CRUX

A lightweight, source-based distribution inspired by BSD's Ports system, aimed squarely at experienced Linux users who want a minimal base they build up entirely themselves.

Minimalist & DIYDIYsource-basedminimalBSD-inspiredadvanced-usersDownload ↗Official site ↗Docs / Wiki ↗

Based on

Independent

First released

2000

Package manager

pkgutils + Ports (source-based)

Desktop environments

None by default (fully user-chosen)

CRUX borrows its package philosophy directly from BSD-style Ports systems: packages are built from source using simple shell-script-based build recipes rather than a more complex binary-package infrastructure, keeping the whole system's tooling deliberately small and easy to fully understand. It ships no desktop environment, no graphical installer, and very little hand-holding of any kind, explicitly targeting users who already know Linux well and want to assemble exactly the system they want rather than start from someone else's defaults. Its small, dedicated community and BSD-inspired minimalism place it closer in spirit to Gentoo or Linux From Scratch than to any beginner-oriented distribution.

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