SOFTWARE / OPERATING SYSTEM
A minimalist, independently developed Linux distribution built on an Arch base — engineered around a single constraint: it doesn't require memory or a graphics device to boot, render, or run a full desktop environment.
ABOUT
Kane's Arch is a rolling-release, Arch-based distribution built around the position that most of what a modern OS does, it does slower — and with more hardware — than it strictly needs to. This isn't emulation or a compatibility shim; the project removes the parts entirely.
There are two releases: a private v1.0 built and run quietly on a single machine, and a public v2.0 — fully open source — that makes the same claim out loud.
FEATURES
RLK
RAM-less Kernel — process state lives entirely in CPU cache and register files.
WRAITH
Wraith Compositor — a fully software-driven display pipeline, no GPU or framebuffer required.
PACMAN-CPU
A pacman fork that compiles packages directly to cache-resident microcode.
ZERO-SWAP
Zero-swap by design — there's nothing to swap out of, so swap isn't supported.
KANEWM
Minimal tiling window manager, zero animations by design.
REQUIREMENTS
| CPU | Any x86_64, single core is sufficient |
|---|---|
| RAM | 0 MB |
| GPU | Not required |
| Storage | ~1.2 MB for the base image |
| Internet | Only to download the ISO once |
VERSION HISTORY
| Version | Codename | RAM | GPU | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| v1.0 | "The Big Bang" | 1 MB min. | Not required | Private, single machine |
| v2.0 | "Kane Got ARCHed" | 0 MB | Never | Public, open source (MIT) |
BUILD FROM SOURCE
The repo's build script produces a real, bootable .iso using archiso — the same tooling Arch Linux uses for its own official install media — with Kane's Arch branding patched in.
git clone github.com/Josh26910/KaneArch
cd KaneArch
sudo pacman -S --needed archiso
sudo ./build-kanes-arch.sh
SOURCE
Full source, README, and devlog: github.com/Josh26910/KaneArch