A light-weight Linux distribution is a

Linux distribution A Linux distribution, often abbreviated as distro, is an operating system that includes the Linux kernel for its kernel functionality. Although the name does not imply product distribution per se, a distro—if distributed on its own—is oft ...

that uses lower memory and processor-speed requirements than a more "feature-rich" Linux distribution. The lower demands on hardware ideally result in a more responsive machine, and allow devices with fewer

system resource In computing, a system resource, or simply resource, is any physical or virtual component of limited availability that is accessible to a computer. All connected devices and internal system components are resources. Virtual system resources in ...

s (e.g. older or

embedded hardware An embedded system is a specialized computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is em ...

) to be used productively. The lower memory and processor-speed requirements are achieved by avoiding

software bloat Software bloat is a process whereby successive versions of a computer program become perceptibly slower, use more memory, disk space or processing power, or have higher hardware requirements than the previous version, while making only dubious ...

, i.e. by leaving out features that are perceived to have little or no practical use or advantage, or for which there is no or low demand. The perceived weight of a Linux distribution is strongly influenced by the

desktop environment In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphi ...

included with that distribution. Accordingly, many Linux distributions offer a choice of editions. For example,

Canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean 'according to the canon' the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, ''canonical exampl ...

hosts several variants ("flavors") of the Ubuntu distribution that include desktop environments other than the default

GNOME A gnome () is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depict ...

or the deprecated Unity. These variants include the Xubuntu and

Lubuntu Lubuntu ( ) is a lightweight Linux distribution based on Ubuntu that uses the LXQt desktop environment in place of GNOME. Lubuntu was originally touted as being "lighter, less resource hungry and more energy-efficient", but now aims to be "a f ...

distributions for the comparatively light-weight

Xfce Xfce or XFCE (pronounced as four individual letters, ) is a Free and open-source software, free and open-source desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. Xfce aims to be fast and Lightweight software, lightweight whil ...

and

LXDE LXDE (abbreviation for Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) is a Free and open-source software, free desktop environment with comparatively low resource requirements. This makes it especially suitable for use on older or resource-constrained pe ...

LXQt LXQt is a free and open-source software, free and open source lightweight desktop environment. It was formed from the merger of the LXDE and Razor-qt projects. Like its GTK predecessor LXDE, LXQt does not ship or develop its own window manager ...

desktop environments. The demands that a desktop environment places on a system may be seen in a comparison of the minimum system requirements of Ubuntu 10.10 and Lubuntu 10.10 desktop editions, where the only significant difference between the two was their desktop environment. Ubuntu 10.10 included the Unity desktop, which had minimum system requirements of a 2 GHz processor with 2 GB of RAM, while Lubuntu 10.10 included LXDE, which required at least a Pentium II with 128 MB of RAM.

Overview of some distributions

ArchBang ArchBang Linux is a simple lightweight rolling release Linux distribution based on a minimal Arch Linux operating system with the i3 tiling window manager, previously using the Openbox stacking window manager. ArchBang is especially suitable ...

– inspired by

CrunchBang Linux CrunchBang Linux (abbreviated #!) is an unmaintained Linux distribution derived from Debian by Philip Newborough (who is more commonly known by his User (computing), username, ). CrunchBang was designed to use comparatively few system resources ...

but based on the

Arch Linux Arch Linux () is an Open-source software, open source, rolling release Linux distribution. Arch Linux is kept up-to-date by regularly updating the individual pieces of software that it comprises. Arch Linux is intentionally minimal, and is meant ...

distribution instead of

Debian Debian () is a free and open-source software, free and open source Linux distribution, developed by the Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock in August 1993. Debian is one of the oldest operating systems based on the Linux kerne ...

. * DebianDog -

Live CD shaped after

Puppy Linux Puppy Linux is a family of light-weight Linux distributions that focus on ease of use and minimal memory footprint. The entire system can be run from random-access memory (RAM) with current versions generally taking up about 600 MB (64-bit), 3 ...

. It is packaged with JWM and

IceWM IceWM is a stacking window manager for the X Window System, originally written by Marko Maček. It was written from scratch in C++ and is released under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License. It is customizable, relatively light ...

, or

Openbox Openbox is a free, stacking window manager for the X Window System, licensed under the GNU General Public License. Originally derived from Blackbox 0.65.0 (a C++ project), Openbox has been completely re-written in the C programming language ...

and

structure and behaviour are untouched. *

LinuxConsole LinuxConsole is a Linux distribution independently developed by Yann Le Doaré. LinuxConsole should be written as a single word, and the use of the word "console" in the name does not relate to Linux's system console mode but instead represent ...

- a lightweight system for old computers made to be easy for youth and casual users. * MiniOS - a debian based live system with various Desktop Environments. *

Parabola GNU/Linux-libre Parabola GNU/Linux-libre is a Free and open-source software, free and open-source Linux distribution based on Arch Linux and Arch Linux ARM for the x86-64, i686, and ARMv7 architectures. It is distinguished from other Arch-based distributions b ...

- an Arch-based lightweight system endorsed by the

Free Software Foundation The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Richard Stallman on October 4, 1985. The organisation supports the free software movement, with the organization's preference for software being distributed ...

. *

postmarketOS postmarketOS (abbreviated as pmOS) is an operating system primarily for smartphones, based on the Alpine Linux distribution. postmarketOS was launched on 26 May 2017 with the source code available on GitHub before migrating to GitLab in 2018. ...

– a derivative of Alpine Linux designed primarily for smartphones * Arch-based distros: Mabox, Archcraft, and Archman.

Comparison

References

{{Embedded systems Lightweight Unix-like systems Light-weight Linux distributions

Overview of some distributions

Comparison

See also

References