What is Chimera Linux and is it for you?

Summary

• Chimera Linux is unique for the use of the BSD, Wayland, LLVM, Dinit, Pipewire and non -Systemd command games.

• The installation on Chimera Linux is strictly manual, inspired by Arch Linux, requiring command line tools.

• Chimera Linux aims for a clean design, supports UNIX type systems, adopts FreeBSD user commands, Shell Almquist and esoteric architectures.

I write on Linux to live, and sometimes Linux distros begin to feel the same thing. I was looking for something different

One day, when I traveled Wikipedia, I found Chimera Linux. Being a BSD fan, I was intrigued when I learned that he used FreeBSD user commands. I decided to install it and check it.

What is Chimera Linux?

Chimera Linux is a Linux distribution that aims for a clean design with modern components.

As the page “about” says:

Large traditional distributions are complex and transport a large amount of luggage. It is easy to do things with them, but it is difficult to understand what is under the hood. This means that as soon as the user moves away from the defined or expected path, the system becomes impenetrable.

What makes Chimera Linux unique?

Chimera Linux is dedicated to the manufacture of a different distribution of existing distros.

When you might expect GNU utilities on the command line, you will really find the BSD command set. The developers made this decision because of what they have perceived as the highest quality of the BSD commands compared to the GNU coreutils.

Despite the maturity of the BSD Userland, there is a reader to eliminate the inherited Linux components. Office computers officially supported, Gnome and Kde Plasma use Wayland by default instead of X11. Instead of the GCC tool chain, Chimera mainly uses LLVM. Chimera also uses Pipewire to manage audio. You can expect Systemd to manage the processes, but Chimera uses rather Dinit.

It would not be the first marriage of a Linux distribution in FreeBSD. Debian once maintained GNU / KFREEBSD, although the one that has strongly used the GNU Userland instead of the BSD stock and executed the FreeBSD nucleus. Since Linux tends to offer better hardware medium than FreeBSD, especially for things like Wi-Fi, this could be a good alternative to a complete FreeBSD installation for bsd aficionados who wish to execute it on the desk.

Installation of Chimera Linux

The installation of Chimera Linux is a strictly manual process. No installation program is delivered with the distribution, even if a direct graphic distribution is available. Despite Chimera’s claims to do things differently from other distros, the installation process seems inspired by Arch Linux. There is even a web page that you will pass to direct yourself to perform parts of the installation, similar to the famous detailed process on the Arch installation guide.

After downloading and launching your installation supports for your favorite environment and architecture from the download page, you start the installation by opening the default Gnome, console terminal. You will need to install in the form of a root. To do this, use the SU command with the option – (dash):

        su -
    

You will be invited to the root password, which is “chimera” on the live system.

After having managed to become root, the first thing you want to do is cut your storage device in partitions. The documentation recommends CFDISK for this. It is an interactive disk partition program based on a terminal.

With the partitions created, you can format them. I formatted my root partition with ext4 on / dev / sda2.

        mkfs.ext4 /dev/sda2
    

Then configure your exchange partition:

        mkswap /dev/sda1
swapon /dev/sda1
    

I usually configure a Linux installation with a swap partition and a root partition for everything else. With these partitions created, you can now move on to installing the system proper. I created an assembly point for the root partition:

        mkdir /media/root
mount /dev/sda2 /media/root
chmod 755 /media/root
    

The last line with the CHMOD command is to ensure that I have correct authorizations for installation.

Chimera includes a Chimera-Bootstrap, similar to the PactStrap program for the installation of Arch, which installs the basic packages on the root partition. I will use the network installation method to download the latest packages from the repository:

        chimera-bootstrap /media/root
    

With the basic system installed, use Chimère-Chroot to go up the chroot. From now on, you will work from the root score.

        chimera-chroot /media/root
    

Make sure to install the nucleus. It is a kind of significant part of Linux. In a way, I forgot this during my first try, because I thought that Chimera-Bootsrap would include it. I was wondering why Grub couldn’t find nuclei later. Chimera uses the APK Package Manager of Alpine Linux. I used it to install the LTS version of the nucleus:

        apk install linux-lts
    

With the partitions created, the next step is to generate the file / etc / fstab to automatically mount the partitions at the time of startup:

        genfstab / >> /etc/fstab
    

Again, this is similar to the arc installation process. It seems that you could have done a research and rensation operation, replacing “Arch” with “Chimera”.

I would like to examine this file to see if it made sense to my configuration.

Define the Root Passwd

        passwd root
    

You will want to update the INITRAMFS with the configuration, or you might not be able to start the system:

        update-initramfs -c -k all
    

The last step is to install a start -up charger. I chose Grub because I know him. Since I was performing it in VirtualBox, I have made a traditional BIOS installation. Chimera has a separate grub package for this:

        apk add grub-i386-pc
    

This installs GRUB on the main start -up recording, or MBR:

grub-install /dev/sda

Then generate the menu that will appear at start -up time:

        update-grub
    

Now leave the chroot environment and restart the system.

The next step is to connect as a root and create a new user. I will use myself as an example:

        useradd david
passwd david
    

To be able to execute SU to connect as a root, I then added to the group “Wheel”:

        usermod -a -G wheel david
    

After that, I defined the time zone of my location using a symbolic link:

ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/US/Pacific /etc/localtime

I went with Gnome and installed it using APK, because it is one of the officially supported options:

        apk add gnome
    

You will also want to allow GDM to start at start -up time with Dinit

        dinit enable gdm
    

What is it to use Chimera Linux?

The use of Chimera largely resembles a standard distribution, despite its differences compared to other Linux distributions under the hood. It looks like a distribution intended for expert people in Linux, or at least comfortable with UNIX type systems.

The default Gnome interface, despite its quirks, as well as the FreeBSD Userland for commands, gives the impression that the macOS systems that I used strongly in the 2000s.

One thing that surprised me was the default shell. I expected Bash, because it is the de facto standard on Linux systems, but it was Shell Almquist, a modified version of the original shell. Although this can be used for interactive use, it is mainly suitable for scripts executed.

I used APK to install my favorite shell, ZSH:

        apk install zsh
    

The performances seemed rather slow, but it may be because I was running and installed Chimera OS in a virtual machine. It could work better on real material.

What I found interesting, and which should use it

One thing that is interesting about Chimera Linux is her commitment to portability. While most distributions will target common platforms like X86, Chimera also supports more esoteric architectures like RISC-V. It even supports the Raspberry Pi. I have none of these platforms to test, but it is something that makes it more unix.

Chimera Linux will probably use users at ease on the command line. If you have already treated more technical distros like Arch or Gentoo, you might feel at home. If you have experience with one of the BSDs, you will probably also appreciate the use of this system.

People who are less comfortable to type orders or public services like CFDISK or GRUB might want to avoid. The absence of a dedicated installation program is one of the reasons why I would not recommend Chimera to Linux beginners. They might want to stick to live versions if they want to try Chimera.

As with Arch, Chimera Linux calls on people who like to make their systems instead of counting on a prepackée experience. Apart from the environment live, I was free to configure the system with the software I wanted.

Perhaps one day there will be derivative distros which are more user-friendly, similar to those who grew up around the Arch, like Manjaro.

If you want to consult Chimera Linux, you can visit the download page and take an image so that your machine installs it on your computer.

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Chimera Linux is a distribution that has only a few years. It is an interesting experience in the management of the old -fashioned command line and the components of the new school like Wayland. This synthesis of old and new will be interesting to look in the future. For Linux seasoned users who want something new, it is worth checking.