Linux distributions for your VPS
Six Linux distributions in ten versions, each from the project's own official cloud image, verified against its published checksum and set up by cloud-init on first boot.
How long each one is supported
Security updates from today until each project's published end of support. Fedora has no single date: each release is maintained for about 13 months and you upgrade to the next. Arch is a rolling release with no end date, as long as you keep it updated.
Pick by family
Debian family (apt)
Ubuntu and Debian: apt, the systems our guides are written for, and the only family where every one-click app installs.
28 one-click apps
- Ubuntu 24.04 LTS VPSOur default: the release current guides and vendor instructions usually target, with standard security updates until April 2029.
- Ubuntu 26.04 LTS VPSThe newest Ubuntu LTS, with a newer kernel and toolchains than 24.04 and standard security updates until April 2031.
- Ubuntu 22.04 LTS VPSAn older LTS for software pinned to it. Standard security updates end in April 2027.
- Debian 13 Stable VPSDebian trixie, the current stable release: lean, slow-changing, and supported into 2030 with Debian LTS.
- Debian 12 Oldstable VPSDebian bookworm, now covered by Debian LTS until June 2028, for setups that still need it.
Red Hat family (dnf)
AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux and Fedora: dnf and SELinux. AlmaLinux and Rocky are binary-compatible with RHEL; Fedora moves faster, with a new release twice a year.
24 one-click apps
- AlmaLinux 10 VPSBinary-compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, free to use, and supported until 2035.
- AlmaLinux 9 VPSBinary-compatible with RHEL 9, for software and control panels that list RHEL 9 support.
- Rocky Linux 9 VPSA community rebuild of RHEL 9, for teams already standardised on Rocky Linux.
- Fedora VPSThe current Fedora release, with newer packages. A new release comes about every six months, and each is maintained for about 13 months.
Arch (pacman)
Arch Linux: a rolling release you keep current yourself. One-click apps aren't offered; you build it your way.
No one-click apps: a clean system
Bring your own setup script
On any distribution, name up to 20 extra packages and paste a script of up to 16 KiB. It runs once as root on first boot, after the packages, and its output is logged on the server, so your new server comes up exactly the way you'd have set it up by hand.
#!/bin/bash
set -euo pipefail
# Runs once as root, after your packages are installed.
useradd -m -s /bin/bash deploy
install -d -m 700 -o deploy -g deploy /home/deploy/.ssh
cp /root/.ssh/authorized_keys /home/deploy/.ssh/
chown deploy:deploy /home/deploy/.ssh/authorized_keys
echo 'deploy ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL' > /etc/sudoers.d/deploy