The GNU Project was launched in 1984 to develop a complete Unix-like operating system which is free software the GNU system. GNU's kernel isn't finished, so GNU is used with the kernel Linux. The combination of GNU and Linux is the GNU/Linux operating system, now used by millions. Sometimes this combination is incorrectly called Linux There are many variants or “distributions” of GNU/Linux.

We recommend the GNU/Linux distributions that are 100% free software; in other words, entirely freedom-respecting. The name “GNU” is a recursive acronym for “GNU's Not Unix”; it is pronounced g-noo, as one syllable with no vowel sound between the g and the n.