microsoft/azurelinux

This repository contains CBL-Mariner, a Linux distribution that Microsoft built for its own cloud infrastructure and edge products. Think of it as a stripped-down version of Linux designed specifically to run services inside Microsoft's data centers and on devices like network switches. Microsoft open-sourced it so the broader community can see how it works and contribute back. The core idea is that a small, shared set of software packages can cover the needs of most internal Microsoft services. Individual teams can then add whatever extra software their specific workloads require on top of that shared base. This approach keeps the system lightweight: less disk space used, less memory consumed, faster startup, and fewer places for security problems to hide. The repository is organized around two main activities: building software packages (called RPM files, a common Linux packaging format) from recipe files called SPEC files, and then assembling those packages into a complete system image, such as a virtual hard disk or an installable ISO file. The build system handles both steps. For security, when a vulnerability is discovered, Microsoft can push updated packages through the same package manager system most Linux users already know. This means critical fixes can reach deployed systems quickly without requiring a full reinstall. If you want to try it, Microsoft provides downloadable ISO images for the x86_64 processor architecture. The project is community-supported for ISO usage, and bugs or feature requests go through GitHub Issues. There are also periodic public community calls where users and contributors can discuss the project together.