jxself.org

APT Repository for Linux-libre

I've begun maintaining this APT repository for the kernel called Linux-libre, graciously hosted by the Free Software Foundation Latin America.

The kernel that Torvalds started hasn't been free software for several years now, as the FSFLA explains and continues in their second article. They maintain a modified version of the kernel named Linux with all of the binary blobs, obfuscated code and portions of code under proprietary licenses removed.

The resulting combination of the GNU Operating System and the kernel named Linux is the GNU+Linux operating system, although many (incorrectly) refer to it as "Linux."

I hope that this repository will make software freedom easier for more people, either by allowing you to replace the kernel in your existing GNU+Linux distribution with one that is entirely freedom-respecting, or for people already using fully-free GNU+Linux distributions to more easily get a newer kernel version if you need it for some reason.

This repository contains .debs compiled for 32- and 64-bit x86 CPUs. Please contact me if you need support for additional CPU architectures.

To use it edit the /etc/apt/sources.list file on your system and add the line:

deb http://linux-libre.fsfla.org/pub/linux-libre/freesh/ freesh main

You should also fetch and install the GPG key with which the repository is signed, with the commands:

wget http://linux-libre.fsfla.org/pub/linux-libre/freesh/archive-key.asc
sudo apt-key add archive-key.asc

Now you will now be able to update your package manager and install the kernel called Linux-libre. I like to use aptitude, but if you prefer apt-get then be sure to replace "aptitude" with "apt-get" here:

sudo aptitude update

Now you can use your package manager to install Linux-libre.

The exact package to install will depend on your CPU architecture. Please see the following table.

I also recommend that you subscribe to the linux-libre-announce mailing list to be aware of important changes. The mailing list is very low volume.

Short-term or long-term support?

The short-term support version provides all of the latest changes and features but is only supported for about 2-3 months so you're upgrading to new a new stable series more often.

In contrast, the long-term versions are suported for at least 2 years but won't necessarily have the latest stuff. If you want to use Linux-libre and prefer a kernel that isn't changing as much, the long-term versions are probably what you want.

A new long-term version will be selected roughly once each year, and versions will be refreshed every year to maintain at most 2 versions in 2 years.

Kernel Series	Supported Until	Support Model	32-bit package names	64-bit package names
3.9	Latest stable series, supported until July 2013	You will receive updates for the 3.9 series until version 3.10 is released. At that time your package manager will upgrade you to the 3.10 series, even if the 3.9 series is still being supported. You will also get all future kernel versions, too. If you always want to be using the latest kernel version, this is the package you want.	linux‑libre32 (Optionally): linux‑libre32‑headers linux‑libre32‑source	linux‑libre64 (Optionally): linux‑libre64‑headers linux‑libre64‑source
		You will receive updates for the duration of the 3.9 series. You will not be prompted to upgrade to 3.10 when it's released (or to any other version) and will instead continue to receive updates for the 3.9 series until support for that series ends. You can upgrade to a newer kernel series at any time. If you want to be using the latest kernel but don't want to upgrade to it immediately after it comes out, this package is for you.	linux‑libre32‑3.9 (Optionally): linux‑libre32‑3.9‑headers linux‑libre32‑3.9‑source	linux‑libre64‑3.9 (Optionally): linux‑libre64‑3.9‑headers linux‑libre64‑3.9‑source
3.8	Previous stable series, now end-of-life. Support ended May 12 2013. It will be removed from the repository when 3.10 is released.	You will receive updates for the duration of the 3.8 series until support for that series ends. You will not be prompted to upgrade to a new series but can manually upgrade to a newer kernel series at any time by installing the appropriate packages. If want to use the previous stable series and not the latest, this package is for you.	linux‑libre32‑3.8 (Optionally): linux‑libre32‑3.8‑headers linux‑libre32‑3.8‑source	linux‑libre64‑3.8 (Optionally): linux‑libre64‑3.8‑headers linux‑libre64‑3.8‑source
3.4	Current long-term support series, supported until at least May 2014	You will receive updates for the 3.4 series until the next long-term support version is released. At that time your package manager will upgrade you to the next long-term support version, even if the 3.4 series is still supported. If you always want to be using the latest long-term support version, this is the package you want.	linux‑libre32‑lts (Optionally): linux‑libre32‑lts‑headers linux‑libre32‑lts‑source	linux‑libre64‑lts (Optionally): linux‑libre64‑lts‑headers linux‑libre64‑lts‑source
		You will receive updates for the duration of the 3.4 series. You will not be prompted to upgrade to the next long-term support version when it's released and will instead continue to receive updates for the 3.4 series until support for that series ends. You can upgrade to a newer kernel series at any time by installing the appropriate packages. If you want to use the long-term support kernels but don't want to upgrade to a new series immediately after it comes out, this package is for you.	linux‑libre32‑3.4 (Optionally): linux‑libre32‑3.4‑headers linux‑libre32‑3.4‑source	linux‑libre64‑3.4 (Optionally): linux‑libre64‑3.4‑headers linux‑libre64‑3.4‑source

Have questions? Need help? Please visit #linux-libre on irc.freenode.net or contact me.

Linux-libre is free software, licensed under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2, as published by the Free Software Foundation. You should read the license so that you know your rights to run, study, and modify the software, as well as your obligations should you redistribute the software to others.

To ensure that I'm in full compliance with the license you may download the tarball containing the complete and corresponding source code, kernel configuration files, and the instructions to compile and install the kernel from http://linux-libre.fsfla.org/pub/linux-libre/freesh/.