On October 15, 2026, the Linux Professional Institute (LPI) released version 2.0 of its Linux Essentials certificate. It's a major release: new exam objectives, updated Learning Materials and a new exam. If you're currently preparing for the exam or teaching it, it's worth checking which version you're actually studying for.
What's new?
- systemd and journald: Start, stop and check services with systemctl, query logs with journalctl. syslog is out.
- iproute2 instead of net-tools: ifconfig, route and netstat are heading into well-earned retirement. In their place: ip, resolvectl and IPv6 with SLAAC and DHCPv6.
- SSH: Remote logins, file transfers with scp, keys with ssh-keygen and authorized_keys – the everyday toolkit for servers and the cloud.
- Everyday security: Password managers, multi-factor authentication, passkeys, encryption and handling USB sticks sensibly.
- Distributions by family: Debian-based, Enterprise Linux (RHEL, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux and friends), SUSE-based and Alpine Linux, plus release models from LTS to rolling release.
- Linux everywhere: Installation on hardware, in VMs and in the cloud, dual boot and the Windows Subsystem for Linux.
- Free software and digital sovereignty: Licenses for software and content, free vs. proprietary software, digital autonomy.
- Smaller updates: find instead of locate, grep -E, if conditions in shell scripts – and the info pages have left the building.
What does this mean for you?
- The new exam is initially available in English. German, French, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish will follow over the next few months.
- In each language, version 1.6 remains available for six months after the respective 2.0 translation is released. So no need to panic if you're in the middle of your preparation.
- The new Learning Materials are available for free at learning.lpi.org, currently in English, Spanish and Portuguese, with more languages to follow.
More information
- Linux Essentials 2.0 exam objectives
- All changes from 1.6 to 2.0
- Learning Materials for the exam
- LPI press release
Questions about the exam or switching versions? Get in touch – or find a course with one of our training partners.