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Alpine Linux RSS Feed DistroWatch.com: Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux


Last Update: 2024-09-06 23:02 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: 24 (303), 6 months: 25 (298), 3 months: 26 (290), 4 weeks: 35 (297), 1 week: 38 (272)

Average visitor rating: 8.75/10 from 36 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 3.19: Rubenerd
3.17: DistroWatch
3.9: DistroWatch
3.2: DistroWatch
Where To Donate, Buy, or Try

Recent Related News and Releases
  Releases announcements with download links and checksums:
 • 2024-05-22: Distribution Release: Alpine Linux 3.20.0
 • 2023-12-07: Distribution Release: Alpine Linux 3.19.0
 • 2023-05-09: Distribution Release: Alpine Linux 3.18.0
 • 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
 • More Alpine releases...

  Headlines:
 • 2023-07-31 A major Alpine package maintainer is stepping down
 • 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.
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Feature 3.20.3 3.19.4 3.18.9 3.17.10 3.16.9 3.15.11 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 2024-09-06 2024-09-06 2024-09-06 2024-09-06 2024-01-26 2023-10-30 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$) Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Price (US$)
Image Size (MB) 200-900 200-900 200-900 100-800 100-800 100-700 100-700 100-600 100-500 100-500 70-300       Image Size (MB)
Free Download ISO ISO ISO 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 Text mode Text mode Text mode Installation
Default Desktop -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Default Desktop
Package Management APK APK APK 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 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 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, OpenRC Busybox, OpenRC Busybox, OpenRC BusyBox BusyBox BusyBox BusyBox Init Software
Journaled File Systems ext4 ext4 ext4 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 3.20.3 3.19.4 3.18.9 3.17.10 3.16.9 3.15.11 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 3.20.3 3.19.4 3.18.9 3.17.10 3.16.9 3.15.11 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 (1.2.12) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- alsa-lib (1.2.12)
amdgpu (23.0.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- amdgpu (23.0.0)
bash (5.2.32) 5.2 5.2 5.2 5.2.15 5.1.16 5.1.16 5.1.16 5.1.16 5.1.16 5.0 4.3 -- -- 4.0 bash (5.2.32)
bind (9.20.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- bind (9.20.2)
chromium (129.0.6668.58) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- chromium (129.0.6668.58)
cups (2.4.10) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- cups (2.4.10)
dhcp (4.4.3-P1) 4.4.3-P1 4.4.3-P1 4.4.3-P1 4.4.3-P1 4.4.3-P1 4.4.3-P1 4.4.3-P1 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 (1.47.1) 1.47.0 1.47.0 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 (1.47.1)
firefox (130.0.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- firefox (130.0.1)
freetype (2.13.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- freetype (2.13.3)
gcc (14.2.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gcc (14.2.0)
gimp (2.10.38) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gimp (2.10.38)
glibc (2.40) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- glibc (2.40)
gnome-shell (47.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gnome-shell (47.0)
gnucash (5.8) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gnucash (5.8)
gnumeric (1.12.57) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gnumeric (1.12.57)
grub (2.12) 2.12 2.06 2.06 2.06 2.06 2.06 2.06 2.04 2.06 2.02 -- -- -- -- grub (2.12)
gtk (4.16.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gtk (4.16.1)
httpd (2.4.62) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- httpd (2.4.62)
inkscape (1.3.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- inkscape (1.3.2)
k3b (24.08.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- k3b (24.08.1)
kmod (33) 32 31 30 30 29 29 29 28 29 24 23 -- -- -- kmod (33)
krita (5.2.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- krita (5.2.3)
LibreOffice (24.8.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- LibreOffice (24.8.1)
linux (6.11) 6.6.49 6.6.49 6.1.108 5.15.166 5.15.148 5.15.140 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 (6.11)
Package 3.20.3 3.19.4 3.18.9 3.17.10 3.16.9 3.15.11 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 (11.4.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mariadb (11.4.3)
mate-desktop (1.28.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mate-desktop (1.28.2)
mesa (24.2.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mesa (24.2.3)
mysql (9.0.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mysql (9.0.1)
nautilus (47.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- nautilus (47.0)
NVIDIA (560.35.03) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- NVIDIA (560.35.03)
openbox (3.6.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- openbox (3.6.1)
openjdk (23) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- openjdk (23)
openssh (9.8p1) 9.7p1 9.6p1 9.3p2 9.1p1 9.0p1 8.8p1 8.6p1 8.4p1 8.8p1 8.1p1 7.5p1 6.8p1 6.4p1 5.3p1 openssh (9.8p1)
openssl (3.3.2) 3.3.2 3.1.7 3.1.7 3.0.15 1.1.1w 1.1.1w 1.1.1t 1.1.1q 1.1.1n 1.1.1j -- 1.0.2d 1.0.1g 0.9.9o openssl (3.3.2)
perl (5.40.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- perl (5.40.0)
php (8.3.11) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- php (8.3.11)
plasma-desktop (6.1.5) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- plasma-desktop (6.1.5)
postfix (3.9.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- postfix (3.9.0)
postgresql (16.4) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- postgresql (16.4)
Python (3.12.6) 3.12.3 3.11.9 3.11.8 3.10.14 3.10.13 3.9.18 -- -- -- -- -- 2.7.9 2.7.6 -- Python (3.12.6)
qt (6.7.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- qt (6.7.2)
samba (4.21.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- samba (4.21.0)
systemd (256.6) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- systemd (256.6)
thunderbird (130.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- thunderbird (130.0)
vim (9.1) 9.1 9.0 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 (9.1)
vlc (3.0.21) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- vlc (3.0.21)
wayland (1.23.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- wayland (1.23.1)
xfdesktop (4.18.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- xfdesktop (4.18.1)
xorg-server (21.1.13) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- xorg-server (21.1.13)

Reader Ratings
Reader supplied reviews for Alpine Linux

Average rating
8.8
from 36 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

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Past reviews - sort by:

Version: 3.20.1
Rating: 1
Date: 2024-07-10
Votes: 0


Alpine Linux has SSE and SSE2 as a CPU requirement . I don't know wether it is because of this but Alpine 3.20.0 and up will also not start anymore on my Pentium I,II and III hardware. This is a enormous great pity in many aspects!

Who's next?
Most distro's that claim they're suitable for i386, i486 , i586 or i686 processors also implement SSE(2). This makes them, in fact, only suiteable for the higher end i686 processors (approx.) starting with pentium IV. Distro's that still run on Pentium I,II and III hardware are becoming very rare now. Crazy! I really did put quite some time not to find the abounded "Illegal Instruction" in i386, i486 , i586 distro's.

There is some luck because old non-active versions of Alpine linux are still there incl. the repos. And TinyCore Linux and NetBSD are active distro's that still continue respecting these old pc's. For me they seem the safest choice for now.

To be honest I have to bring my vote for Alpine Linux back from 10 to 1 for Alpine seemed to have dropped support for old computers and old computers are my passion.



Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 3.19.1
Rating: 5
Date: 2024-05-31
Votes: 0


I've been using Alpine for 5-6 years. Headless machine for Nextcloud.

Unfortunately, each new version brought its own proper mess. No indications provided : you're on your own.
Succeeded to figure it out till 3.19->3.20 where I'm stuck (transitional package nextcloud28 can't be installed).
No support whatsoever, so I'm giving up.

Also, be aware that systemctl isn't used. No EFI install and you'll have to stick with grub (obviously not a problem in a single boot headless machine - except for grub's own mess).

A remarkable distro from dev/sysadmin to dev/sysadmin.
If you're not among the happy few, look for something more mainstream..


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 3.19.1
Rating: 9
Date: 2024-05-13
Votes: 64


Decided to give Alpine a spin whilst Void transitioned to Plasma 6 but I might stay with Alpine. During the installation (which was a very simple process) confused me because I thought the downloads were not working, but low and behold, they were just very fast. A download from DNF from Fedora for example would take up 15 to 20 seconds to download a 1.5GB package whilst APK from Alpine would take about 5 seconds (maybe less) for the same size, just incredible.

Alpine is very customizable in terms of packages so you can only download the stuff you need. Also Alpine uses Musl for further minimalist installs as appose to the common Glibc so there may be instances where flatpaks will be your best friend. Overall I'm really enjoying Alpine, currently using KDE with flatpaks for some gaming,general web browsing and some emulation and it has been a blast. I would not recommend to new users due to needing some knowledge on the packages you need for your build and setting up services such as dbus.


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See all 36 reader reviews of Alpine Linux...

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