Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system. Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free software and open source development; typically all underlying source code can be freely modified, used, and redistributed by anyone.

The name "Linux" comes from the Linux kernel, started in 1991 by Linus Torvalds. The system's utilities and libraries come from the GNU operating system, started in 1983 by Richard Stallman. The GNU contribution is the reason for the alternate name GNU/Linux.