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Azure Linux is a Microsoft-maintained, open-source Linux distribution built for Azure. It provides a lightweight, security-hardened operating system for virtual machines (VMs), containers, and Kubernetes clusters running on Azure infrastructure.
Note
Azure Linux 4.0 is now in preview and is strictly limited to evaluation and testing purposes. It's not suitable for production use.
Why choose Azure Linux?
Azure Linux is built on a robust open-source foundation from the Fedora ecosystem and enhanced with Azure-specific innovations. This gives you the familiarity of RPM package ecosystem, while adding Azure-native security, compliance, and operational capabilities.
The following table highlights the key features and benefits of Azure Linux:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Hardened security posture | Hardened from the kernel up with kernel lockdown, dm-verity for verified boot, SELinux for mandatory access controls, and FIPS 140-3 cryptographic modules. |
| Minimal footprint | Ships only the packages required for cloud workloads, resulting in a smaller attack surface, fewer CVEs, and faster boot times and lower memory consumption. |
| Azure-optimized kernel | Purpose-built kernel (6.18 LTS) with Hyper-V guest drivers, Azure-specific performance tuning, and security hardening validated across Azure environments like Virtual Machines (VM) / Virtual Machine Scale Sets and AKS. |
| Native Azure integration | Ships with validated Azure agents, VM extensions, and developer tools including Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Azure Monitor, Azure CLI, and more. See the full list in Supported Azure services. |
| Consistent across environments | Same operating system (OS) foundation, package set, and update mechanisms whether running on AKS, Azure VM / Virtual Machine Scale Sets, or container images. See the architecture overview. |
| Predictable lifecycle | Follows a lifecycle model designed to balance stability, security, and access to modern Linux capabilities. See Release cadence and lifecycle. |
How to use Azure Linux
Azure Linux is available across multiple Azure environments, each optimized for a specific Azure scenario while sharing the same trusted OS foundation, security baseline, and Microsoft-managed lifecycle. For full details, see the deployment options overview.
| Platform | Best for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux for VMs | VM-based infrastructure | Run infrastructure workloads on a Microsoft-supported, Azure-optimized Linux distribution. From web apps to AI workloads, Azure Linux delivers consistency, security, and performance while integrating natively with Azure services, extensions, and tooling. |
| Azure Linux for AKS | Kubernetes at scale | Already powering millions of cores running mission-critical workloads, Azure Linux is the container host for AKS. Offered as a standard host or as Azure Container Linux (ACL), an immutable variant for teams with stricter security and compliance requirements. Optimized for fast boot, predictable updates, and end-to-end Microsoft ownership from kernel to CVE response. |
| Azure Linux Container Images | Cloud-native applications | Build and run containerized applications on Microsoft-maintained base images to ensure consistency from build to production. Choose full-featured base images for flexibility, runtime-optimized images for Node.js, Python, Java, and .NET, or hardened distroless images for the smallest possible attack surface. |
| Azure Linux ISO | Local testing and evaluation | Download Azure Linux ISO artifacts from the Azure Linux GitHub repository for local testing and evaluation. |
Important
Azure Linux is open source, but Microsoft support and lifecycle commitments apply only to Azure scenarios. Specifically:
- Azure Linux VM / Virtual Machine Scale Sets, AKS container host, and container images are supported.
- Bare metal, ISO images, on-premises, and other clouds aren't supported.
- Customized images are supported only when built on top of a prebuilt Azure Linux image (for example, with Image Customizer). Images built from scratch from the Azure Linux sources on GitHub aren't covered.
Azure Linux release notes
Each Azure Linux release includes security updates, package upgrades, and bug fixes. See the Azure Linux release notes on GitHub for more information.
Related content
- For a deeper understanding of the OS structure, see the Architecture overview.
- To get started with Azure Linux 4.0, see the Quickstart guide.
- To plan your update strategy, review the Release cadence and lifecycle.