• Home Page, Headlines
 • DW Weekly, Comments
 • Packages, Package Management
 • Glossary, FAQ, Mobile Site
 • Search, Sitemap
 • Major Distributions
 • Submit Distribution
 • Upcoming Releases
 • About DistroWatch
 • Page Hit Ranking
 • Advertise
 • Torrent Downloads

Alpine Linux RSS Feed DistroWatch.com: Alpine Linux
Advertisement
MALIBAL Linux Laptops

MALIBAL Linux Laptops

MALIBAL: Linux Laptops Custom Built for You
MALIBAL is an innovative computer manufacturer that produces high-performance, custom laptops for Linux.

If your MALIBAL laptop is not the best Linux laptop you have ever used, you can return it for a full 100% refund. We will even pay the return shipping fees!

For more info, visit: https://www.malibal.com

Alpine Linux


Last Update: 2023-03-29 17:00 UTC



Alpine Linux is a community developed operating system designed for routers, firewalls, VPNs, VoIP boxes, containers, and servers. It was designed with security in mind; it has proactive security features like PaX and SSP that prevent security holes in the software to be exploited. The C library used is musl and the base tools are all in BusyBox. Those are normally found in embedded systems and are smaller than the tools found in GNU/Linux systems.

Popularity (hits per day): 12 months: 26 (321), 6 months: 24 (336), 3 months: 27 (354), 4 weeks: 30 (352), 1 week: 19 (543)

Average visitor rating: 8.6/10 from 48 review(s).


Alpine Summary
Distribution Alpine Linux
Home Page https://www.alpinelinux.org/
Mailing Lists https://lists.alpinelinux.org/
User Forums --
Alternative User Forums
Documentation https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/
Screenshots --
Screencasts
Download Mirrors https://alpinelinux.org/downloadsDistroWatch Torrent Archive
Bug Tracker https://bugs.alpinelinux.org/
Related Websites  
Reviews 3.9: DistroWatch
3.2: DistroWatch
Where To Buy or Try

Recent Related News and Releases
  Releases announcements with download links and checksums:
 • 2022-11-22: Distribution Release: Alpine Linux 3.17.0
 • 2022-05-24: Distribution Release: Alpine Linux 3.16.0
 • 2021-11-24: Distribution Release: Alpine Linux 3.15.0
 • 2021-01-14: Distribution Release: Alpine Linux 3.13.0
 • 2020-05-29: Distribution Release: Alpine Linux 3.12.0
 • 2019-12-19: Distribution Release: Alpine Linux 3.11.0
 • 2019-06-19: Distribution Release: Alpine Linux 3.10.0
 • 2019-01-30: Distribution Release: Alpine Linux 3.9.0
 • 2018-06-26: Distribution Release: Alpine Linux 3.8.0
 • 2017-05-25: Distribution Release: Alpine Linux 3.6.0
 • 2016-12-22: Distribution Release: Alpine Linux 3.5.0
 • 2016-05-31: Distribution Release: Alpine Linux 3.4.0
 • More Alpine releases...

  Headlines:
 • 2022-03-01 Packaging minimal images with apko
 • 2021-09-27 Drew DeVault talks about packaging software
 • 2021-04-27 Alpine may create its own service manager
 • 2018-12-20 Alpine eing ported to RISC-V
 • 2016-10-12 Alpine to use LibreSSL
 • More Alpine headlines...

Table Notes and Explanations

(Please refer to the table below.)
  • Select view:
  • To compare the software in this project to the software available in other distributions, please see our Compare Packages page.
  • Notes: In case where multiple versions of a package are shipped with a distribution, only the default version appears in the table. For indication about the GNOME version, please check the "nautilus" and "gnome-shell" packages. The Apache web server is listed as "httpd" and the Linux kernel is listed as "linux". The KDE desktop is represented by the "plasma-desktop" package and the Xfce desktop by the "xfdesktop" package.
  • Colour scheme: green text = latest stable version, red text = development or beta version. The function determining beta versions is not 100% reliable due to a wide variety of versioning schemes.
TUXEDO
TUXEDO Computers style=

TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!

Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.

Star Labs

Star Labs Systems | Laptops designed for Linux

Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.


Free Tech Guides

NEW! Learn Linux in 5 Days



In this FREE ebook, you will learn the most important concepts and commands and be guided step-by-step through several practical and real-world examples (a free 212-page ebook).



Feature 3.17.3 3.16.5 3.15.8 3.14.10 3.13.12 3.12.11 3.10.6 3.6.2 3.2.2 2.7.8 1.10.6 Feature
Release Date 2023-03-29 2023-03-29 2023-03-29 2023-03-29 2022-08-09 2022-03-28 2021-02-23 2017-06-17 2015-07-14 2014-05-21 2010-06-16 Release Date
End Of Life                       End Of Life
Price (US$) Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Price (US$)
Image Size (MB) 100-500 100-500 100-500 100-500 100-500 100-500 100-500 70-300       Image Size (MB)
Free Download ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO Free Download
Installation Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Installation
Default Desktop -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Default Desktop
Package Management APK APK APK APK APK APK APK APK APK APK APK Package Management
Release Model Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Release Model
Office Suite -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Office Suite
Processor Architecture aarch64, armhf, i486, ppc64, s390x, x86_64 aarch64, armhf, i486, ppc64, s390x, x86_64 aarch64, armhf, i486, ppc64, s390x, x86_64 aarch64, armhf, i486, ppc64, s390x, x86_64 aarch64, armhf, i486, ppc64, s390x, x86_64 aarch64, armhf, i486, ppc64, s390x, x86_64 aarch64, armhf, i486, ppc64, s390x, x86_64 armhf, i486, x86_64 armhf, i386, x86_64 i386, x86_64 i386 Processor Architecture
Init Software Busybox, OpenRC Busybox, OpenRC Busybox, OpenRC Busybox, OpenRC Busybox, OpenRC Busybox, OpenRC Busybox, OpenRC BusyBox BusyBox BusyBox BusyBox Init Software
Journaled File Systems ext4 ext4 ext4 ext4 ext4 ext4 ext4 ext3 ext3 ext3 ext3 Journaled File Systems
Multilingual -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Multilingual
Asian Language Support -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Asian Language Support
Full Package List 3.17.3 3.16.5 3.15.8 3.14.10 3.13.12 3.12.11 3.10.6 3.6.2 3.2.2 2.7.8 1.10.6 Full Package List
Package 3.17.3 3.16.5 3.15.8 3.14.10 3.13.12 3.12.11 3.10.6 3.6.2 3.2.2 2.7.8 1.10.6 Package
abiword (3.0.5) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- abiword (3.0.5)
alsa-lib (1.2.8) 1.2.8 1.2.7 1.2.5.1 1.2.5 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- alsa-lib (1.2.8)
amdgpu (23.0.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- amdgpu (23.0.0)
bash (5.2.15) 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.0 4.3 -- -- 4.0 bash (5.2.15)
bind (9.18.13) 9.18.11 9.16.37 9.16.37 9.16.37 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- bind (9.18.13)
chromium (111.0.5563.146) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- chromium (111.0.5563.146)
cups (2.4.2) 2.4.2 2.4.2 2.3.3 2.3.3 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- cups (2.4.2)
dhcp (4.4.3-P1) 4.4.3 4.4.3 4.4.3 4.4.3 4.4.2 4.4.2 4.4.1 4.3.4 4.3.2 4.2.5-P1 4.1.0-P1 dhcp (4.4.3-P1)
e2fsprogs (1.47.0) 1.46.6 1.46.6 1.46.6 1.46.2 1.45.7 1.46.4 1.45.5 1.43.4 1.42.13 1.42.8 1.41.9 e2fsprogs (1.47.0)
firefox (111.0.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- firefox (111.0.1)
freetype (2.13.0) 2.12.1 2.12.1 2.11.1 2.10.4 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- freetype (2.13.0)
gcc (12.2.0) 12.2.1 11.2.1 10.3.1 10.3.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gcc (12.2.0)
gimp (2.10.34) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gimp (2.10.34)
glibc (2.37) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- glibc (2.37)
gnome-shell (44.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gnome-shell (44.0)
gnucash (5.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gnucash (5.0)
gnumeric (1.12.55) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gnumeric (1.12.55)
grub (2.06) 2.06 2.06 2.06 2.06 2.04 2.06 2.02 -- -- -- -- grub (2.06)
gtk (4.10.1) 3.24.36 2.24.31 2.24.31 2.24.31 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gtk (4.10.1)
httpd (2.4.56) 2.4.56 2.4.56 2.4.56 2.4.56 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- httpd (2.4.56)
inkscape (1.2.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- inkscape (1.2.2)
k3b (22.12.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- k3b (22.12.3)
kmod (30) 30 29 29 29 28 29 24 23 -- -- -- kmod (30)
krita (5.1.5) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- krita (5.1.5)
libreoffice (7.5.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- libreoffice (7.5.2)
linux (6.2.9) 5.15.104 5.15.104 5.15.104 5.10.176 5.10.131 5.15.32 4.19.176 4.9.32 3.18.18 3.10.40 2.6.32.15 linux (6.2.9)
Package 3.17.3 3.16.5 3.15.8 3.14.10 3.13.12 3.12.11 3.10.6 3.6.2 3.2.2 2.7.8 1.10.6 Package
lxpanel (0.10.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- lxpanel (0.10.1)
mariadb (10.11.2) 10.6.12 10.6.12 10.6.12 10.5.19 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mariadb (10.11.2)
mate-desktop (1.26.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mate-desktop (1.26.1)
mesa (23.0.1) 22.2.5 21.3.9 21.2.6 21.1.8 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mesa (23.0.1)
mysql (8.0.32) 10.6.12 10.6.12 10.6.12 10.5.19 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mysql (8.0.32)
nautilus (44.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- nautilus (44.0)
NVIDIA (530.41.03) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- NVIDIA (530.41.03)
openbox (3.6.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- 3.6.1 -- -- -- -- openbox (3.6.1)
openjdk (20) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- openjdk (20)
openssh (9.3p1) 9.1p1 9.0p1 8.8p1 8.6p1 8.4p1 8.8p1 8.1p1 7.5p1 6.8p1 6.4p1 5.3p1 openssh (9.3p1)
openssl (3.1.0) 3.0.8r 1.1.1t 1.1.1t 1.1.1t 1.1.1q 1.1.1n 1.1.1j -- 1.0.2d 1.0.1g 0.9.9o openssl (3.1.0)
perl (5.36.0) 5.36.0 5.34.1 5.34.0 5.32.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- perl (5.36.0)
php (8.2.4) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- php (8.2.4)
plasma-desktop (5.27.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- plasma-desktop (5.27.3)
postfix (3.7.4) 3.7.4 3.7.3 3.6.7 3.6.7 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- postfix (3.7.4)
postgresql (15.2) 5.9 5.8.1 5.8.1 5.8.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- postgresql (15.2)
Python (3.11.2) 3.10.10 3.10.10 3.9.16 3.9.16 3.8.10 3.9.7 3.7.7 -- 2.7.9 2.7.6 -- Python (3.11.2)
qt (6.4.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- qt (6.4.3)
samba (4.18.1) 4.16.9 4.15.7 4.15.13 4.14.14 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- samba (4.18.1)
systemd (253.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- systemd (253.2)
thunderbird (102.9.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- thunderbird (102.9.1)
vim (9.0) 9.0 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.1 8.0 7.4 7.4 7.2 vim (9.0)
vlc (3.0.18) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- vlc (3.0.18)
wayland (1.21.0) 1.21.0 1.20.0 1.19.0 1.19.0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- wayland (1.21.0)
xfdesktop (4.18.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- xfdesktop (4.18.1)
xorg-server (21.1.8) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- xorg-server (21.1.8)

Reader Ratings
Reader supplied reviews for Alpine Linux

Average rating
8.6
from 48 review(s)



What are your thoughts on Alpine Linux?
Please include a few pros and a few cons, along with your overall impression of the operating system.
Our FAQ page has tips on writing a good mini-review.

Version:

Rating:    out of 10

Your review (minimum 250 words):




Past reviews - sort by:

Version: 3.17.2
Rating: 10
Date: 2023-02-27
Votes: 9


Alpine is a very good, multi functional Linux system.

Installation process is extremely fast and easy. After installation, completing system setup and creating xfce4 desktop took me only one hour. Adding other system and application packages were very easy and fast as well.

In about less than two hours I had my system up and running with all the packages (nothing more, nothing less) I liked to have on my system. Alpine gave me a freedom that I did not have in many other Linux distros I tried before.

I had web browser, graphics and media applications, libreoffice-calc all active on my desktop and the amount of memory used was only 1.4GB. Alpine never wastes system resources. It is fast and effective.

If you are a person with little Linux experience, do not shy away from Alpine. Its documentation base is extremely useful to help you create your system easily, quickly with the way you like.

Alpine package manager apk, is the fastest package manager I have ever used. Each software package also has its documentation package separately listed (i.e. man pages).

I have been enjoying using and experimenting with Alpine on my system with no issues so far. Alpine is a quiet achiever. Go for it!..


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 3.17.1
Rating: 9
Date: 2023-02-09
Votes: 3


I set out to check "Build a Router" off my bucket-list. I've setup Linux distros on my home machines for more than 20 years now. I prefer Fedora for my desktop for "reasons", but Fedora server really failed me here. Between systemd-resolved, network manager, and dnsmasq, taking my amateur, basic networking skills to the next level just was NOT happening. There is FAR too much going on there.

The Alpine Linux "sys" install onto a drive is a classic, minimal Linux installation WITHOUT systemd or network manager. It was/is the best approach I could find to learn the interoperability between iptables/nftables, dnsmasq, and hostapd. Nothing seemed to work until I discovered some iptables bits on a Ubuntu forum that finally enabled comms between my LAN, WLAN, and the internet. (I did a lot of reading - books even. But all the books are old too, and describe iptables and BIND in great detail.)

As of 3.17, I found the iptables package pretty much "broken" out-of-the-box, along with dnsmasq. The dnsmasq service sets up a bridge on 10.0.x.x behind your back AND a firewall with iptables rules. The iptables package wouldn't open up my traffic with some very, very basic FORWARD rules for my subnets. nftables saved the day, but the default nftables.conf also breaks a basic home router table. I'm sure none of that makes sense. OH, and the "net.ipv4.ip_forward" bit wasn't set by default. But nftables was easy to fix. The dnsmasq service file had to be pared down to a regular service that depends on "firewall". And the nftables package provides that. Basically all of the networking HOWTOs on the Alpine wiki are old and just don't work now.

Setting up Samba for a NAS was the easy part! That HOWTO is a winner.

It's a mixed bag, but I'll take it!


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 3.17.1
Rating: 9
Date: 2023-01-26
Votes: 4


This is a neat little distro.

The install is pretty easy actually. I you read the manual, it's not hard to set up a desktop environment even though that is not Alpines main niche.

The package manager seems to be good and have an understandable syntax.

It's fast, has a small footprint, is independent and free from systemd. What more could you ask for?

It's perfect for a user like me who have basic needs and mainly read email and browse the web.

I'll refrain from giving it a 10 because there is no perfect distro, but a 9 for sure.


Was this review helpful? Yes No

See all 48 reader reviews of Alpine Linux...


Copyright (C) 2001 - 2023 Atea Ataroa Limited. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Privacy policy. Change privacy settings.
DistroWatch.com is hosted at Copenhagen.

Contact, corrections and suggestions: Jesse Smith
Tips: bc1qtede6f7adcce4kjpgx0e5j68wwgtdxrek2qvc4
86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le
PayPal.me/distrowPatreon.com/distrowatch