| Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre live boot selection mode | |
| Developer | Hyperbola Founders[1] |
| OS family | Linux (Unix-like) |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Free software |
| Initial release | April 15, 2017; 8 years ago (2017-04-15)[2] |
| Latest release | 0.4.4[3]  / 5 January 2024; 22 months ago (5 January 2024) |
| Repository | |
| Update method | Long-term support |
| Package manager | pacman |
| Supported platforms | AMD64,i686 |
| Kernel type | Monolithic (Linux-libre) |
| Userland | GNU |
| Default user interface | Bash |
| License | Free software (GNU GPL and other licenses) |
| Official website | www |
Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre is aLinux distribution for thei686 andx86-64 architectures, including theGNU operating system components and theLinux-libre kernel instead of the genericLinux kernel.Free Software Foundation considers it a completely free operating system, true to theirFree System Distribution Guidelines.[4][5] Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre usespacman as the package manager and some patchsets from theDebian development[6] though stopping using patchsets from Debian beyond the version Debian 12.[7]
The project has been developing afork ofOpenBSD calledHyperbolaBSD since 2019. They stated the goal of developing a independent,GPL-compatible operating system that excludesbinary blobs, with the plan to eventually discontinue the Linux distribution, citing concerns with the Linux kernel regarding inclusion ofDigital Rights Management,code security andRust inclusion.[8]
Hyperbola was born at the 17th annualFórum Internacional Software Livre (Porto Alegre,Brazil).[2]
On 5 August 2017, support forsystemd was dropped in favor ofOpenRC as its default init system[9] to support the Init Freedom Campaign[10][11] begun byDevuan.
On 6 December 2018, Hyperbola was the first Brazilian distribution[12] recognized as a completely free project byGNU, making it part of the FSF list of free distributions.[13][14][15]
On 23 September 2019, Hyperbola announced its first release with the implementation ofXenocara as its defaultdisplay server for theX Window System andLibreSSL as its default system cryptography library.[16]
In December 2019, Hyperbola announced that it would cease to be a Linux distribution, and that it would become a hard fork ofOpenBSD calledHyperbolaBSD. The stated goal of this fork is to become a independent BSD-derived operating system, remove any non-freebinary blobs and make all codeGPL-compatible in order to add GPL-licensed code. The project intends to contact the authors of many of the4-clause BSD-licensed source code files to ask them to remove the controversial BSD advertising clause, which is incompatible with the GPL.[8][17]
The project cited objections to recent developments in the Linux kernel that they deemed to be an "unstable path", including inclusion of optional support forHigh-bandwidth Digital Content Protection, the kernel "being written without security in mind", GNU and "core" components with non-optional dependencies, and endorsement of theRust programming language — due to objections to theMozilla Foundation trademarks policy and "a centralized code repository that is more prone to cyber attack and generally requires internet access to use".[8][17]
Since the release of version 0.4 on 1 March 2022, Hyperbolarebased towards its own packages built from scratch and is no longer using any marked snapshot fromArch Linux.
The Hyperbolasocial contract incorporates aspects of theParabola GNU/Linux-libre social contract and the "Init Freedom" movement ofDevuan. It commits the project to following the principles of thefree software movement andfree culture (including only supporting community-driven projects), respecting the privacy of users, and respecting the principles of stability (rejecting software that is "broken by design") and a minimal system (including rejecting undueabstraction layers).[18]
Hyperbola requires all software to adhere to theGNU Free System Distribution Guidelines, prohibiting packages that areproprietary software, and containbinary blobs orobfuscated code.[19] Notwithstanding that a project isfree and open source software, the Hyperbola project excludes packages that violate the social contract (and those that have dependencies on excluded packages), including those that:[20]
Under these guidelines, the Hyperbola project rejects packages such asD-Bus,PulseAudio, andsystemd (bloat), package managers for programming languages (capable of downloading non-free dependencies),Vulkan (only useful for modern GPUs thus breaking backwards compatibility),Zstd (corporate project), andMozilla Firefox (bloat, trademark policy, encourages use of non-free services; the project maintained a fork ofBasilisk known as Iceweasel-UXP but removed it in testing as the develepers may not have a maintainer for it in version 0.4.5 of Hyperbola.[22] Packages may be held back by the project if it is determined that current releases violate the social contract.[20][23]
Hyperbola aliases its stable releases using galaxy names as codenames[24] chosen from the list of nearest known galaxies of the Milky Way, in ascending order of distance.[25]
A stable version of Hyperbola gets released approximately every three years. Point releases will be available every few months. For each Hyperbola release, it will receive two years of extra security updates after its End Of Life (EOL). However, no further point releases will be made. Each Hyperbola release will receive five years of security support in total.[26]
Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre can be installed from scratch using the live images.[27] Prior to the version 0.4, migrating from an existing Arch-based system was supported.[28][29][30]
