AlmaLinux 10 (Lavender Lion): Install and Setup Guide

✅ AlmaLinux 10.2 "Lavender Lion" — Released May 2026 · Kernel 6.12 · GNOME 49

AlmaLinux 10 is the current major release of AlmaLinux OS, a RHEL-compatible community distribution. Codenamed "Lavender Lion", it ships kernel 6.12, GNOME 49, Python 3.14, PHP 8.4, and introduces Btrfs filesystem support with boot capability — a notable deviation from upstream RHEL 10. AlmaLinux 10 is supported until 2035.

AlmaLinux vs Rocky Linux vs RHEL

AlmaLinux 10 offers two notable extras over stock RHEL 10: Btrfs filesystem support (including boot) and i686 userspace packages for running legacy 32-bit software. If you need either of these, AlmaLinux is the better choice over Rocky Linux 10.

What is New in AlmaLinux 10

Kernel and Desktop

• Kernel 6.12.0 — LTS kernel with improved hardware support, io_uring, and modern NVMe drivers
• GNOME 49 — latest GNOME desktop for workstation installations

Updated Runtimes

Btrfs Support (AlmaLinux-exclusive)

AlmaLinux 10 adds Btrfs filesystem support including boot — something RHEL 10 and Rocky Linux 10 do not offer. This enables transparent compression, subvolumes, and snapshotting on AlmaLinux 10 systems. You can select Btrfs as the root filesystem during installation.

i686 Userspace for Legacy 32-bit Software

AlmaLinux 10 includes i686 userspace packages, allowing 32-bit Linux applications to run on 64-bit hardware. This is relevant for legacy software, Wine, Steam, and older enterprise applications that have not been recompiled for 64-bit. Rocky Linux 10 dropped this entirely.

Other Changes

• CRB repository enabled by default — development headers and build tools available without manual repo setup
• Frame pointers re-enabled by default — enables system-wide profiling with perf and BPF tools
• SPICE support restored for virtual machine display and client use cases
• Firefox and Thunderbird ship as standard RPMs (not Flatpak — unlike Rocky Linux 10)
• Extended hardware support for older Adaptec, Dell, and HP storage controllers
• x86_64_v2 build variant for hardware that does not support newer ISA extensions

System Requirements

Download AlmaLinux 10

# Minimal ISO (downloads packages during install)wget https://repo.almalinux.org/almalinux/10/isos/x86_64/AlmaLinux-10.2-x86_64-minimal.iso# Full DVD (offline install)wget https://repo.almalinux.org/almalinux/10/isos/x86_64/AlmaLinux-10.2-x86_64-dvd.iso# Verify checksumsha256sum AlmaLinux-10.2-x86_64-minimal.iso

Installation Steps

AlmaLinux uses the Anaconda installer — the same as Fedora, RHEL, and Rocky Linux. The installation flow is identical to AlmaLinux 10.

Key Screens to Configure

• Software Selection: Choose Minimal Install, Server with GUI, or Workstation. For servers, start with Minimal.
• Installation Destination: Select disk. To use Btrfs, choose Custom partitioning and select Btrfs as the filesystem for /.
• Network & Hostname: Configure interface and set hostname — do this before the install completes.
• Root Password: Set a strong root password. Optionally create a standard user and add to the wheel group.

Post-Installation Setup

# Update system
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh -y

# Install essential tools
sudo dnf install -y vim git curl wget tmux htop bash-completion

# Install EPEL
sudo dnf install epel-release
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

Enable EPEL and CRB

# CRB is enabled by default in AlmaLinux 10 — verifydnf repolist | grep crb# EPEL for additional packagessudo dnf install epel-release# PowerTools (if needed for specific build dependencies)sudo dnf config-manager --enable crb

Essential dnf Commands

Migrating from AlmaLinux 10

There is no in-place upgrade from AlmaLinux 10 to AlmaLinux 10. Plan a fresh install:

# On AlmaLinux 10: export package list and config backup
rpm -qa --qf '%{NAME}n' | sort > /backup/packages.txt
sudo tar czf /backup/etc_backup.tar.gz /etc

# Dump databases before migration
sudo mysqldump --all-databases > /backup/mysql_all.sql
sudo -u postgres pg_dumpall > /backup/postgres_all.sql

AlmaLinux 10 is supported until 2032, so migration is not urgent. Schedule it during a planned maintenance window.

Troubleshooting FAQ

32-bit application does not run

# Install i686 userspace libraries (AlmaLinux 10 exclusive)sudo dnf install glibc.i686 libstdc++.i686# Check which 32-bit library a binary needsldd /path/to/32bit-app | grep "not found"

Service not starting after migration

# Check systemd status
sudo systemctl status service-name

# Check SELinux denials
sudo ausearch -m AVC -ts today | audit2why

# Check journal for errors
sudo journalctl -xe -u service-name