Which Linux distribution is the oldest still in active development?

Slackware is the oldest Linux distribution still in active development. Patrick Volkerding released it on July 17, 1993, originally as a cleaned-up version of the Softlanding Linux System (SLS), one of the earliest comprehensive Linux distributions.

Slackware emphasizes simplicity, stability, and a traditional Unix-like design. It generally avoids heavily customized graphical administration layers, giving users direct control through configuration files, shell tools, and relatively straightforward package management. Its development version, called “-current,” provides the ongoing work that eventually becomes a stable release.

Debian is a common source of confusion because it was also founded in 1993 and remains one of the oldest active distributions. However, Debian was announced in August 1993, after Slackware’s July release. Red Hat and SUSE appeared later, while Ubuntu was first released in 2004 and is derived from Debian.

Slackware also influenced the early SUSE Linux distributions, making it historically important beyond its age. Its long-running project is maintained by a comparatively small community, but its continued releases and development branch preserve its status as the oldest surviving active Linux distribution.