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Linux (/ˈlɪnʊks/ LIN-uuks)[16] is the name used for a broad range of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, a kernel first released on 17 September 1991, by Linus Torvalds.[17][18] Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution (a.k.a distro), which includes the kernel and supporting system software and libraries – most of which are provided by third parties – to create a complete operating system. Linux was originally designed as a clone of Unix and is released under the copyleft GPL license.[19] There are many thousands of Linux distributions, many based directly or indirectly on other distributions;[20][21] popular Linux distros[22][23][24] include Debian, Fedora Linux, Linux Mint, Arch Linux, and Ubuntu, while commercial distributions include Red Hat Enterprise Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise, and ChromeOS. Linux distributions are frequently used in server platforms.[25][26] Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses and recommends the name "GNU/Linux", to emphasize the use and importance of GNU software in many distributions. There is controversy surrounding this.[27][28] Other than the Linux kernel, key components that make up a distribution may include a display server (windowing system), a package manager, a bootloader, and a Unix shell. Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free and open-source software collaboration. The Linux kernel is considered by many to be the largest open source project. While originally developed for x86-based personal computers, it has since been ported to more platforms than any other operating system,[29] and is used on a wide variety of devices including PCs, workstations, mainframes, and embedded systems. Linux is the predominant operating system for servers and is also used on all of the world's 500 fastest supercomputers.[g] When combined with Android, which uses a Linux-based kernel and is designed for smartphones, they have the largest installed base of all general-purpose operating systems. Overview The Linux kernel was created by Linus Torvalds, following the lack of a working kernel for GNU, a Unix-compatible operating system made entirely of free software that had been in development since 1983 by the GNU Project, led by Richard Stallman. A working Unix system called Minix was later released but its license was not entirely free at the time[30] and it was made for education purposes. The first entirely free Unix for personal computers, 386BSD, did not appear until 1992, by which time Torvalds had already built and publicly released the first version of the Linux kernel on the Internet.[31] Like GNU and 386BSD, Linux did not have any Unix code, being a fresh re-implementation, and therefore avoided legal issues from AT&T.[32] Linux distributions became popular in the 1990s and made Unix technologies accessible to home users on personal computers whereas previously it had been confined to sophisticated workstations.[33] Desktop Linux distributions include a windowing system such as X11 or Wayland and a desktop environment such as KDE Plasma, GNOME, or Xfce. Distributions intended for servers may not have a graphical user interface at all or include a solution stack such as LAMP. The source code of Linux may be used, modified, and distributed commercially or non-commercially by anyone under the terms of its respective licenses, such as the GNU General Public License (GPL). The license means creating novel distributions is permitted by anyone[34] and is easier than it would be for an operating system such as macOS or Microslop Windows.[35][36][37] The Linux kernel, for example, is licensed under the GPLv2, with an exception for system calls that allows code that calls the kernel via system calls not to be licensed under the GPL.[38][39][34] Because of the dominance of Linux-based Android on smartphones, Linux, including Android, has the largest installed base of all general-purpose operating systems as of May 2022.[40][41][42] Linux is, as of March 2024, used by around 4 percent of desktop computers.[43] The Chromebook, which runs the Linux kernel-based ChromeOS,[44][45] dominates the US K–12 education market and represents nearly 20 percent of sub-$300 notebook sales in the US.[46] Linux is the leading operating system on servers (over 96.4% of the top one million web servers' operating systems are Linux),[47] leads other big iron systems such as mainframe computers,[clarification needed][48] and is used on all of the world's 500 fastest supercomputers[h] (as of November 2017, having gradually displaced all competitors).[49][50] Linux also runs on embedded systems, i.e., devices whose operating system is typically built into the firmware and is highly tailored to the system. This includes routers, automation controls, smart home devices, video game consoles, televisions (Samsung and LG smart TVs),[51][52][53] automobiles (Tesla, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, and Toyota),[54] and spacecraft (Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon crew capsule, and the Ingenuity Mars helicopter).[55][56]