Flexible First Aider

No other operating system offers as many free tools for system maintenance and data recovery as Linux. Snal Linux combines these tools to create a compact Live distribution

- Erik Bärwaldt

Arch Linux has evolved in recent years from a wallflower underestimated by many to a much sought after shooting star. As a result, increasing numbers of Arch Linux derivatives with a strong focus on specific use cases have started to appear. One such derivative, Snal Linux [1], a lean system for 64-bit hardware with a great collection of tools, promises help with system repairs.

Snal Linux primarily targets administrators who frequently have to patch hardware or software issues on desktop computers and servers. Consequently, Snal Linux skips a large preinstalled software inventory and only comes with the most necessary system maintenance tools. Snal Linux’s only standard programs are the Firefox web browser, which you use to access the online documentation, support services, and cloud accounts, and the i3 tiling window manager, which functions as a user interface. With its target audience in mind, Snal Linux is exclusively designed for mobile use on a removable storage device.

After downloading Snal Linux, transfer the ISO image, which weighs in at approximately 1.5GB to a USB stick or an optical medium using dd or one of the popular graphical tools, such as balenaEtcher. From the boot media, Snal Linux boots into a GRUB boot menu; you can then decide to boot from the boot media or from a copy in RAM. If you choose the RAM option, the entire system will run autonomously in RAM after firing up. There is also a startup option with integrated audio output.

Bumpy Ride