Alpine Linux

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Alpine Linux
Alpine Linux.svg
Developer Alpine Linux Development Team
OS family Linux (Unix-like)
Working stateActive
Source model Open source
Initial releaseAugust 2005;20 years ago (2005-08) [1]
Latest release 3.23.2 [2] / 17 December 2025;36 days ago (17 December 2025)
Repository
Marketing targetGeneral-purpose. Security, embedded systems and other resource-constrained systems, such as containers. [3]
Available in Multilingual
Package manager APK (Alpine Package Keeper)
Supported platforms
Kernel type Monolithic (Linux)
Userland BusyBox
Influenced postmarketOS
Default
user interface 		Ash
Official website alpinelinux.org

Alpine Linux is a Linux distribution that uses musl, BusyBox, and OpenRC instead of glibc, GNU Core Utilities, and systemd, respectively. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] This makes Alpine one of few Linux distributions not to be based on the latter. [9] For security, Alpine compiles all user-space binaries as position-independent executables with stack-smashing protection. [3] Because of its small size and rapid startup, it is commonly used in containers providing quick boot-up times, [10] [11] on virtual machines as well as on real hardware in embedded devices, such as routers, servers and NAS.[ citation needed ]

Contents

History

Originally, Alpine Linux began as an embedded-first distribution for devices such as wireless routers, based on Gentoo Linux, [12] inspired by GNAP and the Bering-uClibc branch of the LEAF Project. [1] 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. [13]

Alpine's package management system, the Alpine Package Keeper (apk), [a] [14] was originally a collection of shell scripts [15] but was later rewritten in C. [16]

In 2014, Alpine Linux switched from uClibc to musl as its C standard library. [17]

Derivatives

postmarketOS, a Linux distribution for mobile devices, is based on Alpine Linux. [18]

Notes

  1. ↑ Not to be confused with the apk file format used by Android

References

  1. 1 2 "Re: [leaf-devel] 2.6.x kernel support?". SourceForge. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Alpine 3.23.2 released". 17 December 2025. Retrieved 27 December 2025.
  3. 1 2 "about". Alpine Linux. Archived from the original on 8 May 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  4. ↑ "Alpine Linux 2 review". LinuxBSDos.com. 24 August 2010. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  5. ↑ Nestor, Marius (4 December 2017). "Security-Oriented Alpine Linux 3.7 Has UEFI Support, GRUB Support in Installer". Softpedia News. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  6. ↑ Verma, Adarsh (8 November 2017). "10 Most Secure Linux Distros For Complete Privacy & Anonymity | 2017 Edition". Fossbytes. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  7. ↑ Noyes, Katherine (9 February 2016). "Is Docker ditching Ubuntu Linux? Confusion reigns". Network World. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  8. ↑ "OpenRC". wiki.alpinelinux.org. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  9. ↑ Wallen, Jack (30 June 2023). "What is Alpine Linux?". Tech Target. Archived from the original on 22 November 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  10. ↑ Bhartiya, Swapnil (28 March 2017). "Meet Alpine Linux, Docker's Distribution of Choice for Containers". The New Stack. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  11. ↑ Steven Nuu00f1ez (10 July 2017). "Review: Alpine Linux is made for Docker". InfoWorld. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  12. ↑ Copa, Natanael (22 August 2005). "Re: [leaf-devel] 2.6.x kernel support?". SourceForge. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  13. ↑ Copa, Natanael (3 November 2017). "Small, Simple, and Secure: Alpine Linux under the Microscope" (video). youtube.com. Docker. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  14. ↑ "Alpine Package Keeper". wiki.alpinelinux.org. Archived from the original on 30 September 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  15. ↑ "apk-tools". SourceForge. Archived from the original on 17 December 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  16. ↑ "apk-tools – Alpine package manager". git.alpinelinux.org. Archived from the original on 7 March 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  17. ↑ "Alpine 3.0.0 released". Alpine Linux. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  18. ↑ "postmarketOS // real Linux distribution for phones". postmarketOS. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
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