{"slug": "antix", "name": "antiX", "category": "os", "category_name": "Operating systems and desktop", "description": "", "recommenders": 4, "commenters": 6, "warners": 1, "score": 2.989, "rising": 1.35, "first": "2026-03-03", "latest": "2026-10-10", "why": "I found Antix can run well in almost 20year old hardware", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 1, "compare": 1, "warn": 1}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0, 1], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "I found Antix can run well in almost 20year old hardware", "kind": "", "icon": true, "domain": "antixlinux.com", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://antixlinux.com", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["antiX", "Antix"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 800604000, "item_id": 50037750, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50037750", "by": "UncleSlacky", "date": "2026-10-10", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Or go straight to the distro DSL was forked from - antiX", "excerpt": "Or go straight to the distro DSL was forked from - antiX, which has a Debian Trixie-based 32-bit ISO (as well as the expected 64-bit version): https://antixlinux.com/download/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "50MB operating system can resurrect your old PC"}, {"id": 790271296, "item_id": 49391956, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49391956", "by": "a1o", "date": "2026-08-21", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I found Antix can run well in almost 20year old hardware", "excerpt": "For a more capable but still underpowered computer, I found Antix can run well in almost 20year old hardware - I use it in an EEEPC 4G Surf, but I modded it to have more storage recently.", "context": "", "use_case": "old netbook OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "I ran Photoshop on a \u00a30.60 computer chip"}, {"id": 783369040, "item_id": 48960565, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48960565", "by": "2b3a51", "date": "2026-07-18", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "antiX strikes me as a lot less work than the OAs hand crafted Arch install", "excerpt": "I'm posting this off a 2009 Samsung NC10 Netbook running antiX linux 26[1] (32 bit, debian Trixie packages but an older 5.10 series kernel) and it has Abiword running, with ROXterm and Firefox with BBC News in the other tab. The netbook has a mechanical hard drive and a gig of ram and a small but not outrageous keyboard. It jogs along OK. I dug it out of the cupboard when I saw this post. Not a snappy experience even", "context": "", "use_case": "Lightweight Linux distro", "switched_from": "", "story": "Reviving a 15-year-old netbook with Arch Linux"}, {"id": 757219952, "item_id": 47326247, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47326247", "by": "graemep", "date": "2026-03-10", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Possibly Antix https://antixlinux.com/ ?", "excerpt": "Possibly Antix https://antixlinux.com/ ?", "context": "", "use_case": "Lightweight OS for old hardware", "switched_from": "", "story": "$3 ChromeOS Flex stick will revive old and outdated computers"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 779173585, "item_id": 48698349, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48698349", "by": "initramfs", "date": "2026-06-27", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "I installed AntiX on a 2GB Chromebook, and it had issues crashing on browsers under even a couple tabs.", "excerpt": "Thanks for this link. \"antiX is my top pick for truly constrained hardware. It runs on systemd-free Debian Stable, uses around 256MB at idle, and includes a full desktop experience. The trade-off is a less polished interface compared to Ubuntu-based options. If you need something even lighter, Puppy Linux runs entirely in RAM and can resurrect machines that most distros would reject. The learning curve is steeper, bu", "context": "", "use_case": "low-RAM old hardware", "switched_from": "", "story": "Linux on Older Hardware: The Complete Revival Guide"}]}], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["old netbook os", "lightweight linux distro", "low-ram old hardware", "os on old netbook", "lightweight os for old hardware"], "compared": [{"slug": "arch-linux", "name": "Arch Linux", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50036571", "title": "50MB operating system can resurrect your old PC", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49389441", "title": "I ran Photoshop on a \u00a30.60 computer chip", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48907063", "title": "Reviving a 15-year-old netbook with Arch Linux", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48668747", "title": "Linux on Older Hardware: The Complete Revival Guide", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48350598", "title": "Chuwi Minibook X", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47325381", "title": "$3 ChromeOS Flex stick will revive old and outdated computers", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {"compare": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-06": {"warn": 1}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 1}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 800604000, "item_id": 50037750, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50037750", "by": "UncleSlacky", "date": "2026-10-10", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Or go straight to the distro DSL was forked from - antiX", "excerpt": "Or go straight to the distro DSL was forked from - antiX, which has a Debian Trixie-based 32-bit ISO (as well as the expected 64-bit version): https://antixlinux.com/download/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "50MB operating system can resurrect your old PC"}, {"id": 790271296, "item_id": 49391956, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49391956", "by": "a1o", "date": "2026-08-21", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I found Antix can run well in almost 20year old hardware", "excerpt": "For a more capable but still underpowered computer, I found Antix can run well in almost 20year old hardware - I use it in an EEEPC 4G Surf, but I modded it to have more storage recently.", "context": "", "use_case": "old netbook OS", "switched_from": "", "story": "I ran Photoshop on a \u00a30.60 computer chip"}, {"id": 783369040, "item_id": 48960565, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48960565", "by": "2b3a51", "date": "2026-07-18", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "antiX strikes me as a lot less work than the OAs hand crafted Arch install", "excerpt": "I'm posting this off a 2009 Samsung NC10 Netbook running antiX linux 26[1] (32 bit, debian Trixie packages but an older 5.10 series kernel) and it has Abiword running, with ROXterm and Firefox with BBC News in the other tab. The netbook has a mechanical hard drive and a gig of ram and a small but not outrageous keyboard. It jogs along OK. I dug it out of the cupboard when I saw this post. Not a snappy experience even", "context": "", "use_case": "Lightweight Linux distro", "switched_from": "", "story": "Reviving a 15-year-old netbook with Arch Linux"}, {"id": 779173585, "item_id": 48698349, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48698349", "by": "initramfs", "date": "2026-06-27", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "I installed AntiX on a 2GB Chromebook, and it had issues crashing on browsers under even a couple tabs.", "excerpt": "Thanks for this link. \"antiX is my top pick for truly constrained hardware. It runs on systemd-free Debian Stable, uses around 256MB at idle, and includes a full desktop experience. The trade-off is a less polished interface compared to Ubuntu-based options. If you need something even lighter, Puppy Linux runs entirely in RAM and can resurrect machines that most distros would reject. The learning curve is steeper, bu", "context": "", "use_case": "low-RAM old hardware", "switched_from": "", "story": "Linux on Older Hardware: The Complete Revival Guide"}, {"id": 773620448, "item_id": 48351278, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48351278", "by": "a1o", "date": "2026-05-31", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "It is rocking Antix, in its 3.6 GB hard drive", "excerpt": "I love netbooks and I am curious to get one of these at some point - I can\u2019t justify one right now. I do have my ASUS EEEPC 701 4G Surf still working. I think it is 18 years old at this point? It is rocking Antix, in its 3.6 GB hard drive. It broke the S key in the keyboard last night and I ordered a replacement. I use it as writer deck and to ssh to my server and raspberry pi from the sofa. It is built in a very res", "context": "", "use_case": "OS on old netbook", "switched_from": "", "story": "Chuwi Minibook X"}, {"id": 757219952, "item_id": 47326247, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47326247", "by": "graemep", "date": "2026-03-10", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Possibly Antix https://antixlinux.com/ ?", "excerpt": "Possibly Antix https://antixlinux.com/ ?", "context": "", "use_case": "Lightweight OS for old hardware", "switched_from": "", "story": "$3 ChromeOS Flex stick will revive old and outdated computers"}, {"id": 755848882, "item_id": 47240555, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47240555", "by": "LargoLasskhyfv", "date": "2026-03-03", "version": null, "stance": "compare", "quote": "But so is Antix, which turns Debian into a screaming pig on fire.", "excerpt": "I like it because I know my ways around Arch, which I've used for a long time in the past. I liked Alpine less, whenever I've tried it, which last time was about two years ago. When I got 'new' hardware, and wondered if I just should go on like before, or look at what has happened elsewhere, broaden ones horizons, so to speak. Being fast is no problem when running from and IN RAM, which it can do. But so is Antix, wh", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Bootc and OSTree: Modernizing Linux System Deployment"}]}