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Recommendation for systemd free security focused distro (programming.dev)
submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by calcoline582@programming.dev to c/linux@lemmy.world
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Hello, I am looking for a well-supported Linux / BSD distribution with focus on following features (in no particular order) -

  • Systemd free (found some here)
  • Security focused (meaning hardened, not security tools)
  • Wayland (preferably without anything X11)
  • Lightweight (as much as possible)
  • Supports flatpak, containers and VMs (preferably libvirt)
  • Atomic (more optional then other requirements)

This is expected to be run on real hardware on desktop (so alpine will not work).

Along with that, what are some good lightweight (but well-known / actively maintained) desktop environments for Wayland?

  • I see some here but am looking for opinions or if some are missing.
  • Especially ones that support stacking.

The most interesting ones I could find -

  • Void Linux (has some X11 stuff, not security focused, will try installing Wayland)
  • Kicksecure, OpenBSD, HardenedBSD (yet to explore more for these)
  • MXLinux and Artix (seem very niche)?

I am looking for more recommendations/opinions for similar requirements, especially if there are better known ones.

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[-] jet@hackertalks.com 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Open BSD, except it doesn't support flat pack. But it's everything else you want

But, I wouldn't recommend using it as a desktop. If you want real security and isolation, look at qubes for your desktop.

Qubes uses xen, a real microkernel, as the hypervisor, which reduces the risk surface of VM escapes tremendously, then you run your untrusted services in their own vms.

this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2026
26 points (100.0% liked)

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