@joshua_lee732]

Michael, please dont do a video avout rhel and its forks. Youre very likely to get it wrong and I dont want to see you ruin you image in my head.

[@michael_tunnell]

Hmm, I appreciate wanting to keep the image pristine 😎 but why do you think I’d get it wrong? I’m curious

[@zxuiji]

Welp for app & libs I've finally found a way for the development complexity to be reduced from "systems * CPUs * data models" to just "CPUs * data models". As I've mentioned on previous vids I've been working on a 2 part solution, I recently noticed however that the library portion of it had a critical design flaw preventing the just "CPUs * data models", namely that the public part of the library was statically including native elements, causing a difference in size, this was a critical error in judgment because of dynamic allocations, to fix that I've been moving those portions to separate objects and allocating them instead via the constructors that initialise the public objects, this did however mean I could no longer inline those constructors so I'm having to rectify that as well. Just in case there's other design flaws that get in the way of a fully portable solution I encourage those interested to go to this address and examine my code for themselves (still working on the transfer of native from public to hidden so ignore that part please): gitlab.com/awsdert/dragonbuilder/-/tree/main/include/paw

[@ThisNoName]

Back not so long ago, I was searching for debian-based lightweight distro ... found some clever response: It's just Debian

[@michael_tunnell]

I think Debian is a great distribution for being a platform for other distros but it lacks in a lot of ways when it comes to being a daily driver. It even lacks in the security area by default so I would recommend derivatives of Debian over Debian itself. MX Linux or Lubuntu are good options for really lightweight Debian based distros

[@ThisNoName]

@@michael_tunnell I'm doing a lot of VMs, don't want 6, 7, 8G installation each. Somehow all of them refused to offer a custom option, in the name of ease of use or something. Ubuntu has a barebone version in the next major release? Or someone else, can't remember.

[@CoasterMan13Official]

​@@michael_tunnellDebian is great as a daily driver if you know how to navigate it.

[@michael_tunnell]

Ubuntu can be installed with the server edition or the network ISO to get a barebones setup but those won’t have a desktop included.

[@michael_tunnell]

“If you know how to navigate it” you could say this about anything. If someone knows how to use something then it is easy to use it but that doesn’t make that thing easy to use. Arch users who know how to navigate it can use it as a daily driver but of course that doesn’t mean it should be used as a daily driver. Same thing applies to Debian and a lot of other distros.

[@abzs5811]

Boring