GNU Linux-Libre 6.1: Linux 6.1 LTS in pure form is available for download

The release of Linux 6.1 LTS was followed only a few hours later by the modified and completely free system kernel GNU Linux-Libre in version 6.1, which relies exclusively on free and open source software. “Libre” avoids packages that are not available as source code or use proprietary licenses.

Linux 6.1 LTS in its purest form

Based on the recently released current Linux Kernel 6.1 LTS, the new GNU Linux-Libre 6.1 has the same new functions as the regular kernel, but has once again been cleaned of many of the newly added driver packages and various libraries as well as manufacturer firmware.

Completely free of binary blobs

It is a credo of the free system kernel, without precompiled ones Drivers and firmware that are not available as source code – so-called binary blobs – can get by.

According to the official release notes, the Linux kernel has been cleaned up in the following areas:

GNU Linux Libre 6.1 – Release Notes

Several drivers required adjustments due to new blobs or code rearrangement: amdgpu and i915 drm, brcmfmac, r8188eu, and rtw8852c wifi, and Intel ACPI sound.

Upstream moved some media drivers to a deprecated directory, so we've adjusted cleaning up code for tm6000 TV cards, cpia2 v4l, and sp8870, av7110, and budget media cards.

A new blob-requiring driver for rtw8852b wifi was cleaned up, and blob names have been dropped from multiple new Qualcomm and MediaTek AArch64 dts files.

For up-to-the-minute news, join us on IRC (#gnu-linux-libre on libera.chat). I often mention our releases on P2P or federated social media as well. The link in my email signature has directions.

For the removal process, the scripts deblob-main, which goes back to GNewSense, and deblob-check are used, which are supposed to detect and completely remove proprietary software in this way.

For the The Free Software Foundation Latin America is responsible for maintenance and cleanup of GNU Linux-Libre, which publishes the kernel under the GNU GPLv2 open-source license.

Distributions with GNU Linux Libre

The GNU Linux Libre, which has been in development since 2006, is available for example in the source-based Linux distribution Gentoo Linux, whose package management system is reminiscent of the “ports” of BSD, for particularly experienced Linux users, and the rolling release Parabola GNU/Linux as an alternative operating system kernel. Binary packages are also available for various distributions based on Debian (.DEB) and Red Hat (.RPM).

Download GNU Linux-Libre

GNU Linux-Libre 6.1 can now be downloaded from the download area of the Free Software Foundation Latin America official website will. For more information, see the repository and the project page on the GitHub developer platform.