computer-science
Azure Linux 4.0 is Microsoft's first general-purpose Linux
Key takeaways
- Microsoft’s in-house Linux, the distribution that grew out of CBL-Mariner, just hit public preview as a general-purpose cloud OS you can run on any Azure VM.
- Microsoft shipped Azure Linux 4.0 into public preview at Build 2026, and for the first time you can run it on any Azure virtual machine, not just as the host underneath Azure Kubernetes Service.
- I have been following this distribution since before it had a marketing name.
Microsoft’s in-house Linux, the distribution that grew out of CBL-Mariner, just hit public preview as a general-purpose cloud OS you can run on any Azure VM. Here is why that is a real step in Microsoft’s Linux journey, not just a version bump.
Microsoft shipped Azure Linux 4.0 into public preview at Build 2026, and for the first time you can run it on any Azure virtual machine, not just as the host underneath Azure Kubernetes Service. That sounds like a small distinction. But, this is the moment Microsoft's in-house Linux stops being a special-purpose appliance distro and becomes a general-purpose Linux distro.
I have been following this distribution since before it had a marketing name. So let me put 4.0 in context...
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