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Tiny Core Linux RSS Feed DistroWatch.com: Tiny Core Linux

Tiny Core Linux


Last Update: 2025-12-03 15:28 UTC

Tiny Core Linux is a 16 MB graphical Linux desktop. It is based on a recent Linux kernel, BusyBox, Tiny X, Fltk, and Flwm. The core runs entirely in memory and boots very quickly. The user has complete control over which applications and/or additional hardware to have supported, be it for a desktop, a nettop, an appliance or server; selectable from the project's online repository.

Popularity (hits per day): 12 months: 81 (174), 6 months: 81 (188), 3 months: 90 (178), 4 weeks: 107 (163), 1 week: 91 (162)

Average visitor rating: 7.3/10 from 13 review(s).

Tiny Core Summary
Distribution Tiny Core Linux
Home Page http://www.tinycorelinux.net/
Mailing Lists --
User Forums http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/
Alternative User Forums
Documentation --
Screenshots http://www.tinycorelinux.net/screenshots.html • DistroWatch Gallery
Screencasts
Download Mirrors http://www.tinycorelinux.net/downloads.html • DistroWatch Torrent Archive
Bug Tracker --
Related Websites Wikipedia
Reviews 7.x: FOSS Force • LWN
5.x: DistroWatch
4.x: DistroWatch
3.x: Blogspot
1.x: DistroWatch
Where To Donate, Buy or Try The Linux Shop

Recent Related News and Releases
  Releases announcements with download links and checksums:
 • 2024-02-25: Distribution Release: Tiny Core Linux 15.0
 • 2023-04-12: Distribution Release: Tiny Core Linux 14.0
 • 2022-01-31: Distribution Release: Tiny Core Linux 13.0
 • 2021-02-17: Distribution Release: Tiny Core Linux 12.0
 • 2020-02-09: Distribution Release: Tiny Core Linux 11.0
 • 2017-09-04: Distribution Release: Tiny Core Linux 8.1
 • 2017-04-10: Distribution Release: Tiny Core Linux 8.0
 • 2016-05-23: Distribution Release: Tiny Core Linux 7.1
 • 2016-02-24: Distribution Release: Tiny Core Linux 7.0
 • 2015-05-31: Distribution Release: Tiny Core Linux 6.3
 • 2015-05-05: Distribution Release: Tiny Core Linux 6.2
 • 2015-03-08: Distribution Release: Tiny Core Linux 6.1
 • More Tiny Core releases...

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 16.2 15.0 14.0 13.1 12.0 11.1 10.1 9.0 8.2 7.2 6.4.1 5.4 4.7.7 3.8.4 2.11 1.4.3 Feature
Release Date 2025-09-30 2024-02-22 2023-04-12 2022-05-08 2021-02-17 2020-04-01 2019-06-19 2018-02-26 2017-09-23 2016-07-05 2015-11-04 2014-09-10 2013-05-10 2011-09-01 2010-05-02 2009-05-25 Release Date
End Of Life                                 End Of Life
Price (US$) Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Price (US$)
Image Size (MB) 18-280 17-250 17-250 16-160 15-160 14-210 13-230 12-180 11-140 10-110 9-90 8-80         Image Size (MB)
Free Download ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO Free Download
Installation Graphical Graphical Text mode Text mode Text mode 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 flwm flwm flwm flwm flwm flwm flwm flwm flwm flwm flwm flwm flwm flwm flwm JWM Default Desktop
Default Browser                                 Default Browser
Package Management TCE TCE TCE TCE TCE TCE TCE TCE TCE TCE TCE TCE TCE TCE TCE TCE Package Management
Release Model Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Release Model
Office Suite -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Office Suite
Processor Architecture aarch64, armhf, i486, x86_64 aarch64, armv6, armv7, armv7l, i486, x86_64 aarch64, armv6, armv7, armv7l, i486, x86_64 aarch64, armv6, armv7, armv7l, i486, x86_64 armv6, armv7, armv7l, i486, x86_64 armv6, armv7, i486, x86_64 armv6, armv7, i486, x86_64 armv6, armv7, i486, x86_64 armv6, armv7, mips, i486, x86_64 armv6, armv7, mips, i486, x86_64 armv6, armv7, i486, x86_64 i486 armhf, i486 i486 i486 i386 Processor Architecture
Init Software Busybox Busybox Busybox Busybox Busybox Busybox Busybox Busybox Busybox Busybox Busybox Busybox Busybox Busybox Busybox Busybox Init Software
Journaled File Systems                                 Journaled File Systems
Multilingual en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en Multilingual
Asian Language Support -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Asian Language Support
Full Package List 16.2 15.0 14.0 13.1 12.0 11.1   9.0 8.2 7.2 6.4.1 5.4         Full Package List

Full Package List:   Tiny Core Linux 13.1
  Number of packages: 33 (download as TXT)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  •  autoconf-2.71.tar.xz
  •  automake-1.16.5.tar.xz
  •  bash-5.1.8.tar.gz
  •  bc-5.1.1.tar.xz
  •  binutils-2.37.tar.xz
  •  binutils-2.37-upstream_fix-1.patch
  •  bison-3.8.2.tar.xz
  •  busybox-1.34.1.tar.bz2
  •  bzip2-1.0.8-install_docs-1.patch
  •  compile_tc13_x86
  •  compile_uname_hack
  •  config-5.15.10-tinycore
  •  coreutils-9.0-i18n-1.patch
  •  coreutils-9.0.tar.xz
  •  diffutils-3.8.tar.xz
  •  e2fsprogs-1.46.4.tar.gz
  •  expat-2.4.1.tar.xz
  •  file-5.40.tar.gz
  •  file-5.40-upstream_fixes-1.patch
  •  findutils-4.8.0.tar.xz
  •  gcc-11.2.0.tar.xz
  •  glibc-2.34-fhs-1.patch
  •  glibc-2.34.tar.xz
  •  glibc-uclibc-compat-ld-cache.patch
  •  grep-3.7.tar.xz
  •  groff-1.22.4.tar.gz
  •  gzip-1.11.tar.xz
  •  linux-5.15.10-patched.txz
  •  m4-1.4.19.tar.xz
  •  Module.symvers-5.15.10-tinycore.gz
  •  tar-1.34.tar.xz
  •  texinfo-6.8.tar.xz
  •  util-linux-2.37.2.tar.xz


Reader Ratings
Reader supplied reviews for Tiny Core Linux

Average rating
7.3
from 13 review(s)
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Past reviews - sort by:

Version: 15.0
Rating: 10
Date: 2025-02-04
Votes: 11


 Really great OS, helped revived one of my old Toshiba laptops with a pentium 4 mobile and bring it back to be somewhat usable to browse the web. Truly is impressive how the entire OS can fit under 12 MB with the minimum installation. It's amazing how little disk space it takes up. In my opinion, Tiny Core looks a lot better as eye candy than compared to something like Windows 11, and of course is very lightweight. I recommend Tiny Core if you have a very old PC you want to repurpose or bring into the modern day.


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 15.0
Rating: 10
Date: 2025-01-07
Votes: 16


 Small (smaller than nearly EVERYTHING else), faster, live system. Even the install to hard drive does a FRUGAL install so you are loop loading the ISO. Compared to antiX: Core is a live-cd image and is not intended to run from hard drive (although there IS that provision for FRUGAL as mentioned), while antiX does nicely installed to hard drive.

TinyCore/CorePlus GUI is more likely to run correctly on very old (pentium/686) systems and laptops.

I recommend running TinyCore or CorePlus form a pen drive.


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 15.0
Rating: 8
Date: 2024-03-11
Votes: 25


 This is a nice and small Linux distro for older PCs. TinyCore Linux is a highly efficient operating system, particularly suitable for Pentium 2 and older x86 machines. While it may require some unconventional setup, it delivers impressive performance on such hardware. However, it's important to set realistic expectations: if you're running TinyCore on overpowered hardware and anticipating an Ubuntu-like experience, you may be approaching it incorrectly. Embrace its lightweight nature and leverage its strengths for optimal results.


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See all 13 reader reviews of Tiny Core Linux...


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