MX Linux is a

Linux distribution A Linux distribution (often abbreviated as distro) is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and, often, a package management system. Linux users usually obtain their operating system by downloading one ...

based on

Debian Debian (), also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software, developed by the community-supported Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock on August 16, 1993. The first version of De ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

and using core antiX components, with additional software created or packaged by the MX community. The development of MX Linux is a collaborative effort between the antiX and former

MEPIS MEPIS was a set of Linux distributions, distributed as Live CDs or DVDs that could be installed onto a hard disk drive. MEPIS was started by Warren Woodford and MEPIS LLC. The most popular MEPIS distribution was SimplyMEPIS, which was based pri ...

communities. The MX 'name' comes from the M for MEPIS and the X from antiX - an acknowledgment of their roots. The community's stated goal is to produce "a family of operating systems that are designed to combine elegant and efficient desktops with high stability and solid performance". MX Linux uses Xfce as main

desktop environment In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a grap ...

, to which it adds a freestanding

KDE Plasma Plasma is a desktop environment by KDE, and can refer to: * KDE Plasma 5 (2014–today) * KDE Plasma 4 (2008–2015) * Plasma Mobile for smartphones * Plasma Bigscreen Plasma Bigscreen is a software project from KDE which contains an interface op ...

version and, in 2021, a standalone

Fluxbox Fluxbox is a stacking window manager for the X Window System, which started as a fork of Blackbox 0.61.1 in 2001, with the same aim to be lightweight. Its user interface has only a taskbar, a pop-up menu accessible by right-clicking on the des ...

implementation. Other environments can be added or are available as "spin-off" ISO images.

History

MX Linux began in a discussion about future options among members of the MEPIS community in December 2013. Developers from antiX then joined them, bringing the ISO build system as well as Live-USB/DVD technology. To be listed on the Linux distribution clearinghouse website

DistroWatch DistroWatch is a website which provides news, distribution pages hit rankings, and other general information about various Linux distributions as well as other free software/ open source Unix-like operating systems. It now contains informati ...

, MX Linux was initially presented as a version of antiX. It received its own DistroWatch page with the release of the first public beta of MX-16 on November 2, 2016. *The MX-14 series was based on Debian Stable "Wheezy", using Xfce 4.10 and then, with the 14.4 release, Xfce 4.12. The MX-14 versions were intended to fit onto a CD, which limited the number of applications that could be included. This series saw the gradual evolution of the MX Tools, a collection of utilities to help users with common tasks that are often complicated and obscure. *MX-15 moved to the new Debian Stable "Jessie" using systemd-shim, meaning that

systemd systemd is a software suite that provides an array of system components for Linux operating systems. Its main aim is to unify service configuration and behavior across Linux distributions; Its primary component is a "system and service manag ...

is installed but the default init is

sysvinit In Unix-based computer operating systems, init (short for ''initialization'') is the first process started during booting of the computer system. Init is a daemon process that continues running until the system is shut down. It is the direct ...

. The size limitation was lifted, enabling the developers to present a full turnkey product. There was a substantial expansion of MX Tools. *MX-16 was still based on Debian Stable "Jessie", but with many applications backported and added from other sources. There were further refinements to MX Tools, import of advanced antiX developments, expanded support, and a completely new icon/theme/wallpaper collection. *MX-16.1 collected all bug fixes and improvements since MX-16, added a new kingfisher theme, upgraded and streamlined MX Tools, revised documentation, and added new translations. *MX-17 changed its base to

9 (Stretch) and brought upgraded artwork, new MX Tools, improved Live operation via antiX and other changes. *MX-18 continued the development of MX Tools, introduced a new kernel, enabled whole disk encryption, and added grub themes, splash functionality through MX Boot options artwork, and improved localization. *MX-19 upgraded its base to Debian 10 (Buster) and its default desktop to Xfce 4.14. It is characterized by new and revised Tools, artwork, documentation, localization, and technical features. *MX-21 was released on October 21, 2021. It is based on Debian 11.0 (Bullseye) and is available as Xfce, KDE or

versions. Details in the MX Blog. *MX-21.1 was released on April 9, 2022. It is based on Debian 11.3 (Bullseye) and is available as Xfce, Xfce AHS, KDE, and

versions. Disk Manager returns and for share settings, MX Samba Config app (GUI) is included. Further details in the MX Blog. *MX-21.2 was released on August 28, 2022. It is based on Debian 11.4 (Bullseye) and is available as Xfce, KDE, Xfce AHS, and

versions. Further details in the MX Blog. *MX-21.2.1 was released on September 18, 2022. It is based on Debian 11.5 (Bullseye) and is available as Xfce, Xfce AHS, KDE, and

versions. Includes Debian's recent Grub-PC updates. Further details in the MX Blog.

Desktop environments

MX Linux has four desktop editions: * ' XFCE' fast and medium-low resource default desktop environment. 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available. * 'Fluxbox' a version with very low resource usage. This edition first released on October 21, 2021. 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available. * 'KDE' a 64-bit only version. KDE is an Advanced Hardware Support (AHS) version of MX featuring the KDE/Plasma desktop and currently features a long-term supported Linux 5.10.x kernel. This edition was first released on August 16, 2020. * 'AHS' a 64-bit only version. (Advanced Hardware Support) with newer graphics drivers, 5.18 kernel (or newer) and firmware for very recent hardware (AMD Ryzen/Radeon RX graphic cards, or 9th/10th/11th generation Intel CPU).

Releases

Features

MX Linux has basic tools like a graphic installer that handles

UEFI UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) is a set of specifications written by the UEFI Forum. They define the architecture of the platform firmware used for booting and its interface for interaction with the operating system. Examples ...

computers, a

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

-based method to change a

Linux kernel The Linux kernel is a free and open-source, monolithic, modular, multitasking, Unix-like operating system kernel. It was originally authored in 1991 by Linus Torvalds for his i386-based PC, and it was soon adopted as the kernel for the GNU ...

and other core programs. It includes MX Tools, a suite of user-oriented utilities, many of which were developed specifically for MX, while some were forked from existing antiX applications or are existing antiX applications; a couple were imported with permission from outside sources. These tools are also available in Debian Stable-based Linux distributions, and some of the main tools are as follows: * Live-USB Kernel Updater * Live USB Maker * RemasterCC * Snapshot * Boot Options * Boot Repair * Cleanup * FormatUSB A particularly popular one is MX-snapshot, a

tool to

remaster Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

a live session or installation into a single .ISO file. The "cloned" image is bootable from a disk or USB flash drive, maintaining all settings, allowing an installation to be completely backed up, and/or distributed with minimal administrative effort since an advanced method of copying the file system (developed by antiX-Linux) uses bind-mounts performing the "heavy lifting".

System requirements

Minimum * 8.5 GB hard disk space for installation. * 1 GB

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...

for i386 and AMD64 architectures. * Bootable CD-DVD drive or a USB stick. * A modern i686 Intel or AMD processor. Recommended * 20 GB of hard disk space,

SSD A solid-state drive (SSD) is a solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies to store data persistently, typically using flash memory, and functioning as secondary storage in the hierarchy of computer storage. It is a ...

for faster performance. * 2 GB of

. * modern i686 Intel or AMD processor. Multi-core for good performance. * 3D-capable video card for 3D desktop support. * SoundBlaster, AC97 or HDA-compatible sound card. * For use as a LiveUSB, 8 GB free if using persistence.

References

External links

* * *
MX Linux support forum

MX Linux support group on facebook
* A full list of substantive reviews, both written and video, that are known to MX Linux developers can be found with summaries on th
this
page. * The complete feature list can be seen o
this
page. {{Linux distributions, state=collapsed 2014 software Computer-related introductions in 2014 Debian-based distributions Linux distributions Linux distributions without systemd X86-64 Linux distributions