root@apathy:~
Apathy Linux
$ cat /etc/apathy-release
apathy linux v1.0.3
kernel: 6.6.0 | libc: musl 1.2.4 | init: itshard | editor: bubo
bootloader: AUB (custom BIOS) | rootfs: squashfs | init: runit
# anti-gnu | minimal | static musl | zeroblobs | apl
$ cat /etc/philosophy
minimalist. anti-gnu. no bloat. no bullshit.
$ lsblk -o SIZE,TYPE
46M iso9660
$
~/specs

specifications

46MB
ISO image
36MB
squashfs rootfs
0
GNU components
0
proprietary blobs
~/components

components

component standard linux apathy linux purpose
C library glibc (GPLv2) musl (MIT) Runtime support
Shell bash (GPLv3) hardshell (APL) Command interpreter
Init systemd (LGPLv2) itshard (APL) Process management
Bootloader GRUB (GPLv3) AUB (APL) System bootstrap
Compiler GCC (GPLv3) Clang (Apache 2.0) Compilation
Core utils coreutils (GPLv3) toybox + busybox (0BSD/GPLv2) Basic utilities
Editor GNU nano (GPLv3) bubo (APL) Text editing
Package mgr apt/dnf/pacman (varies) apk (GPLv2) Software management
Network NetworkManager (LGPLv2) manual (busybox) Network configuration
DNS resolver glibc resolver (LGPLv2) musl resolver (built-in) Domain resolution
Display X11/Wayland + compositor CLI only (no X11) Graphics/display
Logging rsyslog/journald kernel console only System logging
Filesystem /bin:/usr/bin:/lib (complex) squashfs + overlay Root filesystem
Userspace full /usr hierarchy (100s MB) minimal busybox set (~36MB) User applications
~/philosophy

anti-gnu

X glibc musl (MIT)
X GNU coreutils Toybox (0BSD)
X GCC Clang (Apache 2.0)
X GNU bash hardshell (APL)
X GRUB AUB (APL)
X systemd itshard (APL)
X GNU grep ripgrep (MIT)
X GNU find fd (MIT)
X GNU sed sd (MIT)
X GNU nano bubo (APL)
$ apathy uses zero GNU code, zero proprietary blobs.
Every GNU component above is replaced by a cleaner, lighter alternative.
~/credits

copyrights & license

Apathy OS, bubo, hardshell, itshard, AUB and the AUB bootloader are Copyright (c) 2026 notfriendly and licensed under the Apathy Public License (APL). Everything else below is third-party — see the table and the full license text.
Patent grant: No part of notfriendly's code may be patented by anyone, in any country, regardless of notfriendly's consent. You may not file, obtain, or enforce any patent claiming this code — it is dedicated to the public domain to the extent the APL permits, and patents on it are void.
~/third-party

third-party components

Linux kernel GPLv2 Core operating system (6.6.0)
musl MIT C standard library (1.2.4)
Toybox 0BSD Userland utilities
Busybox GPLv2 Additional utilities
runit ISC Init + service supervision
Limine BSD-2-Clause Bootloader (BIOS + UEFI)
LLVM/Clang Apache 2.0 Compiler toolchain
OpenSSL Apache 2.0 TLS/SSL cryptography
APK (Alpine) GPLv2 Package keeper
ripgrep MIT / Unlicense Replaces GNU grep
fd MIT Replaces GNU find
sd MIT Replaces GNU sed
squashfs-tools GPL-2.0 Compressed rootfs (build-time)
xorriso GPL Hybrid ISO creation (build-time)
JetBrains Mono SIL OFL 1.1 Website font (third-party asset)
^ notfriendly's own projects are bubo, hardshell, itshard, AUB — see the license text below.
~/license

apathy public license (APL)

How it works (plain language): You may use, study, modify and distribute Apathy code freely. If you redistribute it — modified or not, in source or binary — you must keep it under the APL, keep this copyright/credit line, and credit notfriendly as the creator. That is all.

Apathy Public License (APL) v1.0

Copyright (c) 2026 notfriendly 1. Grant of Rights. Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to use, reproduce, modify, create Derivative Works, display, perform, distribute, sublicense, and/or otherwise deal in the Software, in source or binary form, without limitation and in perpetuity. 2. Redistribution (modified or unmodified). Any redistribution of the Software — in whole or in part, in source or compiled form — must: (a) be licensed under this Apathy Public License; (b) include this copyright notice, this license, and the disclaimer below; and (c) prominently credit "notfriendly" as the original creator. 3. Modifications. If you modify the Software, you must document the changes you made and license the modified work under the Apathy Public License. You must not strip or alter existing credits. 4. No Trademark License. This License does not grant permission to use the name "notfriendly" or any trademark, except as required to credit the creator as in section 2(c). 5. Disclaimer. THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT, AND TITLE. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE. 6. Applying the APL. To apply the Apathy Public License to your work, attach the above notice in the form "Copyright (c) <year> notfriendly — licensed under the Apathy Public License" to each source file, or to a LICENSE file in the project root. A plain credit line is sufficient for binaries.
The full text is also available as LICENSE in this repository.
~/download

get apathy linux

install
46MB
ISO x86_64 — BIOS + UEFI — works offline
$ wget apathy-linux-x86_64.iso # write to usb $ sudo dd if=apathy-linux-x86_64.iso of/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress && sync # or build from source $ sudo ./build/build-iso.sh /mnt/apathy apathy-linux-x86_64.iso # boot from usb, then $ /sbin/init