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ZDNET’s key takeaways

• Alpine Linux is a small but mighty distribution.
• With a bit of work, it can be shaped into a lightning-fast desktop OS.
• Alpine Linux is free to download and install.

I’ve used every conceivable Linux distribution, from the extremely lightweight to the overstuffed and bloated. With almost every distribution type, I can find a rock-solid use to make the most of what it offers.

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Alpine Linux is no outlier. However, for the most part, I’ve used this lightweight, security-focused distribution for container deployments —  one of the most common use cases for Alpine Linux because its base image is incredibly small (between 2.67 and 5 MB – yes, megabytes). This gives Alpine Linux a minimal attack surface, which is great for containers.

But is Alpine Linux an option for the desktop? The answer to that is yes, but with a big honking asterisk.

Let me explain.

What is Alpine Linux?

Alpine Linux is a very minimal distribution, which translates to, “It doesn’t ship with a desktop environment or a lot of apps/tools you’re accustomed to.” In fact, it doesn’t ship with sudo or even bash. 

Consequently, it does take some work to make Alpine Linux a viable option for the desktop. But that doesn’t preclude it from being an option, especially for those who value simplicity and security.

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At the same time, getting Alpine Linux readied for desktop usage isn’t exactly for the faint of heart. If you know what you’re doing, you can have a solid desktop up and running in minutes. If you don’t know what you’re doing, it could take a while.

Is it time well spent? If you like a slight challenge and want to enjoy the end result of your efforts, the answer is yes. Alpine Linux as a desktop distribution is definitely worth the time spent.

Let me show you what that time involves.

Installing Alpine Linux

The installation of Alpine Linux is a text-based affair, but it’s not even remotely challenging (so long as you can answer a few simple questions).

The process includes the following:

1. Create a bootable USB drive with the downloaded Alpine Linux ISO.
2. Boot the USB drive.
3. When prompted, log in as root (no password).
4. Run the command setup-alpine.
5. Select your keyboard.
6. Set your hostname.
7. Set up the network connection (accept the default by hitting Enter on your keyboard).
8. Set a root user password.
9. Set the time zone.
10. Select an Alpine mirror. (I suggest the official Alpine mirror, as I’ve run into trouble with the fastest option.)
11. Set up a regular user account.
12. Choose your secure shell daemon. (Hit Enter to accept OpenSSH as your default.)
13. Partition your disk. (Because we’re going to use this as a desktop, type sys for a traditional hard-disk installation.)
14. The installation will complete in about a minute. Once it completes, reboot with the command: reboot

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After it reboots, log in as the standard user you created during installation.

Installing the KDE Plasma desktop

Before installing KDE Plasma, there are a few things to take care of. First, you’ll need to enable the community repository. To do this, install the nano text editor with:

doas apk add nano

Once that completes, install bash and sudo with:

doas apk add bash bash-completion sudo shadow

Reboot again.

Log back in as your standard user and then issue the command:

setup-desktop

Type plasma and hit Enter on your keyboard. This will walk through installing everything required for the KDE Plasma desktop.

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When that completes, reboot again. After the reboot completes, you’ll be greeted with the KDE Plasma login screen, where you can log in as your standard user and start using the desktop.

The first thing you’ll notice is how fast Alpine Linux performs. It’s crazy fast. You might also notice that, even though you have a network connection, some apps don’t recognize it. That’s because the NetworkManager service isn’t running. To start and enable that, issue the following commands:

doas rc-service networkmanager start

doas rc-update add networkmanager default

You should now be able to use everything as expected, even KDE Discover for installing applications (such as Flatpak).

That’s a lot of hoops to jump through, yes, but the hoops aren’t all that challenging — so long as you don’t mind typing some commands. The end result is a lightning-fast desktop that can serve you very well. 

Who is Alpine Linux best suited for?

I would never recommend Alpine Linux as a desktop distribution for those with no Linux experience. But for those with even a modicum of familiarity with the open-source operating system, Alpine Linux could be a nice addition for personal use. On top of that, you’ll learn a bit more about Linux along the way.

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One last thing: Alpine Linux doesn’t ship with a firewall (though when you install KDE Plasma, it adds a firewall GUI). You can install a firewall with a command like:

doas apk add ufw

Once you’ve installed the firewall, open the firewall GUI and enable it.

Have fun with Alpine Linux.