The CentOS Project has officially unveiled CentOS Stream 10, codenamed “Coughlan,” now available for download. Designed and built by the same engineers who shape Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the distro is often described as the major version branch from which future RHEL versions emerge.
Like its predecessors, it enjoys a roughly five-year lifecycle, with maintenance expected until at least 2030—although the exact sunset date will align with RHEL 10’s official Full Support end date. In other words, users have some breathing room, knowing that the platform is set to remain stable and supported for the foreseeable future. Now, to the novelties.
One of the more striking shifts in CentOS Stream 10 is its decision to target the v3 microarchitecture level for AMD/Intel 64-bit processors. By doing so, the development team aims to unlock more robust optimizations that translate into better performance on newer hardware.
At the same time, CentOS Stream 10 continues to provide support for a broad range of architectures, including ARM 64-bit (ARMv8.0-A), IBM Power (POWER9), and IBM Z (z14). This ensures that organizations running specialized workloads on diverse hardware platforms can still rely on CentOS Stream as their go-to environment.
Regarding software distribution, CentOS Stream 10 comes packaged with two main DNF repositories—BaseOS and AppStream. The former offers the essential functionality needed for a stable core operating system, while the latter provides user-space applications, programming languages, and databases catering to a wide range of use cases.
While the CRB repository also makes a return, it remains disabled by default, primarily serving the needs of development scenarios. Notably, the team has phased out the modularity approach used in previous versions. Instead, they plan to rely on traditional non-modular RPM packages to offer optional alternative software versions down the road.
Under the hood, CentOS Stream 10 includes an impressive lineup of updated components. The Linux kernel now sits at version 6.12, providing modern features and performance enhancements.
Programming languages and tools have received a refresh, too, with Python 3.12, GCC 14, Go 1.23, Rust 1.82, and LLVM 19 making their debut. Developers can also look forward to newer versions of Ruby 3.3, Node.js 22, PHP 8.3, and OpenJDK 21.
For those running web servers or managing databases, the inclusion of Apache HTTP Server 2.4.62, nginx 1.26, PostgreSQL 16, MariaDB 10.11, MySQL 8.4, and the freshly introduced Valkey 7.2 (a Redis fork) should feel like a welcome upgrade.
On the desktop front, you get the latest GNOME 47. Apart from that, the shift toward more modern display technologies is now front and center. The Xorg server has been removed, making Wayland the default display stack.
Xwayland steps in as the compatibility layer for legacy X11 applications, ensuring that, while the operating system moves forward, it does not strand users who still rely on older software.
And now to a slightly surprising move. Many well-known graphical desktop applications—including Firefox, GIMP, LibreOffice, Inkscape, and Thunderbird—have also been removed. Yes, you read that correctly.
Put simply, if you try to install, for example, Firefox using the well-known approach via the DNF package manager, here’s what happens:
This move aligns with RHEL’s strategy of delivering graphical applications through Flatpak. So, users seeking these familiar tools are encouraged to turn to Flathub or request their inclusion in the Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux (EPEL) repository.
Speaking of EPEL, it’s worth noting that EPEL 10 is already available to CentOS Stream 10 users, and as of December 12, 2024, it offers over 10,000 packages.
Meanwhile, improvements in software management have not gone unnoticed, with DNF 4.20 and RPM 4.19 now standard. Administrators and developers can expect smoother package handling, better dependency resolution, and a more streamlined experience overall.
However, early adopters should be aware of a few known issues. At present, CentOS Stream 10 does not boot with Secure Boot enabled. This limitation, the developers note, is currently pending a shim review—a process that, once complete, should restore compatibility with Secure Boot in the future.
For more information about all changes in CentOS Stream 10, see the official announcement or check out the release notes.
