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+# Distributions
+This subproject contains the necessary tooling to build the various distributions.
+Note that some of this can only be run on the specific architecture and does not support cross-compile.
+
+The following distributions are being built:
+* Archives (`*.zip`, `*.tar`): these form the basis for all other OpenSearch distributions
+* Packages (`*.deb`, `*.rpm`): specific package formats for some Linux distributions
+* Docker images
+* Backwards compatibility tests: used internally for version compatibility testing, not for public consumption
+
+## With or Without JDK?
+For each supported platform there should be both a target bundled with a JDK and a target without a bundled JDK.