The Linux Ship of Theseus
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pick any distro and install it.
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Then, without installing another distro over the top of it, slowly convert it into another distro by replacing package managers, installed packages, and configurations.
System must be usable and fully native to the new distro (all old packages replaced with new ones).
No flatpaks, avoid snaps where physically possible, native packages only.
EDIT: Some clarification on some of the clever tools brought up here:
chroot, dd, debootstrap, and partition editors that allow you to install the new system in an empty container or blanket-overwrite the old system go against the spirit of this challenge.
These are very useful and valid tools under a normal context and I strongly recommend learning them.
You can use them if you prefer, but The ship of Theseus was replaced one board at a time. We are trying to avoid dropping a new ship in the harbor and tugging the old one out.
It may however be a good idea to use them to test out the target system in a safe environment as you perform the migration back in the real root, so you have a reference to go by.
Easy: pick two similar distros, such as Ubuntu and Debian or Manjaro and Arch and go from the base to the derivative.
Medium: Same as easy but go from the derivative to the base.
Hard: Pick two disparate distros like Debian and Artix and go from one to the other.
Nightmare: Make a self-compiled distro your target.
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I’ve done the Arch to Artix. It wasn’t hard, per se, but it took a while. I think that should be Medium, because Artix isn’t just an Arch derivative.
In fact, might I suggest a different way of looking at the difficulties?
- Replacing the package manager: Hard.
- Replacing the package manager without a live USB: Extreme.
- Going from a basic systemd-based distro (init, log, cron) to anything else: Hard
- Going from a systemd distro that’s bought into the entire systemd stack, including home and boot: Extreme
- Going from one init to another: Medium
- Changing boot systems: grub to UEFI, for example: Easy.
- Replacing all GNU tools with other things: Extreme (mainly because of script expectations).
And so on. You get 1 point for Easy, 2 for Medium, 4 for Hard, and 8 for Extreme. Add 'em up, go for a high score.
I don’t think rolling your own is that hard, TBH, unless you’re expected to also build a package manager. If maintaining it would be harder than building it.
I like it
Easymode: pick a fedora ublue distro and go from bazzite to silver blue :)
Title
You can rebase with a single command I think.
without installing another distro over the top of it … [replace] package managers
The package manager is the distro, though.
$ pacman -S apk-tools $ apk add alpine-base linux-ltsThen
kexecto alpine’s kernel and theinitramfsgenerated by its installation (which would incidentally “replace” PID 1 with the new/sbin/init). For clean up you could take a diff of “tar -t” for all the installed packages from both distros then delete the files only in the old distro’s packages.Make a self-compiled distro your target.
Replace the first step with a compilation of
apk,abuildeverything required byalpine-baseandlinux-lts(git clone aportsto bootstrap that work), then add the package directory to/etc/apk/repositoriesbefore the second step. Next, begin to worry that you haven’t fully broken free yet, replaceabuildwith a bespokemybuildandapkwithtar -x, grapple with signed binaries, reflect on your own identity and authenticity, then take a tour throughgentooand find yourself missing the$HOMEyou left and its familiar comforts.I’ve got a blank macbook air at home waiting for a project.
I’ve never undergone a project like this without cheating by using bedrock linux as an intermediary then “Unbedrocking” my install (officially impossible, unofficially insane) with another PM as my default to convert from debian to arch years ago.
This is gonna be fun, or hellish, idk I’ll find out.
Okay i’ll cheat with Guix then
I would watch a YouTube series doing this
whoever runs the channel will singlehandedly cause a worldwide antidepressant shortage
Reminds me of MattKC, a guy on YouTube who does similar stuff. He ported the .Net framework to win95. very interesting videos, if think this challenge would be exactly his type.
Love him. His lego island port has been a pleasure to watch.
Oh he’s the Lego Island guy, I thought he sounded familiar.
May, I introduce you to bedrock
Hell: from macOS to WSL.
But the rules say the system must be usable.
This is what I was doing with my server. I’ve learned there’s no better feeling than starting from scratch.
kid named nixos-infect:
Love the idea of the challenge, my issue would be lack of a validator tool to confirm I’d completed the challenge - any suggestions?
You use the new franken system to do an update to the new version of that distro’s flavour without bricking the system.
After completing the challenge and making sure your system is usable and can survive a reboot:
If you’ve kept the old package manager, search for installed packages and make sure that the package manager itself is the only thing left. Then delete it.
Ummm you go first.
New Game+: speedrun it
I “broke” linux mint just by trying to pop KDE on, had to timeshift because it messed up my keyboard layout and a whole bunch of other things with my display.
I don’t know how people do these crazy changes without pain, and have a feeling the answer is simply “there’s pain” 😂
theres pain but its also very satisfying to pull this kind of stuff off. im more of a stable system kind of guy these days tho.
Reminds me of trying NsCDE… it changed a ton of settings and no other desktop looked right after that. I ended just blowing away my home folder and restoring my files
Reminds me of a recent post someone converted their system from Debian to OpenBSD via SSH only
Why does that sound familiar.
Did they load an OS into ram to run ssh then rebuild the machine, also some VPS that the provider was dragging their feet on remote hands.
I can’t find it now but basically something like that yeah. VPS provider only gave them SSH on linux so couldn’t run the openbsd installer any normal way either
