CentOS Stream is a Linux® distribution where open source community members can develop, test, and contribute to a continuously delivered distribution upstream for Red Hat® Enterprise Linux—all in tandem with Red Hat developers.

Red Hat develops the Red Hat Enterprise Linux source code in the CentOS Stream development platform before releasing new Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 is the first major release built within CentOS Stream.

How does CentOS Stream work?
CentOS Stream provides greater transparency and more opportunities for community, partner, and customer participation.

The platform is an important part of the larger Red Hat Enterprise Linux source code development process:
- Fedora: The upstream project on which future Red Hat Enterprise Linux major releases are based. This is where significant operating system (OS) innovations are introduced.
- CentOS Stream: CentOS Stream better connects ISV, IHV and other ecosystem developers to the OS developers of the Fedora Project–the foundation of the Fedora OS. This shortens the feedback loop and makes it easier for all voices to be heard in the creation of the next Red Hat Enterprise Linux versions.
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux: A production-grade operating system that provides a more secure, supported, and flexible foundation for critical workloads and applications.

When you use CentOS Stream, you benefit by gaining early access to the same source code Red Hat developers and engineers use to produce the next version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The platform provides a continuous stream of content, making CentOS Stream a preview of future Red Hat Enterprise Linux releases.

CentOS Stream code becomes the next minor release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, so you can contribute directly to Red Hat Enterprise Linux and test your workloads before new releases are published.

Let’s say you’re a Red Hat Enterprise Linux user who has identified a change that is needed in the next version. You can propose that change to CentOS Stream for Red Hat developers to evaluate. If accepted, your change is tested, verified, and will land in CentOS Stream, and the change will be in the next minor release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Why contribute to CentOS Stream?
Community contributors to CentOS Stream get early access to the same code Red Hat developers and engineers use to produce the next version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
- Hardware partners and application developers can test their solutions, checking that everything works as it should with the next release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
- Community members can contribute new features and patches that can improve the capabilities and security of the next Red Hat Enterprise Linux release.
- Users of CentOS Stream can share feedback without having to wait for the next Red Hat Enterprise Linux release.