I just want a linux distro that boots fast, has a bash terminal (no gui) and busybox.
Is there any such distro or is it hard to compile a kernel and just make one myself?
asked Jul 6, 2011 at 13:42
8 Answers
Ttylinux
What you are searching for is called ttylinux.
Major components
- Kernel
- Glibc
- Iptables
- Dropbear (scp, ssh, sshd)
- GPM
- Bash
- Busybox
- E2fsprogs
Not maintained
The distribution was hosted at Ttylinux.net, and is currently not maintained.
Download
answered Jul 6, 2011 at 14:23
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can i install it on a usb flash stick and have file persistence? If so then it sounds perfect. Jul 6, 2011 at 15:00
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@AndrejsCainikovs's link is broken. Setting Up a USB or Flash Drive: ttylinux.net/Documents/multi/node10.html Dec 18, 2013 at 15:00
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@AndrejsCainikovs April 2016 ww1.ttylinux.net is only serving ads. Apr 30, 2016 at 21:57
A good linux distro that I've fallen in love with (and also has no GUI) is MicroCore Linux. It also has an older brother TinyCore Linux that does have a GUI (a pretty crappy one though).
You could always try DSL (Damn Small Linux)
I don't think any of these explicitly come with busybox (I don't know of any distro that ships with it), but it shouldn't be too hard to install it afterwards. From what I understand your main concern is a small fast system with a decent shell.
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I tried microcore linux, my ethernet adapter isn't detected so i have no internet (required to download and install the bash extension as it does not come with bash by default). Jul 6, 2011 at 13:50
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2@MaxMackie, Last time I looked DSL was no longer being developed, so I generally recommend Puppy Linux instead.– CarlFJul 6, 2011 at 15:35
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@CarlF: You're right, I just checked. Last update was around 2008, thanks for the heads up.– nopcornJul 6, 2011 at 15:36
The best most current distribution I can think of is Debian NetInst: http://www.debian.org/CD/netinst/
There are a number of small Linux distributions out there but this one I think will be among the best maintained. Another thing is, if you need to grow it to full size, it's a trivial operation.
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so this netinstall... its basically just a cli and boots very fast? I'd need it able to be booted from usb using syslinux and to have file persistence. Jul 6, 2011 at 14:55
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"Alpine Linux is a security-oriented, lightweight Linux distribution based on musl libc and busybox."
Minimal Linux Live
https://github.com/ivandavidov/minimal
For a more interesting interactive system, this is a (mostly educational) small script that:
- downloads the source for the kernel and busybox
- compiles them
- generates a bootable 8Mb ISO with them
The ISO then leaves you in a minimal shell with busybox.
With QEMU you can easily boot into the system.
I have modified it to allow running it from the kernel source directory: https://github.com/cirosantilli/runlinux
Usage:
git clone https://github.com/ivandavidov/minimal
cd minimal/src
./build_minimal_linux_live.sh
# Wait.
# Install QEMU.
# minimal_linux_live.iso was generated
./qemu64.sh
and you will be left inside a QEMU Window with you new minimal system. Awesome.
Since it is small, this is a good option to read the source and understand what is going on.
Tested on Ubuntu 16.04.
Buildroot
Large set of Makefile scripts that manage:
- GCC cross compilation toolchain
- kernel compilation
- bootloader compilation
- generation of rootfs
- has tons of package download / build recipes in the source tree, including complex stuff like GTK. There is a dependency system.
Minimal example:
git clone git://git.buildroot.net/buildroot
cd buildroot
git checkout 2016.05
make qemu_x86_defconfig
# Can't use -jN, use `BR2_JLEVEL=2` instead.
BR2_JLEVEL=2 make
# Wait.
# cat board/qemu/x86_64/readme.txt
qemu-system-x86_64 -M pc -kernel output/images/bzImage -drive file=output/images/rootfs.ext2,if=virtio,format=raw -append root=/dev/vda -net nic,model=virtio -net user
# You are now in a shell with BusyBox utilities.
Professional stuff.
Alpine Linux
https://github.com/gliderlabs/docker-alpine
Embedded distribution with a package manager that offers precompiled binaries from a website.
Single executable rootfs
The absolute minimum system runs a single /init program as I've explained at https://superuser.com/a/991733/128124
answered May 5, 2015 at 14:13
Ciro Santilli OurBigBook.comCiro Santilli OurBigBook.com
11.6k6 gold badges68 silver badges64 bronze badges
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1@BhavyaGupta I always do a quick rearead after upvotes, improvement never ends. Jun 19, 2020 at 8:03
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1Great dedication. If people like you come together nothing can stop china from becoming a great superpower. All that is needed is democracy!! Salute! Jun 19, 2020 at 9:27
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@BhavyaGupta thanks! I just want them to become a democracy first. Once that is done, then they can become a superpower together with all other currently poor countries. :-) All best. Jun 19, 2020 at 9:38
You should try Arch Linux. It let's you choose what you do and do not want to install on your system. You could even choose to not install bash :p Alternatively you could try Gentoo, where you have to compile everything from scratch.
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Not entirely correct, considering that all SysVinit scripts on Arch are written for
bash. (It's easy to replace SysVinit with systemd, though.) Jul 6, 2011 at 14:28 -
Yeah, but during the installation you still get the possiblity to choose to not install bash. :p– RobinJJul 6, 2011 at 14:33
Minimal Development Distro:
busybox, musl C library, gcc, binutils, make, bash, and the Linux kernel.
or
Minimal Non-Development Distro:
busybox, musl and the Linux Kernel
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1I think the OP wanted a specific distro, not to build one himself.– Journeyman Geek ♦Feb 26, 2013 at 5:10
Well you could use Yocto to bitbake (or whatever it uses these days) a tiny distribution that has just what you want (including appropriate hardware drivers).
sh.