How to Convert CentOS 8 to AlmaLinux 8

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In this Article we will learn how to convert an existing CentOS 8 system to AlmaLinux 8. This guide includes the link to the conversion script maintained by the official GitHub repo for AlmaLinux.

AlmaLinux is a binary fork of RedHat Linux Enterprise Linux (RHEL) which is created as an alternative to CentOS. The current AlmaLinux version is based on RHEL 8.3. Almalinux is aimed to fill the gap left by the demise of CentOS stable Linux.

Download the Script

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Download the almalinux-deploy.sh script from official AlmaLinux repo.

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/AlmaLinux/almalinux-deploy/master/almalinux-deploy.sh

Executing the Script

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Set the executable permission to almalinux-deploy.sh

chmod -v +x almalinux-deploy.sh

Run the downloaded script,

bash almalinux-deploy.sh

You'll get similar Output:

Complete!
Run dnf distro-sync -y                                                OK

Migration to AlmaLinux is completed, please reboot the system

Once migration is completed reboot the system.

reboot

To check the current version of OS.

cat /etc/redhat-release

Output:

[root@vps ~]# cat /etc/redhat-release
AlmaLinux release 8.3 Beta (Purple Manul)

To check the system boots AlmaLinux kernel by default.

grubby --info DEFAULT | grep AlmaLinux

Output:

[root@vps ~]# grubby --info DEFAULT | grep AlmaLinux
title="AlmaLinux (4.18.0-240.el8.x86_64) 8"