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Tiny Core Linux

Tiny Core Linux

Is a minimal Linux kernel based operating system focusing on providing a base system using BusyBox and FLTK. It was developed by Robert Shingledecker, who was previously the lead developer of Damn Small Linux. The distribution is notable for its small size (11 to 16 MB) and minimalism; additional functions are provided by extensions.

OverviewStructured DataIssuesContributors

Contents

TypesSystem requirementsDesign philosophyRelease historyTimelineTable: Further ResourcesReferences
tinycorelinux.net
Is a
Software
Software

Software attributes

License
GNU GPLv2
First Release
January 5, 2009
Latest Release
May 8, 2022
Latest Version
13.1
Industry
Open-source software
Open-source software
Software
Software
Operating system
Operating system
Technology
Technology
Software development
Software development

Other attributes

Founded Date
January 5, 2009
Founder
‌
Robert Shingledecker
1
Platform
Raspberry
Raspberry
X86-64
X86-64
X86
X86
Public/Private
Public
Wikidata ID
Q1151758
Types

Tiny Core (16 MB) is the recommended option for new users who have a wired network connection. It includes the base Core system and a dynamic FLTK/FLWM graphical user interface.

Core (11 MB) (also known as "Micro Core Linux") is a smaller variant of Tiny Core without a graphical desktop, though additional extensions can be added to create a system with a graphical desktop environment.

dCore (12 MB) is a core made from Debian or Ubuntu compatible files that uses import and the SCE package format, a self-contained package format for the Tiny Core distribution since 5.x series.

CorePure64 is a notable port of "Core" to the x86_64 architecture.

Core Plus (106 MB) is "an installation image and not the distribution". It is composed of Tiny Core with additional functionality, most notably wireless support and non-US keyboard support.

piCore is the Raspberry Pi port of "Core".

System requirements

Minimal configuration: Tiny Core needs at least 46 MB of RAM in order to run, and (micro) Core requires at least 28 MB of RAM. The minimum CPU is an i486DX.

Recommended configuration: A Pentium II CPU and 128 MB of RAM are recommended for Tiny Core.

Design philosophy

The developers describe TCL as "a nomadic ultra small graphical desktop operating system capable of booting from cdrom, pendrive, or frugally from a hard drive." As of version 2.8.1, the core is designed to run primarily in RAM but with three distinct modes of operation:

"Cloud" or Internet mode — A "testdrive" mode using a built-in appbrowser GUI to explore extensions from an online application extension repository loaded into RAM only for the current session.

TCE/Install — A mode for Tiny Core Extensions downloaded and run from a storage partition but kept as symbolic links in RAM.

TCE/CopyFS — A mode which installs applications onto a Linux partition like a more typical Linux installation.

Release history

Version Stability Release date

1.0 Stable version January 5, 2009

2.0 June 7, 2009

3.0 July 19, 2010

4.0 September 25, 2011

4.7.7 May 10, 2013

5.0 September 14, 2013

5.0.1 October 1, 2013

5.0.2 October 18, 2013

5.1 November 28, 2013

5.2 January 14, 2014

5.3 April 19, 2014

5.4 September 10, 2014

6.0 January 5, 2015

6.1 March 7, 2015

6.2 May 3, 2015

6.3 May 30, 2015

6.4 September 8, 2015

6.4. November 4, 2015

7.0 February 23, 2016

7.1 May 22, 2016

7.2 July 4, 2016

8.0 April 10, 2017

8.1 September 3, 2017

8.2 September 22, 2017

9.0 February 26, 2018

10.0 January 20, 2019

10.1 June 11, 2019

11.0 February 9, 2020

11.1 April 1, 2020

12.0 February 17, 2021

13.0 January 31, 2022

13.1 Latest version May 8, 2022

Timeline

No Timeline data yet.

Further Resources

Title
Author
Link
Type
Date

First Look: Tiny Core Linux 13.1 🤏 DAMN SMALL LINUX DISTRO 🤏 Run Through In Lightning Speed

https://youtu.be/8ehPxXtlZ2g

Web

May 9, 2022

Tiny Core Linux install on Pentium 100Mhz | Real Time Full

https://youtu.be/u3-C52VO7vo

Web

February 15, 2022

Tiny Core Linux on a 23 year old laptop

https://youtu.be/wwsjLIpP4bk

Web

March 23, 2021

References

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