Intel takes the axe: Clear Linux OS abruptly discontinued

Intel is discontinuing Clear Linux OS: The distribution has been discontinued with immediate effect and there will be no more security patches, updates or other support. The developers recommend that users switch to another Linux distribution as soon as possible – does not, however, advocate a specific operating system for the migration.

Linux for benchmarks

Clear Linux OS was designed for the highest possible performance and was optimized in particular for the operation of containers and cloud servers. The distribution was created ten years ago, and Intel's own processors were primarily intended to benefit from the performance improvements. However, CPUs from competitor AMD also performed well in tests.

There is no official reason for the discontinuation of the distribution. However, Intel is doing badly economically: although the start of 2025 was better than expected, the manufacturer is still making a loss. Due to the losses, Intel announced another wave of layoffs just a few days ago. However, it is unclear how high the costs for Clear Linux OS were.

Open-source future uncertain

What is certain, however, is that Intel is reducing its open-source commitment. As Phoronix has documented, many Linux developers and maintainers have left Intel since the beginning of the year. This has now also had a technical impact, as in some cases no one with the same knowledge is available to replace them. How Intel will work with other distributors in the future is also unclear.

The brief official announcement can be found in the project forum. The developers will archive the GitHub repository.

(fo)