| Void Linux | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer |
|
| OS family | Linux (Unix-like) |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Open source |
| Initial release | 2008; 17 years ago (2008) |
| Latest release | Rolling release / installation medium 2 February 2025; 9 months ago (2025-02-02)[1] |
| Marketing target | General purpose |
| Package manager |
|
| Supported platforms | |
| Kernel type | Monolithic (Linux) |
| Userland | GNU +Glibc orGNU +Musl |
| Influenced by | NetBSD |
| Default user interface | Command-line interface (Bourne shell as the default shell),Xfce |
| License | Various licenses; Void-made software is mostly licensed under BSD 2-clause |
| Official website | voidlinux |
Void Linux[3] is an independentLinux distribution that uses the X Binary Package System (XBPS)package manager, which was designed and implemented from scratch, and therunitinit system. Excludingbinary kernel blobs, a base install is composed entirely of free software (but users can access an official non-free repository to install proprietary software as well).[4][5]
Void Linux was created in 2008 by Juan Romero Pardines, a former developer ofNetBSD,[6] to have a test-bed for the XBPS package manager. The ability to natively build packages from source usingxbps-src is likely inspired bypkgsrc andother BSD ports collections.[7]
In May 2018, the project was moved to a new website andcode repository by the core team after the project leader had not been heard from for several months.[8][9][10]
In May 2024, Void was the highest rated project onDistroWatch, with a score of 9.26 out of 10.[11]
Void is a notable exception to the majority of Linux distributions because it usesrunit as its init system instead of the more commonsystemd used by other distributions.[12] It is also unique among distributions in that separate software repositories and installation media using eitherglibc ormusl are available.
Void was the first distribution to incorporateLibreSSL[3] as the system cryptography library by default.[2] In February 2021, the Void Linux team announced Void Linux would be switching back toOpenSSL on March 5, 2021. Among the reasons were the problematic process of patching software that was primarily written to work with OpenSSL, the support for some optimizations and earlier access to newer algorithms.[13] A switch to OpenSSL began in April 2020 in theGitHub issue of the void-packages repository where most of the discussion has taken place.[14]
Due to itsrolling release nature, a system running Void is kept up-to-date with binary updates from the repositories in contrast with a point release.[15] Source packages are maintained on GitHub and can be compiled using the xbps-src build system.[16] The package build process is performed in a clean environment, not tied to the current system, and most packages can be cross-compiled for foreign architectures.
As of April 2017, Void Linux supportsFlatpak, which allows the installation of the latest packages from upstream repositories.[17]
Void Linux can be downloaded as abase image or as aflavor image. The base image contains little more than basic programs; users can then configure an environment for themselves. The flavor image contains a pre-configuredXfce desktop environment.Cinnamon,Enlightenment,LXDE,LXQt,MATE, andGNOME used to be offered as pre-packaged live images, but are no longer offered "in order to decrease the overhead involved with testing."[18][19]
The live images contain an installer that offers ancurses-based user interface. The default root shell isDash.[15]
| Platform | C library | Desktop environment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| glibc | musl | Xfce | ||
| i686 | Yes | No | Yes | |
| amd64 | Yes | |||
| ARM-based | ||||
| Raspberry Pi 1/2/3/4/5 | Yes | No[note 1] | ||
Void Linux for PowerPC/Power ISA (unofficial) was[21] a fork of Void Linux forPowerPC andPower ISA, with the project ending in early 2023. It supported32-bit and64-bit devices,big-endian andlittle-endian operation, andmusl andglibc. Void-ppc maintained its own build infrastructure and package repositories, and aimed to build all of Void Linux's packages on all targets. It was a fork largely because of technical issues with Void Linux's build infrastructure.[22]
Project Trident was aLinux distribution based on Void Linux,[23] but was discontinued[24] in March of 2022.[25]
In February 2023, Jesse Smith, of DistroWatch, said "The Void distribution is one of the fastest, lightest, most cleanly designed Linux distributions I've had the pleasure of using. Everything is trim, efficient, and surprisingly fast." Also, "Void has a relatively small repository of software [but] most of the key applications are there."[26]
