Linux Desktop Use Hits 22% on Workday as Cloudflare Sees 6.4% Overall Share

2 articles · Updated · ZDNet · Aug 11

Cloudflare data showed Linux desktop usage spiking to 22% on Monday, July 6, a workday jump that points to especially strong office and developer adoption.
Across Cloudflare’s broader sample, Linux reached a 6.4% desktop share, up from 4.1% a year earlier; the network says it tracks more than 24 million websites, or about 20% of the web.
Cloudflare counted human traffic rather than bots for the main figure, while Linux accounted for 9.7% when humans and bots were combined and bots alone made up 19%.
AI workloads are a key driver, with developers favoring Linux for easier setup, dependency management and GPU-accelerated tools, while AI agents also tend to run on Linux.
The rise also reflects pushback against Windows 11, Windows 10 hardware that cannot upgrade, and broader improvements in Linux usability, software installation and gaming support.