bleemayer/lin0 repository overview

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lin0 (linux zero) is a super minimal source-based linux meta-distribution, primarily aimed at power users or minimalism enthusiasts. it was born from exercises in how minimal a linux system can get.

the distro features a barebones system built from scratch:

• the linux kernel, without initrd
• musl libc
• mksh (the myr korn shell)
• tcc (tiny C compiler)
• toybox
• simple configs and a shell script init

all the rest it optional and can be built from this if needed.

⁠release notes

v0.0.1: initial release

⁠images

if you don't want to build the whole system we provide a tarball without the kernel so you can build just the kernel, or copy it from somewhere.

• x86_64
• aarch64

⁠usage

after built the system should boot to a login prompt, the default user is root and password is lin0.

⁠installation

⁠from source

clone this repo with:

git clone https://terminal.pink/lin0

the installation is a 3-step process:

• copy your kconfig to configs/MODEL-linux.config
• run ./make.sh, this will build the system
• copy the generated rootfs to your target system

the installer will copy any extra packages present at the pkg folder to your rootfs/share/pkg folder.

⁠from tarball

if you downloaded the tarball you can simply untar it to your destination partition. then copy your kernel to the boot folder.

⁠license

this software is licensed under the BSD 2-clause license.

(C) 2023-24 Brian Mayer