Clear Linux OS[a] is a discontinuedLinux distribution, once developed and maintained onIntel's 01.orgopen-source platform, and optimized for Intel's microprocessors with an emphasis on performance and security.[14][15] Its optimizations were also effective on AMD systems.[16] Clear Linux OS followed arolling release model. Clear Linux OS was not intended to be a general-purpose Linux distribution; it was designed to be used by IT professionals forDevOps,AI application development,cloud computing, andcontainers.[17]
In 2015, Intel introducedClear Linux OS at OpenStack Summit 2015, Vancouver[18] initially, it was limited to cloud usage.[19][20] Intel began theClear Containers project to addresscontainer security.[21][22][23] In 2015, originally,Clear Linux OS was deployed as a single monolithic unit.[24] In May 2019, Clear Linux OS released a new Desktop Installer and started a Help Forum.[25][26]
On July 18, 2025, Intel announced the end of supportClear Linux OS, effective immediately.[27][28][29]
Clear Linux OS uses referencestacks to install images that are optimized and tested together for specific use-cases.[35] It also utilizes a strict separation between User data and System config files, calledstateless, so that even a misconfigured system will still boot correctly and then perform a factory reset so it can be reconfigured.
By default, Clear Linux OS ships with theGNOME desktop environment[4] and most graphical effects are disabled.KDE Plasma andXfce are also available for installation.
Packages are usually installed and updated through bundles with the help ofswupd,[36] which is described as anOS-level software update program, usingdelta updates to minimize update size.Flatpak is also preinstalled and can be used to install and use packages.
Mixer is the tool for creating 3rd-party-bundles, which can then be installed usingswupd.[37]
^Clear Linux was referred to in early documentation asClear Linux™ OS, later asClear Linux* OS with a corresponding footnote acknowledging that the rights to "Linux" may be possessed by others.[1][2]Clear Linux OS has been referred to, in the literature, asClear Linux™ OS,Clear Linux* OS,Clear Linux OS,Clear Linux* andClear Linux.[13]
^"Clear Linux Highlights #5".Clear Linux* Project: Blogs & News. November 28, 2016.Archived from the original on August 31, 2021. RetrievedAugust 31, 2021.
