Linux from Scratch

#1

Post by Alupis » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 6:44 PM UTC

Re: Linux from Scratch

#2

Post by steve1977 » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 7:25 PM UTC

It's been years since I went through this, but whenever someone asks me what they should read to get a deeper understanding of what a Linux distribution is, I point them to this.

Re: Linux from Scratch

#3

Post by LePetitPrince » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 7:29 PM UTC

[dead]

Re: Linux from Scratch

#4

Post by cogman10 » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 7:31 PM UTC

steve1977 wrote: post #2

It's been years since I went through this, but whenever someone asks me what they should read to get a deeper understanding of what a Linux distribution is, I point them to this.

Yup, it's where I got a lot of my linux knowledge.

I think that Gentoo or even Arch would provide pretty close to the same education level, though, with a lot less time to install.

Re: Linux from Scratch

#5

Post by edu_do_cerrado » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 7:34 PM UTC

Had to go through it 4 times to reach a stable distro, I learned so much doing it

Re: Linux from Scratch

#6

Post by GuinansEyebrows » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 7:36 PM UTC

for as long as i've been running and tinkering with linux, i really need to run this marathon before i get much older. i don't think it'll happen til i quit my job and have more time to actually enjoy using my computer :(

Re: Linux from Scratch

#7

Post by Chilinot » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 7:36 PM UTC

cogman10 wrote: post #4

steve1977 wrote: post #2

It's been years since I went through this, but whenever someone asks me what they should read to get a deeper understanding of what a Linux distribution is, I point them to this.

Yup, it's where I got a lot of my linux knowledge. I think that Gentoo or even Arch would provide pretty close to the same education level, though, with a lot less time to install.

Having installed Arch myself a couple of times, i think i would disagree. Not really much in that process that teaches you how linux actually works. It's more just about managing disk partitions and moving files around than anything else.

LFS is just on a whole different level, and is on my bucket list to complete the entire process one day.

Re: Linux from Scratch

#8

Post by webdevver » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 7:37 PM UTC

Making bespoke linux distros should be quite a good fit for LLM agents, especially given the recent results with the LLM-authored web browser.

Re: Linux from Scratch

#9

Post by charliebwrites » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 7:37 PM UTC

Every time I see this, I upvote it

I’m sure it’s different than it was when I was a teenager but building Linux from scratch was the thing that got me into computers as a kid

It shows that computers can be accessible _and modifiable_ at the lowest levels

Re: Linux from Scratch

#10

Post by jdc0589 » Wed, Jan 21, 2026, 7:39 PM UTC

Chilinot wrote: post #7

cogman10 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, it's where I got a lot of my linux knowledge. I think that Gentoo or even Arch would provide pretty close to the same education level, though, with a lot less time to install.

Having installed Arch myself a couple of times, i think i would disagree. Not really much in that process that teaches you how linux actually works. It's more just about managing disk partitions and moving files around than anything else. LFS is just on a whole different level, and is on my bucket list to complete the entire process one day.

agreed. I haven't done LFS, but ive done arch and plently of other distros for a good while and I definitely wouldn't say I have a rock solid understanding of the fundamentals.