2y ago

SpiralLinux - It's really Debian underneath the hood!

I recently ran across SpiralLinux - GitHub page, and found the concept of how the maintainer is packaging it very cool.

The maintainer has been maintaining Gecko Linux for a while now - it has the same underlying concept.

The gist is - you're basically installing Debian, but with customizations that the maintainer(s) thought would be very helpful. Basically - better out of the box experience for new users, but also less work to do even for experienced users, and it comes with different download flavors - Gnome, Plasma, XFCE, Mate, etc.

Bit more detail by the maintainer in this Reddit comment:

Exactly. It's like I went over to your house and installed and configured Debian on your computer, and then you kicked me out of your house as soon as I finished. ;-) The installed system no longer has any connection whatsoever with me or the SpiralLinux project, which is good because you wouldn't want your entire system to depend on a random single developer maintaining it.

(original Reddit comment has more details).

I thought this was pretty cool. I'm still trying to read up online on trying to find how the package lists are maintained, etc., and I might be interested in contributing if I'm able to in the future.

Just wanted to share!

40 comments

Hi everyone, SpiralLinux creator here. Another thing that motivated the creation of this set of spins is the diversity of hardware, even in my own machines. I personally don't like having to switch to a completely different distro for a specific computer just because of hardware support issues. Some devices might need a newer kernel for certain components to work, whereas other hardware works better with the older kernel from Debian Stable. So SpiralLinux offers a hybrid approach, Debian Stable base system with the Debian Stable kernel included on the live ISO, but the much newer kernel version from Debian Backports is also available on the ISO. This can make the difference between the image booting or not, or between having internet connectivity or not, and it makes it more likely that SpiralLinux will work across the entire range of a user's computers.
- Nice seeing you on Lemmy! Does this mean you're not using OpenSUSE anymore? Or are you still working on GeckLinux as well?
  
  Nice seeing you on Lemmy! Does this mean you’re not using OpenSUSE anymore? Or are you still working on GeckLinux as well?
  Hi there, thanks! For my personal needs and for the users that I support, it's important that the system not be a rolling release, and the Cinnamon desktop works extremely well for almost all use cases. SUSE and openSUSE are trying to move away from the conventional Linux OS paradigm and transition to a new buzzword-compliant immutable/atomic-updating/containerized OS, and they're going to pull the plug on openSUSE Leap in the not-too-distant future. For users that need/want a rolling distro I still think that Tumbleweed is the best option out there, but unfortunately Cinnamon has been unmaintained for almost 2 years in Tumbleweed and it's currently broken despite my attempts to submit updated packages. So I'm not going to invest time into updating the GeckoLinux Rolling ISOs until/unless the Cinnamon desktop is fixed and properly maintained for openSUSE Tumbleweed, and since Leap is going away I have dropped the Static and NEXT editions from GeckoLinux and recommend SpiralLinux for users that don't need a rolling release.
- Do you consider SpiralLinux something I could throw on my grandma's computer and she will be fine for the next 5 years? (when Bookworm runs out of updates)
  Will updates be installed automatically or will the potential user have to know a little bit what they are doing?
  What about upgrades? Once the current Debian release is EOL, how easy will it be to jump to the next one?
  Thanks for your efforts!
  
  Do you consider SpiralLinux something I could throw on my grandma’s computer and she will be fine for the next 5 years? (when Bookworm runs out of updates)
  Hi there, yes, this is exactly the intended use case. For users that would be confused by updates and changes, and also for experienced users that simply need to get work done on a reliable low-maintenance system that always works the same way.
  Will updates be installed automatically or will the potential user have to know a little bit what they are doing?
  No automatic updates, I recommend doing this every once in a while:
  https://github.com/SpiralLinux/SpiralLinux-project/wiki#updates-within-a-debian-stable-release-lifecycle
  I've never used it myself, but Debian does offer a daemon for automatic installation of updates, so that might be an option to consider for grandma's installation. But I'm not too paranoid about applying updates on a Linux system that is behind a standard broadband router running NAT and a firewall; in practice personal home Linux systems like that just aren't being compromised. Frankly the biggest danger by far for grandma would be social engineering attacks and scam call centers.
  What about upgrades? Once the current Debian release is EOL, how easy will it be to jump to the next one?
  It's pretty easy and very reliable in my experience and from what SpiralLinux 11 users have commented about their upgrade to Debian 12. This is the recommended method:
  https://github.com/SpiralLinux/SpiralLinux-project/wiki#upgrading-to-a-major-new-debian-stable-release
Cool concept. I really appreciate the "independence" from the project after the installation. It would be cool, if the author preconfigured some less common DE/WM alongside the ones they package now. I yearn for a distro with a preconfigured tiling WM, so I wouldn't have to use my half broken i3wm setup.
- SwayOS might be worth looking at. It is basically just an installation script for a pre-configured Sway setup.
  Some things are pulled from GitHub, so it is probably a good idea to look into the packages it is downloading.
- 8 DEs aren't enough for you?
  Also pop os has a preconfigured tiling window manager called pop shell
  
  8 DEs aren't enough for you?
  They are, but a man can dream. And thanks for the tip!
  
  The PopOS tiling window manager sadly doesn't compare to a proper one.
- It would be cool, if the author preconfigured some less common DE/WM alongside the ones they package now
  Hi there, SpiralLinux creator here. I'm not opposed to adding more desktop environments as long as they are packaged for Debian, since the SpiralLinux project does not create or modify any packages. But I do try to make all the editions viable for "regular" people, so things like tiling window managers are probably outside of the scope of the project.
  
  Keep up the good work. Your project reminds me of small "old school" distros from the noughties and I love the vibe!
  I get the aim at "regular" people. I'd wager there's an interest for a somewhat polished tiling experience; perhaps not among regular people, but among the a bit experienced (and a bit lazy) crowd of Linux users, which is definitely numerous.
  Anyway, I'm just spitballing. Good luck with your project!
- That's why I love Nix, moving my hyprland configuration from my laptop to my desktop was almost seamless. All my keybinds, wallpapers and applications were up and running with a couple of commands.
  There are a couple of hardware specific configs for my laptop and desktop but once I split those out it's smooth sailing.
  
  I have Nixos on a laptop, and have a love//hate relationship with it.
  I love the customizability and declarative setup.
  I hate the number of times I've sunk down rabbitholes trying to set specific things up on it.
  The updates being done via switch are a bit inconvenient, but cool enough.
  The fact that I can't customize everything, particularly on kde, is slightly sad.
  All in all, I really like it, but wouldn't recommend it for my less technical friends, who I'd normally install Ubuntu for. This has gone up my list, close to Opensuse slowroll and Linux mint Debian edition now.
- OpenSUSEway is pattern you can install in opensuse which install an opensuse themed sway/waybar/wofi/greetd and a notification center i cant recall its name. It is what I use on Opensuse Slowroll for a less agressive rolling release.
- Regolith
  
  I have my eye on Regolith. Sadly it seems to be only available on Ubuntu and its derivatives, because they rely on apt.
So like most Arch-based distros but Debian?
- So like most Arch-based distros but Debian?
  Hi there, SpiralLinux creator here. I would say that compared to most derivative distros, no, SpiralLinux isn't quite the same thing. Most of those derivatives also maintain some of their own package repositories, whereas I strictly avoid that with SpiralLinux to avoid users' systems depending on me for maintenance and updates and continuity of the system.
- That's not right. Debian/suse are no less out of the box user friendly than Arch - not counting endeavouros/Manjaro, they're more friendly.
  Arch still needs extra setup and configuration after install. Endeavouros makes it a bit simpler, but there's still configuration (and ricing) invoice. Auto-discovery of printers (cups, avahi), graphical configuration tools out of the box, user permissions/group membership setup out of the box in a way that new users (or even power users) can just set things up graphically... all of that needs extra work.
  That's the extra configuration that this is providing.
  
  I was saying that there are many Arch-based distros that are essentially Arch (down to the repos sometimes), but with a (graphical) installer and rice, and that Spiral Linux seems like exactly that but replace Arch with Debian.
So it’s more like a customizable installer than a separate distro?
- Yes, an opinionated customized installer that seems to be aligned with my own thoughts of great out of the box usage.
The gist is - you're basically installing Debian, but with customizations that the maintainer(s) thought would be very helpful. Basically - better out of the box experience for new users, but also less work to do even for experienced users
Also describes Q4OS, which I've been using for five years.
That's neat, so kinda like what peppermintOS was doing but taken a bit further? I like the concept
I like SpiralLinux a lot. I installed it on my old Inspiron and it runs like a dream.
No aarch64 support?
- Hi there, no, sorry, I don't own any aarch64 devices to test it on.
  
  Someone send this guy a Pinephone or Raspberry Pi.
you wouldn't want your entire system to depend on a random single developer maintaining it.
Running Nobara and I am new to desktop linux. Am I okay? Should I make a change?
- You're fine.
  Most distributions/derivative distributions are fine for very long periods.
  It's just that when the base distribution itself (Debian, Fedora in your case, Opensuse, etc) are themselves nicely customized out of the box to address user concerns, that's a very attractive prospect to long time users like myself.
  Debian has a lot of history and stability, so if I can use it for myself, family, friends without an additional layer or more of other parties, that's very appealing.

40 comments