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SparkyLinux


Last Update: 2023-03-13 10:19 UTC



SparkyLinux is a lightweight, fast and simple Linux distribution designed for both old and new computers featuring customised Enlightenment and LXDE desktops. It has been built on the "testing" branch of Debian GNU/Linux.

Popularity (hits per day): 12 months: 22 (369), 6 months: 22 (375), 3 months: 31 (303), 4 weeks: 30 (324), 1 week: 42 (245)

Average visitor rating: 8.82/10 from 74 review(s).


SparkyLinux Summary
Distribution SparkyLinux
Home Page https://sparkylinux.org/
Mailing Lists --
User Forums https://forum.sparkylinux.org/
Alternative User Forums
Documentation https://sparkylinux.org/wiki/doku.php
Screenshots https://sparkylinux.org/screenshotsDistroWatch Gallery
Screencasts
Download Mirrors https://sparkylinux.org/download/DistroWatch Torrent Archive
Bug Tracker https://sourceforge.net/p/sparkylinux/tickets/
Related Websites  
Reviews 2020.x: Dedoimedo
5.x: DistroWatch
3.x: DistroWatchHectic GeekLinuxInsiderNavy ChristianDedoimedo
2.x: DistroWatch
Where To Buy or Try

Recent Related News and Releases
  Releases announcements with download links and checksums:
 • 2023-02-06: Distribution Release: SparkyLinux 6.6
 • 2022-08-13: Distribution Release: SparkyLinux 6.4
 • 2022-03-08: Distribution Release: SparkyLinux 2022.03
 • 2021-09-19: Distribution Release: SparkyLinux 2021.09
 • 2021-08-20: Distribution Release: SparkyLinux 6.0
 • 2021-03-07: Distribution Release: SparkyLinux 2021.03
 • 2020-10-05: Distribution Release: SparkyLinux 4.13
 • 2020-07-07: Distribution Release: SparkyLinux 5.12
 • 2020-05-06: Distribution Release: SparkyLinux 2020.05
 • 2020-02-10: Distribution Release: SparkyLinux 2020.02
 • 2019-10-07: Distribution Release: SparkyLinux 5.9
 • 2019-08-02: Distribution Release: SparkyLinux 2019.08
 • More SparkyLinux releases...

  Headlines:
 • 2023-01-21 Sparky offers storage persistence on USB thumb drives
 • 2022-08-02 Sparky updates classic desktops and language translations
 • 2020-02-15 Sparky introduces MystiQ
 • 2019-12-05 SparkyLinux introduces portable edition
 • 2019-06-02 SparkyLinux adds QtFM file manager
 • 2018-04-07 Sparky reducing number of editions
 • 2017-12-12 Sparky runs on a Raspberry Pi
 • 2016-11-29 SparkyLinux unveils several changes
 • More SparkyLinux 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.
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Feature 2023.03 6.6 5.16 4.13 4.5.2 3.5 3.1 2.1 2.0.1 Feature
Release Date 2023-03-07 2023-02-05 2022-01-14 2020-10-04 2016-12-23 2014-09-06 2013-09-29 2013-03-19 2012-12-18 Release Date
End Of Life                   End Of Life
Price (US$) Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Price (US$)
Image Size (MB) 600-1800 600-1800 500-1400 400-1400           Image Size (MB)
Free Download ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO Free Download
Installation Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Installation
Default Desktop KDE Plasma, LXQt, MATE, Xfce KDE Plasma, LXQt, Xfce LXQt, Xfce LXDE KDE Plasma, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, Xfce Enlightenment, LXDE, Razor-qt LXDE LXDE LXDE Default Desktop
Package Management DEB (APT) DEB (APT) DEB (APT) DEB (APT) DEB (APT) DEB DEB DEB DEB Package Management
Release Model Semi-Rolling Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Release Model
Office Suite LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice GOffice, LibreOffice LibreOffice -- Office Suite
Processor Architecture x86_64 i686, x86_64 i686, x86_64 i686, x86_64 i586, x86_64 i486, x86_64 i486, x86_64 i486, x86_64 i486 Processor Architecture
Init Software systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd SysV SysV SysV Init Software
Journaled File Systems                   Journaled File Systems
Multilingual de, en, fr, pl de, en, fr, pl de, en, fr, pl de, en, fr, pl de, en, fr, pl de, en, fr, pl de, en, fr, pl en en Multilingual
Asian Language Support -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Asian Language Support
Full Package List 2023.03 6.6 5.16 4.13 4.5.2 3.5 3.1 2.1 2.0.1 Full Package List
Package 2023.03 6.6 5.16 4.13 4.5.2 3.5 3.1 2.1 2.0.1 Package
abiword (3.0.5) -- -- -- -- -- -- 2.9.2 -- -- abiword (3.0.5)
alsa-lib (1.2.9) 1.2.8 1.2.4 1.2.5.1 1.1.3 1.1.2 1.0.28 1.0.27.2 1.0.25 1.0.25 alsa-lib (1.2.9)
amdgpu (23.0.0) 22.0.0 19.1.0 21.0.0 -- -- -- -- -- -- amdgpu (23.0.0)
bash (5.2.15) 5.2.15 5.1 5.1 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.2 bash (5.2.15)
bind (9.18.15) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- bind (9.18.15)
chromium (114.0.5735.106) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- chromium (114.0.5735.106)
cups (2.4.4) 2.4.2 2.3.3 2.3.3 2.2.1 2.2.1 1.7.5 1.6.3 1.5.3 1.5.3 cups (2.4.4)
dhcp (4.4.3-P1) 4.4.3 4.4.1 4.4.1 4.3.5 4.3.5 4.3.1 4.2.4 4.2.2 4.2.2 dhcp (4.4.3-P1)
e2fsprogs (1.47.0) 1.46.6 1.46.2 1.46.4 1.43.4 1.43.3 1.42.11 1.42.8 1.42.5 1.42.5 e2fsprogs (1.47.0)
firefox (114.0) 102.8.0 102.7.0 95.0 78.3.0 45.5.1 31.0 17.0.8 10.0.12 10.0.11 firefox (114.0)
freetype (2.13.0) 2.12.1 2.10.4 2.11.0 2.6.3 2.6.3 2.5.2 2.4.9 2.4.9 2.4.9 freetype (2.13.0)
gcc (13.1.0) 12.2.0 10.2.1 11.2.0 6.3.0 6.2.1 4.9.1 4.8.1 4.7.2 4.7.2 gcc (13.1.0)
gimp (2.10.34) -- -- -- -- -- 2.8.10 2.8.6 2.8.2 -- gimp (2.10.34)
glibc (2.37) 2.36 2.31 2.32 2.24 2.24 2.19 2.17 2.13 2.13 glibc (2.37)
gnome-shell (44.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gnome-shell (44.2)
gnucash (5.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gnucash (5.1)
gnumeric (1.12.55) -- -- -- -- -- -- 1.12.6 -- -- gnumeric (1.12.55)
grub (2.06) 2.06 2.06 2.04 2.02 2.02beta3 2.00 1.99 1.99 1.99 grub (2.06)
gtk (4.10.4) 3.24.36 3.24.24 3.24.30 3.22.11 3.22.4 2.24.24 2.24.20 2.24.10 2.24.10 gtk (4.10.4)
httpd (2.4.57) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- httpd (2.4.57)
inkscape (1.2.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- inkscape (1.2.2)
k3b (23.04.1) 22.12.2 21.04.3 21.08.3 -- 2.0.3 -- -- -- -- k3b (23.04.1)
kmod (30) 30 28 29 23 23 18 9 9 9 kmod (30)
krita (5.1.5) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- krita (5.1.5)
libreoffice (7.5.3) 7.4.5 7.0.4 7.2.3 5.2.7 5.2.4 4.3.0 4.1.1 3.5.4 -- libreoffice (7.5.3)
linux (6.3.6) 6.1.12 5.10.162 5.15.5 4.9.228 4.8.7 3.14.15 3.10.11 3.2.39 3.2.23 linux (6.3.6)
Package 2023.03 6.6 5.16 4.13 4.5.2 3.5 3.1 2.1 2.0.1 Package
lxpanel (0.10.1) -- -- -- 0.9.3 0.9.1 0.5.12 0.5.10 0.5.10 0.5.10 lxpanel (0.10.1)
mariadb (11.1.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mariadb (11.1.1)
mate-desktop (1.26.1) 1.26.0 -- 1.24.1 -- 1.16.1 -- -- -- -- mate-desktop (1.26.1)
mesa (23.1.1) 22.3.3 20.3.5 21.2.6 13.0.6 13.0.2 10.2.5 9.1.6 8.0.5 8.0.5 mesa (23.1.1)
mysql (8.0.33) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mysql (8.0.33)
nautilus (44.2.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- nautilus (44.2.1)
NVIDIA (530.41.03) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- NVIDIA (530.41.03)
openbox (3.6.1) 3.6.1 3.6.1 3.6.1 3.6.1 3.6.1 3.5.2 3.5.0 3.5.0 3.5.0 openbox (3.6.1)
openjdk (20.0.1) -- -- -- -- 8u111 7u65 7u21 7u3 7u3 openjdk (20.0.1)
openssh (9.3p1) 9.2p1 8.4p1 8.7p1 7.4p1 7.3p1 6.6p1 6.2p2 6.0p1 6.0p1 openssh (9.3p1)
openssl (3.1.1) 3.0.8 1.1.1n 1.1.1l 1.1.0l 1.0.2d 1.0.1i 1.0.1e 1.0.1e 1.0.1c openssl (3.1.1)
perl (5.36.1) 5.36.0 5.32.1 5.32.1 5.24.1 5.24.1 5.20.0 5.18.1 5.14.2 5.14.2 perl (5.36.1)
php (8.2.7) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- php (8.2.7)
plasma-desktop (5.27.5) 5.27.0 5.20.5 5.23.4 -- 5.8.2 -- -- -- -- plasma-desktop (5.27.5)
postfix (3.8.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- postfix (3.8.1)
postgresql (15.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- postgresql (15.3)
Python (3.11.4) 3.11.2 3.9.2 3.9.7 3.5.3 2.7.11 2.7.8 2.7.5 2.7.3 2.7.3rc2 Python (3.11.4)
qt (6.5.1) 6.4.2 5.15.2 5.15.2 5.7.1 5.7.1 4.8.6 4.8.5 4.8.2 4.8.2 qt (6.5.1)
samba (4.18.3) 4.17.5 4.13.13 4.13.14 4.5.16 4.4.7 4.1.11 3.6.18 3.6.6 3.6.6 samba (4.18.3)
systemd (253.5) 252.5 247.3 249.7 232 232 208 -- -- -- systemd (253.5)
thunderbird (102.12.0) 102.8.0 102.6.0 91.3.2 68.12.0 45.2.0 24.5.0 10.0.12 10.0.12 -- thunderbird (102.12.0)
vim (9.0) 9.0 -- -- 8.0 8.0 7.4 7.4 7.3 7.3 vim (9.0)
vlc (3.0.18) 3.0.18 3.0.18 3.0.16 3.0.11.1 2.2.4 2.1.5 2.0.8 2.0.5 2.0.4 vlc (3.0.18)
wayland (1.22.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- wayland (1.22.0)
xfdesktop (4.18.1) 4.18.1 4.16.0 4.16.0 -- 4.12.3 -- -- -- -- xfdesktop (4.18.1)
xorg-server (21.1.8) 21.1.7 1.20.11 1.20.13 1.19.2 1.19.0 1.16.0 1.12.4 1.12.4 1.12.4 xorg-server (21.1.8)

Reader Ratings
Reader supplied reviews for SparkyLinux

Average rating
8.8
from 74 review(s)



What are your thoughts on SparkyLinux?
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

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Past reviews - sort by:

Version: 2023.03
Rating: 10
Date: 2023-06-06
Votes: 1


Sparky linux LXQt

Sparky pros:
Nothing is in the way of the operator
Simple GUI Configuration all in a single window program, not multiple pop up windows with endless options
Debian tweaked for minimalism
Speed, This is the fastest "full operating system", that is not Linux distributions that run from RAM
Firefox "just opens" really fast compared to the standard Ubuntu which has a loading window delay


Sparky bugs :
Catfish conflicts
youtube-dl does not work
terminal bug for running super user xhost +local:


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 2023.03
Rating: 10
Date: 2023-05-25
Votes: 4


Sparky 7 Orion Belt (Semi-rolling, Debian 12 'Testing/Bookworm' based) Minimal GUI installation.

Simply brilliant!

It did take a few installation attempts to get it right.

Calamares seems to only understand the US keyboard, so be aware of that when using special characters for encrypted installation passwords. That's a Calamares problem that is the same with every other Debian based distro I have tried recently.

Running live, at first I didn't like the Vala 'launchpad'; but now I appreciate it as a kind of app launcher that would belong on a touchscreen or smartphone. It's great if you don't feel like scrolling the menu.

This version really is minimal while being very complete as a basic standard system.

I did not have to remove anything before adding the applications that I want.

I even had to add my own 'user-dirs.dirs' file to .config!

If you want a user-friendly system upon which to build, then SparkyLinux Minimal GUI is a way to go.

This is a power-user's system, compiled by someone who obviously knows what they are doing.

This is an excellent manifestation of Openbox. Nothing is in the way of the operator. The menus are clean & precise.

Added to this is that the Sparky repository includes secure versions of software that would otherwise have to be downloaded from a potentially insecure website (e.g. WPS Office or XnView).

My only negative is that 'apt-xapian-index' & 'software-properties-gtk' are not standard. They make Synaptic much easier to use.

This is the best distro I have ever tried.

Where most distros put their image to the forefront, Sparky puts the OS first.

The GUI is the icing on an excellent cake.

I recommend SparkyLinux.

Sparky is getting a donation.


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 2023.03
Rating: 5
Date: 2023-04-19
Votes: 0


This review is for Ver. 202203 as I don't like what I found with 202303, especially the drastically changed Login screen.

Pros: Easy install, has most packages that I need and use on a daily basis.

Cons: I installed Sparky 200203 MATE (Debian Testing) and loaded all my data files which took a few hours. After the first update of 1153 new updates the GRUB apparently got messed up somehow. I could not repair or update it even with Super Grub2 to show the other two installed distros in the GRUB menu. Showed Sparky only. So I just deleted the partition and moved on with MX Linux 21.2.1 and Mint 20.3 (Mint 21 is buggy).


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See all 74 reader reviews of SparkyLinux...


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