CentOS (Community ENTerprise Operating System) is a popular Linux distribution derived from the sources of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Below is a list of CentOS versions and their end-of-life (EOL) dates:
CentOS 3
- Release Date: March 19, 2004
- End of Life: October 31, 2010
CentOS 4
- Release Date: March 9, 2005
- End of Life: February 29, 2012
CentOS 5
- Release Date: April 12, 2007
- End of Life: March 31, 2017
CentOS 6
- Release Date: July 10, 2011
- End of Life: November 30, 2020
CentOS 7
- Release Date: July 7, 2014
- End of Life: June 30, 2024
CentOS 8
- Release Date: September 24, 2019
- End of Life: December 31, 2021 (Initial EOL was set for May 31, 2029, but CentOS 8 was discontinued early in favor of CentOS Stream)
CentOS Stream
- CentOS Stream 8: Continually updated, replaced CentOS 8
- CentOS Stream 9: Continually updated
CentOS Stream:
CentOS Stream is a rolling release distribution that serves as a midstream between Fedora and RHEL, receiving updates before RHEL but after Fedora.
Important Notes:
- CentOS 8 was replaced by CentOS Stream 8, which tracks just ahead of a current RHEL release.
- The transition to CentOS Stream marked a significant shift in CentOS’s role, leading to the early EOL of CentOS 8.
For those looking for a traditional, stable CentOS-like experience, alternatives such as AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux (both are community-driven forks of RHEL) are often recommended.
