The 7 Best Lightweight Operating Systems for Raspberry Pi
Your Raspberry Pi isn’t like a standard PC. Sure, it can act as a desktop replacement, but generally speaking, it’s a more versatile device.
One of the trade-offs is that it doesn’t have massive resources. Raspberry Pi OS is more compact than most distros with some features missing. It’s lightweight, and for good reason: many features usually found in Linux desktops aren’t required on a Raspberry Pi.
By keeping the operating system (OS) lightweight, processing power and RAM can be dedicated to whatever project you plan to run. To keep things more efficient, install one of these lightweight Raspberry Pi operating systems.
1. Raspberry Pi OS Lite
The most obvious choice for anyone looking for a lightweight Raspberry Pi distribution (“distro”) is Raspberry Pi OS Lite.
Based on Debian Buster, Raspberry Pi OS is the new name for the Raspbian operating system. The Lite build is a minimal image without the X-server window manager, related components, and other modules.
There’s also less software, fewer modules, and the operating system uses fewer system resources. The main result of this is that there is more RAM and processing power. While the full Raspberry Pi OS is a 5GB image, Raspbian Stretch Lite is just 1.8GB.
As a result, this “lite” distribution is “headless” (i.e. it has no desktop) and ideal for server use. You’ll see some performance gains, particularly if you use the Pi as a file server or for any other headless task
2. DietPi
Another lightweight Raspberry Pi distro that has its roots in Debian Buster, DietPi is available for several single-board computers. While Odroid, Pine boards, and ASUS Tinker Board are supported, primarily this is for Raspberry Pi boards. DietPi is for all models of Pi board and is based on a compact 589MB version of Debian.
DietPi can fit on a 2GB card and comes with a software tool for installing optimized apps.
While bigger cards obviously offer more storage, with such a lightweight OS, that storage can be maximized for your project.
Optimized apps for the DietPi OS include desktops, media systems, gaming tools, cloud, file, and web servers, and more. If you’re looking for the fastest Raspberry Pi OS, DietPi is the place to start.
3. piCore/Tiny Core Linux
You’ve probably heard of Tiny Core Linux, as it regularly appears on lists of the most compact Linux distributions. Incredibly lightweight, Tiny Core Linux’s Raspberry Pi version, piCore, has a remarkably small download. It’s just under 90MB.
It boots fast, too!
The ultimate minimal Raspberry Pi OS, piCore is fast and flexible, but comes almost devoid of software. Instead, you’ll need to download and install your own web browser, email client, text editor, and other apps.
Smooth and stable, piCore comes with internet connectivity and even manages to squeeze a traditional desktop into the compact package. Without the desktop, piCore uses even fewer resources!
4. Arch Linux ARM
Arch has long been the most popular alternative to Raspbian and Raspberry Pi OS, and with good reason. This ARM-focused version of the 32-bit Arch Linux has all the features and functionality you would expect from a Raspberry Pi operating system.
The end result is a slick distro complete with the Xfce desktop. It’s fast, efficient, and ideal for the various Raspberry Pi projects you might want to run. Full access to the GPIO is also available with Arch Linux, making it a great, lightweight Raspberry Pi operating system.
5. RISC OS
This is a lightweight, non-Linux operating system that you can run on the Raspberry Pi. The original ARM-based operating system, RISC OS dates to the 1980s, and remains useful. Available for several devices, RISC OS has a compact footprint. On the Pi, you’ll need just 119MB of space on your microSD card, although a 2GB card will be needed.
As RISC OS is unrelated to Linux, you’ll need to learn a few new commands. The GUI can be a little challenging at first, as there is no “start” button or dock. Instead, applications are grouped in desktop folders, and prefixed with “!”
Meanwhile, ensure you’re using RISC OS with a three buttoned mouse—a clickable wheel will suffice as a middle button.
While not Linux, this is a good lightweight Raspberry Pi OS. See our walkthrough on installing RISC OS on the Raspberry Pi to find out more.
6. Raspup/Puppy Linux
Another extremely lightweight operating system for Raspberry Pi is Raspup, a version of Puppy Linux. With versions available for all Raspberry Pi models, Raspup brings the Puppy Linux experience to the Pi. This means that if you don’t save your session at the end of use, the next boot will be like a brand-new install.
Clearly this has some disadvantages, but it is excellent for privacy and keeping the operating system lightweight. On the other hand, if you have installed packages, you’ll need to save sessions in order to use the software on subsequent boots.
While installation is lightweight, you should be able to find most of the usual software via the Raspbian repositories.
7. Sugar on a Stick/Sugar OS
You may have heard of the OLPC project (One Laptop Per Child) which began in 2007. It’s aim was to create and distribute educational computers for the developing world, and featured Sugar OS.
The aims of OLPC aren’t that different to those of the Raspberry Pi Foundation (namely, education) so it isn’t too surprising to find Sugar OS available for the Pi. While you can run Sugar as an app on Raspbian, the full version is based on Fedora.
Called Sugar on a Stick, the user interface can take some getting used to, but it is packed with tools. Particularly ideal for younger users, Sugar on a Stick is easy to use, intuitive, and suits the Raspberry Pi perfectly.
Which Lightweight OS Is on Your Raspberry Pi?
With so many lightweight distros for the Raspberry Pi, it should be simple to run projects with maximum system resources. To recap, the lightest Raspberry Pi operating systems are:
- Raspberry Pi OS Lite
- DietPi
- piCore/Tiny Core Linux
- Arch
- RISC OS
- Raspup/Puppy Linux
- Sugar on a Stick/Sugar OS
Have you tried any of these out? For the lightest experience, you should look at piCore or Arch.
However, if you want something lightweight, but recognizably part of the Raspberry Pi experience, try Raspberry Pi OS Lite. You might also consider installing Android on Raspberry Pi. For a Windows-like experience, set up Raspberry Pi as a Windows thin client.
And to get more out of your Pi device, consider these top Raspberry Pi accessories.
Read the full article: The 7 Best Lightweight Operating Systems for Raspberry Pi
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