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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Looking for a minimal distro for a virtual machine (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 8 months ago by Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/linux@lemmy.ml

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Hi all :)

I manage a handful of websites and their emails using the PortableApps suite on Windows, so have a separate browser and mail client for each one. This has worked well for years, but now I'm switching to Linux, Mint specifically. I've read that I can set up profiles on Firefox and probably Thunderbird, or maybe run separate instances with things like AppImages, but it sounds like it's a messy solution, and could end up with me using the wrong profile by mistake

What I want to do is set up a virtual machine for each site, and have a completely separate instance of the programs, and hopefully a way to easily transfer the machines to other systems if needs be.

I'd prefer to use a Debian / Ubuntu based distro with Apt and the 'Windows' style desktop, as that's what I'm already used to, but am I better off installing Mint and stripping it down, or is there something more suited to this?

Thanks in advance :)

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[–] linearchaos@lemmy.world 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Load up a live CD of your distro in your VM. Install a browser. Load up all your plugins, bookmarks, sites, when you have it completely how you want it, tarball your Firefox config folder to a USB drive.

The next time you want to use it, start the live CD again and untar the tarball back in your config directory. Anytime you want to update it, just remake the tarball.

It's ephemeral, no logs are stored, you have almost no chance of accidentally loading the wrong thing.

[–] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 8 months ago

I like that idea, thanks :)