You can test all the best Linux distros right in your web browser with this site

Wan to give Linux a try but don’t have the spare hardware or aren’t familiar enough with virtual machines to give it a go?

What if I told you there was a website that allows you to test one of many Linux distributions without having to install anything at all? You could try Ubuntu, Zorin OS, Solu, SparkyLinux, Tails, Ubuntu Studio, Slackware, RebornOS, Peppermint OS, Pop!_OS, Porteus Linux, Puppy Linux, PureOS, Manjaro, OpenSUSE, Kubuntu, Gentoo Linux, Bodhi Linux, Garuda Linux, KDE Neon, and so many more.

Also: The first 5 Linux commands every new user should learn

The site in question is called DistroSea, and it allows you to test drive Linux from within your web browser. 

How it works

DistroSea uses a distribution ISO and a script from the Quickemu project to boot the OS. Once started, it uses a web-based VNC client to connect to the distribution so you can interact with the operating system from within your browser as if the OS was installed locally.

You don’t actually see any of this happening, nor do you have to do anything besides select the distribution you want to try, select the version of the distribution (such as GNOME or KDE). Once you’ve selected your distribution and version, you will be informed if there’s a wait time (I was in position 8 when I started with a 1-minute wait time. You can click Start at any time, but your distribution won’t open until the wait time has passed.

When the wait time expires, you can click Continue to be taken to the setup wizard for your distro of choice. The setup wizard requires you to select a language, accept the license, choose a timezone and date/clock/time zone settings, and a keyboard layout. When that is complete, the OS will boot, and you’ll be ready to go.

How it performs

I was honestly surprised at how well Mageia Linux performed within my browser on Distrosea. Yes, there was a slight lag, but that should be expected (and will vary, depending on your network connection speed). 

I was able to perform pretty much any task I needed to test out a Linux distribution and each distribution I tried ran exactly as expected. The only thing I couldn’t do (which was expected) was to install the OS onto a hard drive. 

After testing Mageia, I hit my browser’s back button until I was back in the distro selector window and tested Ubuntu. I was shocked that I could test the distro all the way back to version 7.04. Out of curiosity, I did just that. I wanted to remember what Ubuntu was like so many years ago. I started using Ubuntu with the first release (4.04) and remember those early days quite well.

Also: How to use a VPN on Linux – and why you should

With Ubuntu 7.04, I had to walk through the regular boot process that seemed to stall. After waiting for far too long, it dawned on me that this version might be too old for modern protocols, so I backed out of it and booted the latest version of Ubuntu (this time with 12 people ahead of me in line). The wait time was still around 1-minute before I could click Continue and see Ubuntu Linux in all its glory. 

With Ubuntu, I had to take care of the same steps I did with Mageia. I was surprised to find that Ubuntu didn’t run quite as well as Mageia. This could have been a network issue, or maybe because the latest Ubuntu demands a bit more resources than Mageia. Either way, I could kick the tires of the latest version of Ubuntu.

Also: 5 Linux commands you need to know to troubleshoot problems

The sidebar

If you look closely to the left edge of the window, you’ll see a small, gray pop-out handle with a right-pointing arrow. If you click that arrow, a small drawer will pull out with three buttons, which are (from the top):

• Full-screen mode.
• Settings.
• Disconnect.

Click Settings and you can enable Clip to Window, the Scaling Mode, the quality, and the compression level. If you find the distribution runs too slow for your taste, expand the Advanced section and dial the quality down until the performance improves.

I noticed that wait times were longer as the morning continued, and performance waned a bit. This is obviously a result of the service getting busier by the minute. That means when you try Distrosea will determine how well it performs. After a failed attempt at running Ubuntu 24.04, I tried again (knowing the service was busier than when I first started at around 7 AM EST). I had set the quality to below the halfway mark to see if that would help this time. Fortunately, Ubuntu 24.04 ran much better during the second attempt. There was still quite a bit of lag, but it was good enough that I could imagine someone new to Linux would get a good idea of what it was all about. 

The one caveat is that I wasn’t able to get a network connection. My guess is that the lack of networking is by design. I’m certain the owner of Distrosea doesn’t want people abusing the service. One could easily start a distro, do bad things, and close it out, getting away with whatever shenanigans they pulled off.

Also: 5 Linux commands for locating system slowdowns fast

So, if you must have networking to test a Linux distribution, you’ll be out of luck here. That’s fine because you can test everything else within the distro to see if that particular take on Linux is the one for you.