I'm trying to create a Linux installation that uses the least amount of storage, RAM, and CPU power possible so that I can run it on even the weakest systems. My main concern is that Linux tends to add a boot entry to UEFI, which I want to avoid.
I need to be able to browse websites like YouTube, Reddit, and GPT for game development purposes. For context, I'm learning keyboard shortcuts for Blender with GPT's help.
I'm considering using AntiX with runit, but I'm open to suggestions for even lighter options. Here's what I'm looking for:
- A minimal Linux distribution that doesn't utilize systemd to help reduce resource usage.
- A simple window manager or similar solution that can run multiple X applications like a browser and game engine, and supports mouse input.
- A lightweight browser capable of accessing GPT, YouTube, and Reddit, and that supports mouse functionality.
- A minimal theme to keep storage and resource usage low.
- A simple file manager that also supports mouse input.
- No modification to the UEFI boot entries.
- An alternative to apt or whatever package manager comes with the distro, something even smaller.
- A lightweight and reliable solution for managing sudden power loss without corrupting the OS, better than Timeshift.
- A lighter alternative to GRUB as a bootloader.
I'm booting from a USB 3.0 drive and would appreciate any suggestions!
3 Answers
I've created what I like to call Firefox OS. It's a minimal Debian setup with some basics: ufw, htop, btop, xterm, xorg, and Firefox ESR. To enhance the browser's performance, consider a special config hack to keep the menu dropdowns from hiding. My setup uses `exec firefox-esr` in `~/.xinitrc` and runs with startx. This setup consumes less than 500MB of RAM with Firefox running!
I’m not sure it would replace a main desktop, but it’s a fun project.
You might want to check out a few resources about running Linux from RAM. This could be a game changer for your portable setup. Here's a link to get you started: [Google Search for Run from RAM Linux](https://www.google.com/search?q=run+from+ram+linux)
You can actually install almost any Linux distro onto a USB flash drive, regardless of UEFI. If properly set up, firmware will boot from `EFIBOOTBOOTX64.EFI`, so you don’t need to worry about UEFI entries unless you have multiple bootloaders on the EFI system partition.
That sounds interesting! I found out more about persistence, but I'm worried about reliability during sudden power losses. I want to build a lightweight Linux that I can customize as I go, but live USBs aren't always stable for me.