Alpine Linux

Originally, Alpine Linux began as an embedded-first distribution for devices such as wireless routers, based on Gentoo Linux,{{cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/p/leaf/mailman/message/12731262/|title=Re: [leaf-devel] 2.6.x kernel support?|website=SourceForge}} inspired by {{Tooltip|GNAP|Gentoo Network Appliance Project}} and the Bering-uClibc branch of the LEAF Project.{{cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/p/leaf/mailman/message/12731159/|title=Re: [leaf-devel] 2.6.x kernel support?|website=SourceForge}} Founder Natanael Copa has said that the name was chosen as a backronym for "A Linux-Powered Network Engine" or some such similar phrase, but that the exact phrase has since been forgotten.{{Citation |title=Small, Simple, and Secure: Alpine Linux under the Microscope | date=3 November 2017 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIG2P9k6EjA |access-date=2023-06-30 |language=en}}

Alpine's package management system, the Alpine Package Keeper (apk),{{efn|Not to be confused with the apk file format used by Android}} was originally a collection of shell scripts{{Cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/apk-tools/|title=apk-tools|website=SourceForge|date=18 April 2013 }} but was later rewritten in C.{{Cite web|url=https://git.alpinelinux.org/apk-tools/|title=apk-tools - Alpine package manager|website=git.alpinelinux.org}} The aim of this package manager is to achieve a high install and update speed, which it does by writing new data directly in-place into the operating system's file system, rather than employing caching or compression.

In 2014, Alpine Linux switched from uClibc to musl as its C standard library.{{cite web |title=Release notes |url=https://alpinelinux.org/posts/Alpine-3.0.0-released.html |access-date=6 May 2018 |website=alpinelinux.org}}

A PaX hardened kernel was included in the default distribution to aid in reducing the impact of exploits and vulnerabilities,{{Cite web |title=Alpine 3.8.0 released {{!}} Alpine Linux |url=https://alpinelinux.org/posts/Alpine-3.8.0-released.html |access-date=2022-04-27 |website=alpinelinux.org}} but Alpine's maintainers chose to discontinue this support due to the PaX patch no longer being made publicly available.{{Cite web |title=How does Alpine Linux harden its kernel? — alpinelinux lists |url=https://lists.alpinelinux.org/~alpine/users/%3CCABbU2U-w34QfSGg4wZKxvCoYgtqLRj9Z0SKHipDPNaSdHdBeAQ@mail.gmail.com%3E |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=lists.alpinelinux.org}} Alpine still uses a hardened toolchain and position-independent executables to minimize the potential for stack-based attacks, but is now based on the standard long term stable distribution of the Linux kernel.

Alpine's primary feature is its small size, which enables it to start quickly and run in environments very low in memory and storage, such as containers or embedded devices.

Alpine Linux can optionally be installed as a run-from-RAM operating system. This allows Alpine to work reliably in demanding embedded environments or to (temporarily) survive partial disk failures as sometimes experienced in public cloud environments. By default, Alpine running in this mode will only load a few key packages, but a tool called LBU (Alpine Local Backup){{Cite web |title=Alpine local backup - Alpine Linux |url=https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Alpine_local_backup |website=wiki.alpinelinux.org}} is made available that allow changes in this boot configuration to be written to a special file called an APK overlay file (usually shortened to apkovl), a tar.gz file that by default stores a copy of all files in /etc that have been changed from the default configuration, with the option to track more directories as needed.

Alpine offers a number of preinstalled configuration scripts which guide the user through initial configuration of the system for common computing tasks.{{Citation |title=alpine-conf |date=2023-06-17 |url=https://github.com/alpinelinux/alpine-conf |access-date=2023-06-30 |publisher=Alpine Linux}} In addition, Alpine also offers a webserver-based tool known as the Alpine Configuration Framework, which allows users less familiar with Alpine or the command line to configure the operating system in a way similar to that allowed by Debian's debconf utility. Alpine's configuration scripts are written entirely as UNIX shell scripts, which call a small ISO image parsing utility written in C and distributed in Alpine. The Alpine Configuration Framework is scripted in Lua.{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Alpine_Configuration_Framework_Design|title=Alpine Configuration Framework Design - Alpine Linux|website=wiki.alpinelinux.org}}

Due to its robustness and compactness, Alpine Linux is tightly integrated with popular developer and system administrator environments and toolsets.

• Microsoft Store offers a deployment-ready version of Alpine WSL{{Cite web |title=Get Alpine WSL from the Microsoft Store |url=https://apps.microsoft.com/store/detail/alpine-wsl/9P804CRF0395 |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=apps.microsoft.com |language=en}} for WSL2
• Docker offers official images of Alpine Linux{{Cite web |date=2022-09-08 |title=How to Use the Alpine Docker Official Image {{!}} Docker |url=https://www.docker.com/blog/how-to-use-the-alpine-docker-official-image/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=www.docker.com |language=en-US}}
• Microsoft PowerShell provides an Alpine Linux specific build{{Cite web |last=sdwheeler |title=Installing PowerShell on Alpine Linux - PowerShell |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/scripting/install/install-alpine |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=learn.microsoft.com |date=17 March 2023 |language=en-us}}

postmarketOS, a Linux distribution for mobile devices, is based on Alpine Linux.{{Cite web |date=28 April 2022 |title=postmarketOS // real Linux distribution for phones |url=https://postmarketos.org |website=postmarketos.org}}

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• {{Official website|https://alpinelinux.org}}

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Category:Independent Linux distributions

Category:Light-weight Linux distributions

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Category:Linux distributions without systemd

Category:X86-64 Linux distributions