It’s Time to Move from CentOS to AlmaLinux

For a long time, CentOS has been my trusted and reliable operating system for my Linux web server. It’s well-known for its stability—meaning it doesn’t require frequent updates—and offers enterprise-level performance, all while being free. This made it a popular choice among developers, businesses, system administrators, and freelancers like myself.

However, as technology continues to evolve, so do the tools and platforms we use. CentOS Linux 7 reached its end of life on June 30, 2024, and CentOS Linux 8 reached its end of life on December 31, 2021, and now both have transitioned to CentOS Stream, which serves as a development preview of what’s coming in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). If you’re looking for a stable and long-term alternative, it’s not just important—it’s necessary.

So, why did so many people, including myself, favor CentOS?

Before we discuss migration options, let’s first understand the common reasons why CentOS was so well-loved and what made it stand out.

1. Stability

CentOS was essentially a downstream rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). What did this mean in practical terms? It meant that users received a rock-solid, stable version of Linux that had already been rigorously tested upstream. This stability made it ideal for production servers, especially in enterprise environments where uptime is critical.

2. Free

One of CentOS’s greatest appeals was its cost-efficiency. Organizations could run the same software stack as RHEL without paying enterprise licensing fees. This made it highly attractive to startups, nonprofits, educational institutions, and any business looking to cut costs without compromising quality.

3. Community Support

CentOS benefited from a large and active community. Whether you were troubleshooting a networking issue or compiling a kernel module, chances were someone had already faced—and solved—the same problem. Community forums, wikis, and tutorials were abundant and often of high quality.

4. Enterprise Compatibility

Thanks to its binary compatibility with RHEL, CentOS was perfectly suited for environments that needed RHEL-level performance but couldn’t justify the cost. Software vendors often certified their products for RHEL, and in most cases, they worked flawlessly on CentOS.

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The Shift to CentOS Stream

In December 2020, Red Hat announced a major change in how CentOS would operate. Instead of continuing as a downstream version of RHEL, CentOS would become CentOS Stream, an upstream (or pre-release) version of RHEL.

This change meant that CentOS would now serve as a development preview of what’s coming in RHEL, rather than a reliable, stable clone of it.

For developers, this shift opened up some exciting possibilities. However, for those using CentOS in production environments, it created serious concerns. Without guaranteed stability and long-term support, CentOS Stream simply could not meet the same expectations.

And so, the search for an alternative began. And the OS I’m using right now on some of my current server.

Why AlmaLinux Is the Closest Alternative to CentOS?

AlmaLinux is a project launched by CloudLinux, with a goal to create a compatible alternative to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)—just like what CentOS used to be. Because of this mission, AlmaLinux quickly gained popularity and earned the trust of many in the Linux community.
Unlike CentOS, which was acquired and is now managed by Red Hat, AlmaLinux is governed by the AlmaLinux OS Foundation, an independent, nonprofit organization. This ensures that the community is involved in decision-making while keeping everything open-source and transparent.

Each AlmaLinux release comes with 10 years of support, including security updates and maintenance. For users who were on CentOS 7 or 8, this long-term commitment offers peace of mind.
AlmaLinux also provides an easy-to-use migration script called almalinux-deploy, which lets you convert your existing CentOS system with minimal downtime. There’s no need to reinstall everything from scratch. The process is smooth, and most configurations and applications remain intact. (Although I personally haven’t tried this myself, since I prefer full installations.)
AlmaLinux is also fully binary-compatible with RHEL, which means any application that works on RHEL will also work on AlmaLinux—making it a perfect replacement in production environments. This is a big advantage for developers.
Did you know that tech giants like Microsoft, AWS, and ARM have also expressed their support for AlmaLinux? That speaks volumes about the project’s reliability and future potential.

Why Not Just Stay on CentOS Stream?

It’s a fair question. CentOS Stream is still being actively developed. It has its place, particularly for those who want to contribute to or test features that will soon appear in RHEL.

However, for mission-critical workloads or production environments, CentOS Stream presents risks:

• It’s not stable in the traditional sense—updates may arrive more frequently and can potentially introduce regressions.
• It lacks the long-term support cycles users expect.
• There’s a philosophical shift away from “enterprise-ready” and toward “development-ready.”

These factors make CentOS Stream a poor fit for production environments, especially when compared to the stability that CentOS traditionally provided.

What the Tech Community is Saying About the CentOS Transition

The CentOS transition sparked strong reactions from the Linux and IT communities, especially on forums like Reddit. Many users shared their thoughts about the sudden shift to CentOS Stream and the need to migrate to alternatives like AlmaLinux.

One user from the r/linuxadmin subreddit shared:

“We completely turned away from Red Hat and moved to Ubuntu with commercial support. In our case, it wasn’t even a technical issue—IBM is our competitor, so we had to. That said, many younger developers and DevOps professionals already prefer Ubuntu over RHEL. IBM really shot itself in the foot here. I believe RHEL is going the way of old systems like zOS and AIX—managed only by an aging group of sysadmins. Same goes for VMware after they made it harder for newcomers to learn their systems for free. It’s a shame, but it’s time to move on.”
Source

Another comment on r/CentOS addressed the core issue with CentOS Stream:

“Stream is unsupportable by design. Something might work on it today, but there’s no guarantee it’ll work tomorrow. If you’re using Stream, the assumption is you’re a developer who can fix the bugs before the next RHEL release. If that’s not you, don’t use Stream.”
Source

“We used CentOS for years in production. AlmaLinux made the switch so smooth, we barely noticed.”

“CentOS Stream felt too unpredictable for our workloads. We switched to AlmaLinux and haven’t looked back.”

“The 10-year support promise from AlmaLinux was the clincher for us.”

These community voices reflect a shared concern: CentOS Stream isn’t suited for stable, production environments. Many organizations and individual users are actively looking for reliable alternatives, and for most, AlmaLinux has become the go-to solution.

So, Should You Upgrade?

Let’s be honest—if you’re still running CentOS 7 or 8, your days are numbered. Continuing to use unsupported software can expose you to serious risks, including security vulnerabilities, compatibility issues, and lack of vendor support.

But the good news is: AlmaLinux is built specifically to replace CentOS—and it does so while honoring the original vision that made CentOS great.

If you’re looking for a drop-in replacement, something you can trust for the next decade, AlmaLinux is what we recommend!

CentOS gave us years of great service. It empowered not just businesses but also made server deployments easier for everyone. It earned a strong and loyal following in the tech world.

But now that the project has changed into something very different, the time has come when we need to make a decision and take the next step forward.

AlmaLinux isn’t just a replacement—it’s a continuation of the CentOS spirit. It’s built by the community, offers enterprise-level performance without the cost, and is backed by strong governance that ensures its future is secure and stable.

So yes—let’s raise a virtual glass to CentOS for everything it gave us. And now, let’s confidently move forward with AlmaLinux, knowing that its legacy lives on.