this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2026
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I am collecting Linux torrents right now (discuss.online)
submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by sureshot0@discuss.online to c/linux@lemmy.world
34 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I like to have a few lightweight distros on hand because I enjoy restoring my old computers. I decided to seed these distros from the official torrents and became sort of addicted to doing it.

The most popular torrents seem to be MX Linux XFCE and Mint Ubuntu XFCE. MX Linux is at 20.2 in less than 10 days. I am wondering if there are any very small distros I haven't heard of.

Please a comment and tell me your favorite distro under 4g. I will go and try to find the torrent on their website.

edit:

top 34 comments
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[–] ati@piefed.social 1 points 4 days ago

Void.

[–] flesh@lemmy.zip 3 points 6 days ago

Tails OS. Around 2GB in size, if I'm not mistaken.

[–] clif@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I'd never heard of MX or AntiX so I just snagged those, thanks for seeding.

It also reminded me that I hadn't been seeding for a long time so I left those seeding. I also snagged the torrents for my main flavors (Debian, Mint), got the latest versions, and left those seeding too. Thanks for the reminder!

Debian 13 is 3.71GB, Mint is 2.8GB.

I haven't used CachyOS much but I sometimes recommend it to noobs since it looks "slick" by default and (I think) typically has good GPU support. I went ahead and grabbed that one too, just to have it around, and it's 2.83GB. Currently seeding as well.

While it's over your 4GB limit @ 4.4GB, I pulled+seeded the latest Kali as well. Also nice to have that one around when it's needed. The USB drive I carry around with it is probably 5 years old so I should probably update that anyway : )

[–] sureshot0@discuss.online 1 points 4 days ago

I'm excited to try MX Linux because it has a lot of cool features, Mint is still my favorite though.

[–] dr_robotBones@reddthat.com 1 points 6 days ago (2 children)

What's a good trustworthy torrenting software on linux? I haven't torrented in ages and the ones I used to use are shit now.

[–] bluesquid0741b@aussie.zone 1 points 1 day ago

qbittorrent

[–] sureshot0@discuss.online 1 points 5 days ago

I use Transmission, it came with my first OS so that's what I'm accustomed to.

[–] DahGangalang@infosec.pub 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Haven't checked in it in years, but I used to have a strange affection for Magiea OS. Quick peek makes it look like last major update was 2023, so maybe not maintained anymore.

But also got really cozy with Parrot OS (home version).

[–] sureshot0@discuss.online 5 points 1 week ago

I haven't heard of Magiea OS, I already have Parrot OS. Thank you for the recommendation, I will try this soon on a computer, and I will see what it's like to use.

[–] NathanDerWeise@feddit.org 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Off of the top of my head: DSL (damn small Linux) recently made a comeback, last I checked. There's also Tiny Core Linux, which I've seen working even on old pentiums on a YouTube video. Puppy Linux of course. There's so many flavors of Puppy Linux.

Now, actually referencing Distrowatch: Linux Lite, Peppermint OS

I know there's more, but I have direct or indirect experience with all of these.

[–] sureshot0@discuss.online 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

What do you like about these?

[–] NathanDerWeise@feddit.org 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Well I just checked and only Linux Lite actually has an official torrent. Sorry about that.

It's one of the ones I only have indirect experience with. A YouTuber I like reviewed it recently.

https://youtu.be/sJGf8zVt3MI

[–] sureshot0@discuss.online 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Linux Lite

It's happening!

[–] Cyber@feddit.uk 5 points 1 week ago

Linux distro <4GB? Arch Linux... they're about 1.4GB

These come out every month and I seed these for a good few months.

Should also work on older computers as you can pick and choose the components you want.

[–] GrilledCheese@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Alpine Linux

[–] sureshot0@discuss.online 1 points 1 week ago

I couldn't find their official torrent!

[–] glimse@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

When I first switched, I downloaded a half dozen ISOs and stuck em on a Ventoy drive along with some Windows and OS X ISOs.

Beats the hell out of the keychain I used to use

[–] sureshot0@discuss.online 2 points 1 week ago

I might sell these flash drives on ebay. I've got a bunch of empty flash drives.

[–] rimu@piefed.social 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Check out antiX

[–] sureshot0@discuss.online 1 points 1 week ago

I did already

[–] calmluck9349@infosec.pub 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Antix is on my next distro hop list

[–] sureshot0@discuss.online 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I am thinking about MX Linux because it is a hybrid which includes antiX

[–] calmluck9349@infosec.pub 2 points 6 days ago

Oh. I didn't know this. I will have to dive deeper

[–] Auster@thebrainbin.org 2 points 1 week ago

Not a specific distro per se, but something I'd suggest, having had to use them before, is installers for old systems.

[–] palordrolap@fedia.io 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

How small do you want? Floppinux fits on a floppy disk.

Tiny Core's largest image will almost certainly fit on the smallest capacity USB thumb drive you own*.

Puppy Linux has a diverse ecosystem that pulls from other popular distros and their images generally run to around a gigabyte.

* It's less than 256MB. There are a few reasons you might have a smaller drive than this, but for most people this is true.

[–] sureshot0@discuss.online 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

What does Floppinux do? Why do people need it to fit on a floppy disk?

[–] palordrolap@fedia.io 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Admittedly, it's more of a proof of concept. I included it because it's probably the most extreme example of how small Linux can get.

It does have vi as an editor though and leaves a few kilobytes free on the same floppy, so whatever ancient hardware it runs on could be used as a very basic journaling device.

Personally, I think I might opt for FreeDOS and EDIT.COM instead, but the Linux purist would almost certainly balk at that.

[–] sureshot0@discuss.online 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I've never tried MX XFCE. It seems really popular.

I've never heard of FreeDOS. EDIT.COM doesn't link to anything, I've never heard of that.

[–] palordrolap@fedia.io 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

FreeDOS is a free MS-DOS compatible operating system. EDIT.COM was a commonly used editor on MS-DOS and can be run under FreeDOS. I was making a comparison with Floppinux being a bare bones OS with a basic editor (vi).

Actually, the original incarnation of EDIT.COM was as the alter ego of QBasic, so that was literally a BASIC editor, but that's more a fun fact than a selling point.

[–] sureshot0@discuss.online 1 points 1 week ago

Oh, cool!

[–] DisgruntledGorillaGang@reddthat.com 1 points 1 week ago

Under 4gb the only seeds I have right now are Arch, Cachy, and Endeavor.

[–] who@feddit.org 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Maybe Lubuntu or some other distro using the LXQt desktop environment?

https://lxqt-project.org/

https://lubuntu.me/

Edit: Debian offers an LXQt live image here:

https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/amd64/iso-hybrid/