minux - linux inspired OS + optional networked user accounts + free app store

Started by shorun, Jul 21, 2024, 11:53 PM

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shorun

ok, it does look like linux but it's still just a CC program that needs to fit a 1MB disk.

see https://minux.vtchost.com/ for installation instructions and more information or https://minux.vtchost.com/wiki/ for the wiki
download the netinstaller ingame with "wget https://minux.vtchost.com/apt/netinstall.sh"

what can it do right now?
1 - easy to download and run the installer.
2 - a powerfull and flexible software manager
3 - username/password/group access for computers both local or over a rednet network
4 - ingame manuals for all installed software and extensive information on the wiki
5 - it comes with both a menu/config UI for new users and a powerfull set of command line tools for veterans
6 - all components are modular, replaceable, open source and free to use in your own software
7 - QOL improvements, tons of software libraries, api's and ever more additional software available.
8 - anyone can host their own software repository, the software manager can be pointed to it directly.
9 - variable and configurable bootup system that adjusts to the software you install
10 - DNS like system allowing you to register a computer by name like a domain name
11 - file transfer systems over rednet to share or duplicate files, both standalone or using the auth system
12 - compatible with most other software
13 - multi stage crash handler preventing systems from bricking
14 - ever increasing list of software!

1) it's really easy to install, literally 2 commands, one to download the installer the other to run it. then answer a few configuration questions.
prior knowledge of real linux systems does help as some ideas are taken from that.


2) it comes with a software manager called "apt", based on debian's "apitude. this can install/remove/update a wide range of software, from games to fileservers.
apt can also be linked to any repository, the download source can be chosen by the user, multiple sources can be used as well to create ever bigger software libraries at your disposal. Or course the primary repository keeps growing to.

3)it has three user modes:
no user accounts, just boot straight up, no password needed.
local user accounts: users can be created and are verified on the local machine, simple but not that safe.
rednet network accounts: users and groups can be created on a centralized network server allowing flexible user management.

you can switch between modes without having to reinstall the entire system, network functions will require extra software packages and you'll have to install ingame servers. how you connect the wires is up to you.


4)all software included comes with an ingame manual on the computers, you install a program and the manual comes along with it, giving you detailed information on how to use the programs. eg: "man apt" will open the manual of the installation program "apt".
3rd party programs can also be included in this manual system.

there is also extensive information on the wiki, ranging from installation guides, user manuals and technical information for software development.


5)all configuration or settings are changed using commands or with a menu system, you can chose for each system what will boot up by default. while you can still manually edit the files as you please (in fact, i can't stop you doing that) there is no need for this. you don't have to learn how to program to use this OS. in addition there is plenty of technical information on the website for troubleshooting if things do go wrong.


6)minux is made to be modular, everything is a seperate module, this means that a broken file or functions does not break the entire machine, it also means you can call on each function seperately and use them as libraries in your own software. just about every api and network call is explained on the forums for easy development, it is open source and free to use. you can also replace any part of minux with your own self brewed version and distribute that on your own apt server. forksand mirrors of minux are not only allowed but encouraged, i'd like to see what you folks would make of it.
of course, just tinkering with things can give some fun results, like these two bootup screens (they will eventually be released, i'm making more, it's a pet project)

7) it automatically finds your devices and activates them meaning your own programs don't have to worry about things like where the modem is anymore, it does a few little things in it's process to make your life easy, such as making bootdisks or starting your own homebrewed programs automatically on bootup, multiple shells/tabs, configurable automatic updates, software libraries etc. QOL stuff for both user and programmer.


8) anyone can host their own respository, be it one containing only their own programs or a full on mirror of the primary ones, users can link their manager to any active repository and they can also freely remove them again, switching between forks/versions or just adding more software sources has never been so easy!
there is no limit to how many of these repository servers you could have, the only downside is more work for your own system.


9) minux will look for instructions provided by the programs installed and with those instructions adjust it's bootup actions, in other words, it adjusts itself to the needs of the software you actually install, from automatically booting your programs to running pre-login configuration.
these instructions can be provided in a way that programs won't need to fight each other or require adjustments, more info on the website.


10) a "DNS" like system allowing you to register a computer by name, this system can now be searched for on the network by either name or id, this can be used by you or programs to identify a computer, should that computer get destroyed an admin or the user that registered it can register that name on a new system, keeping your program links and names alive, its like a mini domain name.


11) the software manager has a lot of usefull software, one 3rd party program in particular is especially amazing however, 'Mensh123' was kind enough to allow me to add his "cryptofolder" program to the repository, this is a Fileserver/client package allowing users to transfer files over the rednet, it's still in early development but already an impressive piece of software.
and then there is "netfolder", a homebrewed program that can send and retrieve files from one system to another, this particular program is being expanded as well and will soon contain even more abilities.


12) minux is made so that programs can run side by side, you'd have to be trying to make it conflict, and worst case scenario you can automate the needed change to your settings and disable features for compatibility only to turn them on again when you're done, there is very few software that won't run on a minux computer.

13) it has a built in crash handler that notices when the system fails to boot up several times and drops you in a promt at the furthest point it got, preventing infinite reboots and allow you to restore the system even if you install bad software. This does not prevent crashes, it does prevent your system from bricking.
If a program causes you to reset or hard restart the system several times it will also trigger, if the system did not do a clean shutdown by user resuest several times it will also trigger. So unexpected repeated reboots won't brick your phone either.


14) minux has a rather large list of software that works out of the box and this list will only grow ever larger!

screenshots here https://minux.vtchost.com/dl/pic/


visit https://minux.vtchost.com/ for installation instructions and more information, any feedback is appreciated, if you want to see your software in the repository or join the minux project, feel free to contact me!