# Manjaro Linux registers independent German nonprofit, splits from commercial entity

> **Key takeaway:** Manjaro Project e.V. is now a legally registered German nonprofit separate from Manjaro GmbH & Co. KG, with seven founding members taking control of development and infrastructure after months of governance disputes.

**Published:** 2026-11-13T13:20:43+00:00 
**Source:** Linuxiac 
**Category:** distro-news 
**Canonical URL:** https://fosswire.org/news/manjaro-linux-registers-independent-german-nonprofit-splits-.html 

## Summary
Manjaro Linux has formally established Manjaro Project e.V. as an independent nonprofit association in Germany, completing a key objective of the Manjaro 2.0 Manifesto released in March. The new entity is legally separate from the commercial Manjaro GmbH & Co. KG and has seven founding members who now constitute the initial General Assembly: Dennis ten Hoove, Frank Vandermeiren, Jonas Strassel, Mark Wagie, Roman Gilg, Simon Büeler, and Stefano Capitani.

The restructuring follows months of public conflict over project leadership, with developers criticizing founder Philip Müller's centralized control of decision-making, limited developer access to infrastructure, and prioritization of commercial interests. The developers have already begun operating independently, initiating recent testing and stable updates without Müller's oversight, and are optimizing development infrastructure in response to sustained automated bot attacks. The announcement does not confirm whether trademark and asset transfers from the commercial entity have occurred.

## Governance structure and operational transition
- **Legal separation:** Manjaro Project e.V. is registered as a fully independent German nonprofit, distinct from the commercial Manjaro GmbH & Co. KG, with its own General Assembly governance structure.
- **Founding membership:** Seven developers form the initial General Assembly with provisions to admit additional members and supporting members in the future.
- **Infrastructure control:** The development team has already assumed independent operation of testing and stable update channels, a function previously controlled by founder Philip Müller.
- **Security response:** The team is actively optimizing development infrastructure partly to address ongoing automated bot attacks against existing systems.
- **User impact:** No changes to the Arch Linux base, package management, or end-user systems; the transition is purely organizational with no required user action.

## Why it matters
This governance split offers a model for how community-driven distributions can legally separate from commercial entities when conflicts arise over project direction and resource control. For Manjaro's substantial user base, the stabilization of developer access to infrastructure and release management should reduce the technical issues and participation drops cited in the manifesto, though the unresolved trademark and asset transfer questions could still create friction.