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| CRUX Linux | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Screenshot KDE Desktop for Crux Linux OS (2007). | |
| Developer | Per Lidén and CRUX community |
| OS family | Linux (Unix-like) |
| Working state | Active |
| Source model | Open source |
| Initial release | December 2002; 23 years ago (2002-12) |
| Latest release | 3.8[1] / April 21, 2025; 9 months ago (2025-04-21) |
| Update method | ports |
| Package manager | pkgutils[2] |
| Supported platforms | x86-64 |
| Kernel type | Linux (Monolithic) |
| Userland | GNU |
| Influenced | Arch Linux |
| Default user interface | Openbox |
| License | Various |
| Official website | crux |
CRUX is a lightweightx86-64Linux distribution targeted at experiencedLinux users and delivered by a tar.gz-based package system withBSD-style initscripts. It is not based on any other Linux distribution.[3] It also utilizes aports system to install and upgrade applications.[4]
Althoughcrux is the Latin word for "cross," the choice of the name "CRUX" itself has no meaning. Per Lidén chose it because it "sounded cool," and ends in "X" which puts it in line with various otherUnix flavors such asIRIX,Ultrix,Mac OS X andIBM AIX.[5]
CRUX does not include aGUI installation program. Instead, the user boots thekernel stored on either aCD ordiskette;partitions thehard disk drive(s) to which theoperating system will be installed (using a program such asfdisk orcfdisk); creates the appropriatefile systems on the various partitions;mounts the CD orNFS share along with the partitions made previously for use by the package installation script; compiles a new kernel; and installs abootloader, all viashell commands.[6][7]
CRUX implements an infrastructure similar to that ofBSD-based operating systems for package management. Packages consist of a Pkgfile (which is ashell script), anypatches required to adjust the program to work,md5sum hashes used to verify the integrity of the downloaded files and a footprint file listing the files to be included in the packages. These files are downloaded from a CRUXsoftware repository,compiled, and installed using the prt-get frontend to pkgutils.[2] The software sources are downloaded from the websites of their respective upstream at the address specified in the Pkgfile.
| Version | Date |
|---|---|
| 1.0 | 2002 December |
| 1.1 | 2003 March |
| 1.2 | 2003 August |
| 1.3 | 2003 December |
| 1.3.1 | 2004 February |
| 2.0 | 2004 March |
| 2.1 | 2005 April |
| 2.2 | 2006 April |
| 2.3 | 2007 March |
| 2.4 | 2007 December |
| 2.5 | 2008 December |
| 2.6 | 2009 September |
| 2.7 | 2010 October |
| 2.7.1 | 2011 November |
| 2.8 | 2012 October |
| 3.0 | 2013 January |
| 3.1 | 2014 July |
| 3.2 | 2015 November |
| 3.3 | 2017 February |
| 3.4 | 2018 May |
| 3.5[8] | 2019 June |
| 3.6[9] | 2020 December |
| 3.6.1 | 2020 December |
| 3.7 | 2022 September |
| 3.8 | 2025 April |
Simone Rota reviewed CRUX for OSNews:[10]
Since to use CRUX you must compile your own kernel and modules, the hardware compatibility list is basically the same as the Linux kernel.(2.4.21 on the tested release). No third-party modules are available on the CD, in case of unsupported hardware the only option is to fetch the drivers from another machine. The bootable CD-Rom kernel is compiled with a relatively small set of options, that should be enough to boot the machine and proceed with installation.
