Linux distribution
Nate Drake blinks and almost misses this zippy Debian-based distro, so light on resources it runs perfectly on ancient hardware.
S parkyLinux is based on Debian. There are two main flavours, one of which is based on the latest stable release of Debian (in this case Debian 12). The other is based on the unstable branch of Debian and is the focus of this review.
The main website describes this version as for “more advanced users, who aren’t afraid of a little less stable version of applications”. As our most unstable writer by far, Nate was well suited to put SparkyLinux through its paces. But he hit a snag when downloading ISOs from the main website, due to his browser blocking the files as insecure. On closer inspection, it seems while sparkylinux.org has a valid SSL certificate, file downloads take place over regular HTTP. So, we recommend using the provided md5/SHA checksums to verify download integrity. You can also choose the SourceForge mirror, which uses a secure connection. Customisability seems to lie at the heart of the Sparky ethos, as ISOs of around 2GB are available with the LXQt, MATE, Xfce and KDE desktop environments. You can also install further packages, codecs and desktop environments post-install via Sparky APTus.
There are Multimedia and GameOver spins, as well as a CLI edition of SparkyLinux for users to build their own custom desktop and packages. We opted for the Home version running LXQt, which is reflected in the system requirements (see box, left). The Xfce version requires an extra 256MB of RAM to run comfortably.
Given the very forgiving requirements, it’s clear that SparkyLinux is designed to be lightweight and we were astonished at the speed at which the live DVD booted into RAM (around 20 seconds).
If you wish to go ahead with setup, it can be handled easily via the integrated Calamares installer. The SparkyLinux wiki also references the Sparky Advanced Installer, which supports setup on external drives.
No matter which version is installed, you benefit from a respectable selection of pre-installed apps, including Firefox ESR, the LibreOffice suite, VLC media player, Transmission and Thunderbird.
Users who require more applications can install via the bundled Synaptic package manager or AppCenter. The release notes for SparkyLinux 2024.05 also state that the
