GFT Linux 1.0.0

A minimal, lightweight Debian-based Linux distribution which you get to customize. Internally developed at GFT Media, now released to the public.

showcase

backstory

We've developed this distribution because we needed something unopinionated, lightweight and compatible. This is something we've struggled with a lot due to some size constraints. On top of this, the added bloat of some linux distributions did not help at all when we wanted to engineer our own systems.

This is a Debian-based distribution that has only a few packages preinstalled (window manager, terminal, cowsay, QoL drivers), and leaves everything else up to you. This system is great for people who want something simple and efficient.

installation

  1. Download the ISO here (1.5GB) (64-bit system required)
  2. Flash it on a storage device (or set up a virtual machine)
  3. Boot from the storage device and select "Live system" to test it out, or run the installer.
  4. If running the installer, follow the installation instructions on screen.

minimum requirements

The minimum PC requirements to run our OS:

  1. 64-bit single-core processor
  2. 4GB of storage space
  3. 512MB RAM
  4. No graphics card required

issues/faq

apt update works incorrectly (please read)

This is a known bug in the system which sets the mirror to the cdrom:// instead of a real one on installed versions, here are some methods to fix this:

  1. Type in this command: echo "deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ trixie contrib main non-free non-free-firmware" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list
  2. or edit the sources with a text editor like sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list and choose some mirror

after this, try running sudo apt update again.

How do you control this???

GFT Linux uses the dwm window manager with a Xorg server. They have a nicely written tutorial here.

For example, you can open up the terminal with the keybind Shift+Alt+Enter.

With apt, you are able to install one of your choice if you don't want to use this. This option was chosen because of how lightweight and simple the window manager is.

Package recommendations?

Here's some of our package recommendations, installable through apt install: