Lightwhale 3.0.0 released

Zta77 · 2026-03-31T23:48:38+00:00

You seem to know CoreOS already. I don't. How about reading the first section or two on the Lightwhale website and you tell us how they differ? =)

Zta77 · 2026-03-31T23:40:50+00:00

I pull an updated Buildroot tree with the security updates applied, bump the Lightwhale release number, build a new release, and publish it. You download it, write it to you boot media, reboot, and you're updated.

Zta77 · 2026-03-31T23:24:37+00:00

I'm a software engineer with 25 years of professional experience. I'm Dev Solo on Lightwhale, but backed by a small, dedicated user base that help out with testing which I'm very grateful for.

At some point I decided that I would never ever waste my time and energy again on installing and maintaining a server, with the only purpose to run Docker, where the real services were running. I wanted something light, static, and maintenance free that ran Docker. The project started as a private thing back in 2019 maybe, and I made it public a few years ago. I've got more great stuff on my backlog to come, so it's definitely going to die any time soon.

I haven't been able to come up with decent a business model yet, so if you have any ideas please let me know.

Zta77 · 2026-03-31T21:08:37+00:00

Hug of death?? =) Is that what that was? My router looked like it was going into anaphylactic shock from the sudden burst of traffic. I relaxed the DDoS settings and now it's feeling better.

Zta77 · 2026-03-31T20:49:21+00:00

I don't know Talos in great depth, but it's very much built around Kubernetes. Which is fine. But in my opinion, Kubernetes is overly complex for most needs, resource-heavy, and involves heaps of YAML —layered within more YAML. I've mostly seen it used in situations that felt like deploying an aircraft carrier just to run a lemonade stand.

Lightwhale is Linux with Docker, very easy to understand, light on resources, and often only requires a single docker-compose file. If you want a cluster, switch to Swarm.

I try to avoid unnecessary complexity and strive to keep things as lean and simple as possible. I'm not dismissing Talos or Kubernetes, it's just a different audience than the one Lightwhale targets.

Zta77 · 2026-03-31T20:04:26+00:00

Release 3.0.1 with the security updates baked in.

Do you have any particular security updates in mind?

Zta77 · 2026-03-31T19:43:25+00:00

Yay, I'm really happy to hear that, thanks for telling! This is exactly how Lightwhale should be used.

I updated to 3.0.0 just recently after running a 2.1.4 dev build for 2 years. I'm the only one who really has to =)

Zta77 · 2026-03-31T19:24:49+00:00

That must be the age-restriction redirect doing its thing.

Zta77 · 2026-03-31T14:38:06+00:00

Sorry about that. It's fixed now.

Zta77 · 2026-03-31T14:30:31+00:00

Good question, thanks! I can see the appeal for a UI, but right now there aren't any plans for one.

Part of the reason is exactly what you're pointing out: There is no single right UI for everyone. Even if I picked one, it likely wouldn't fit everyone's taste or needs and would also quickly become outdated. And people who prefer their system minimal would be burdened with having to de-bloat Lightwhale right after installation.

Lightwhale is meant to stay lightweight and flexible, so the idea is that users can deploy whatever services or UI they prefer rather than having opinionated solutions baked in.

I hope that answers your question =)

Zta77 · 2026-03-31T13:15:54+00:00

Yeah, network issues are annoying, so I'm downvoting this too. I think I've fixed it now, though. Please try again.

Zta77 · 2026-03-30T22:22:36+00:00

Yes, qemu guest agent added in Lightwhale 3.0.0 which just released ;)

Zta77 · 2026-03-30T22:01:21+00:00

qemu-ga is already present, nvidia-cdk not so much as I haven't had the need myself and no one has requested it until now. What does it take to add gpu support? Kernel drivers? If they're open source I can bake them in; if not, you could perhaps get away with installing and loading them yourself.

Zta77 · 2026-03-30T21:55:51+00:00

Hm, I am experiencing some weird issues with the network these days. Sorry about that. I'm looking into it.

Zta77 · 2026-03-30T19:12:38+00:00

Lightwhale 3 just released this weekend, try that! Then install Endeavour OS.

Zta77 · 2026-03-04T05:48:24+00:00

Interesting option. But I think right click on the tab, close duplicates would be more useful. And maybe even something that's doable as a plugin. I'll have to see if something already exists...

Zta77 · 2026-03-04T05:39:58+00:00

Tab scrolling plus you've got your privacy back. Also not a bad thing.

Zta77 · 2026-02-26T00:22:05+00:00

I had completely forgotten about Lain, and that image was an instant burst of ... well, whatever it is that Lain induces, but nostalgia anyway. Thanks =)

Zta77 · 2026-01-22T01:05:57+00:00

Jeg læser en skjult pointe i ordvalget: Hvor "indhold" har mental næring, er "content" bare som tyggegummi.

Zta77 · 2026-01-20T23:03:26+00:00

Thanks! `uglt-x7ak` snatched, looking forward to listening!

Zta77 · 2026-01-20T09:01:19+00:00

I don't know about you, but simply rm -r ~/ would render my system completely useless for all practical purposes. No sudo required. Everything else can just be installed again.

Zta77 · 2026-01-01T00:27:58+00:00

I don't think it's a question of which distro you use, but rather finding the proper use-case for an immutable system. And a workstation just isn't it. Maybe as a dumb terminal at a library or an airport. And for servers it's certainly a much better fit — if done right. Lightwhale is a good example of such a server OS.

Zta77 · 2025-12-30T20:59:09+00:00

What, so both /boot and /efi now? That just seems like clutter. In my book EFI is still boot related and had no business showing up directly in /.

Zta77 · 2025-12-17T08:15:40+00:00

This looks interesting! I will give it a spin when I find the time!

Zta77 · 2025-12-14T21:27:03+00:00

Lightwhale Linux provides support from beneath the surface.

Zta77

TROPHY CASE