15

July
2022

Slax based on Slackware 15.0

I had nothing better to do so I decided to give Slackware 15.0 a try. Slax is no more a KDE-based distro with full applications, so it shouldn't be hard to make a fluxbox-based version from Slackware, right? Well yeah :) I managed to build a working prototype.

For a limited time, it is available only for supporters at patreon.com/slax/

If you wish to test it out, feel free to join the community of supporters with any monthly plan you can afford. You can find the download link to the prototype of Slackware-based version of Slax there.

- It boots into text mode, so login as root and use 'startx' to start the X desktop.

- It supports 'slackpkg' with 'slackpkg+' plugin. This means you should be able to install software from various repositories (preconfigured is official Slackware repository and a SlackOnly repo, which contains most packages from slackbuilds.org).

- As usual with Slackware, dependencies are not tracked, this is something you need to resolve manually. Use slackpkg this way:

slackpkg update
slackpkg install YOUR_DESIRED_PACKAGE

Enjoy! :)

User comments
andreas 2022-07-15 23:12

Awesome news, thank you Tomas!

Marcelo 2022-07-22 09:18

I still prefer a debian-based distro because it has the apt-get package manager. There are packages that have dozens of dependencies, and I don't know how to install them in slackware because its package manager doesn't resolve dependencies. Anyway, thanks for providing another distro option.

Alejandro 2022-07-25 07:23

Could there be a "Debax" and Slax distro lines?

Tiago Felipe 2022-07-25 15:22

Good job Tomas! Back to origins with Slackware. I think than, if we want a stable and longest release, Slackware is best, because on all Debian new release, we need to remake all .sb base files to can install new packages. All 2 ways have this advantage Slax for longest releases, Debian for easy (beginners) package manager. I am suspect for make comments because i use slackware since version 4 until 14 and i love slack.

Lioh 2022-07-25 17:24

Finally!

lucbertz 2022-07-26 11:19

Awesome!
Did someone already tried to do a comparison between the two versions about:
- data size of modules;
- performance;
- startup time?
Thank you.

BAGZ 2022-07-26 21:08

Thank you for your continued support.

Promet 2022-07-27 06:24

Good to hear that as a Slax user long ago! ;)

For me the name "Slax" is always tied to its history as a Slackware LiveCD with KDE3 desktop.

You can find many Debian LiveCD or Debian doesn't even need one as it's so easy to find and install in various forms of medium (Live, netinstall, dvd...). But Slackware certainly needs more derivatives except Alien Bob's LiveCD.

Hope you can continue your work on it!

Roberto 2022-07-29 02:18

@Promet

Porteus Linux is a option of Slackware LiveCD/USB with modules, however the only option of LiveCD/USB with modules is Slax. Slax is the only Debian based distro with the purpose of being portable, however Slackware users can use Porteus or Slax.

@EZ 2022-08-01 15:22

Great. Thanks for your dedication

LoneStar 2022-08-06 12:56

Great!

Stopped using Slax 9 years ago (kept using 7.0.8 whenever possible).
Now I can use it again :-D

kjh 2022-08-07 14:02

Nice !

Thanks Tomas.

It has been years ... I'll have to give the latest SLAX a try

--kjh

Dr Beco 2022-08-09 03:22

Back to the origins.

I hope you never leave again. Slackware as a project and distro, needs your dedication to create a based distro on it. We all appreciate it.

There are lots of Debian based distros already, I'm sure those who are used to it can find a way.

I was a Debian user before, and I moved back to Slackware some 2 years ago, after systemd. I was also back to origins, since my first distro in 1995 was Slackware. I'm very happy with version 15 and current. Very stable. Long life to Slackware!

Alejandro 2023-01-02 01:21

I am happy to read about Slax based on Slackware is available for everyday usage. I appreciate very much your efforts to continue this most important distro.

Max 2023-02-01 17:29

Hello

I'm trying to use genslaxiso on slackware relase, but it always give an erro:

line 102: genisoimage: command not found.

Can i correct this somehow?

thank you

John 2023-03-17 08:21

Some suggestions:

-opening startmenu using menu-key from keyboard should be nice (way faster than using your mouse)

-sloppy focus should be nicer than click to focus

-slackpkg install fails, for example for links: dialog menu appears, files are downloaded, but install failed

/run/initramfs/memory is a handy directory: I could easily copy 05.sb (chromium) and put it into slax/ to load it during booting. The downloaded links files I could not find.