*** SOWA LINUX 0.1 IS AVAILABLE FOR X86_64 ***

Welcome to the Sowa Linux home page

Sowa is a small, experimental Linux distribution for servers and headless machines. It is built from source, uses its own SysV-style init, and tries to keep the whole system small enough to understand.

>>> DOWNLOAD THE LIVE ISO (289 MiB) <<<

CURRENT RELEASE : 0.1
ARCHITECTURE    : x86_64
KERNEL         : Linux 6.18.44
INIT           : sowa-init (SysV style)
BOOT           : BIOS and UEFI
STATUS         : experimental / no warranty
LAST UPDATED   : 29 August 2026

sowa@www:~$ cat ABOUT.TXT

== WHAT IS SOWA? ==

Sowa builds an x86_64 toolchain, kernel, userspace, live ISO, installable disk images, and a signed binary package repository without installing files into the host system. It is aimed at power users who miss small Unix-like systems and do not want systemd.

[+] custom System V-style init and service framework
[+] sowa-pkg package manager with a signed package repository
[+] live media for both legacy BIOS and UEFI
[+] declarative network configuration through "nic"
[+] SSH enabled with key-only root access by default
[+] Docker and GNU Guix available as optional packages
[+] pinned source archives and per-package file ownership
[+] no fixed release cycle, update model, or compatibility promise

If you want a polished desktop, this is not it. If you want to build a machine from the ground up and see what every part is doing, you may be in the right place.

Read: README | documentation index | architecture | license

sowa@www:~$ ls -lh /releases/0.1/

== DOWNLOADS ==

All files below come directly from sowa.wolfet.pl. Download the matching .sha256 file when one is available.

--- bootable media and disk images ---

TYPEFILESIZECHECK

[LIVE ISO]sowa-0.1-x86_64.iso289 MiBSHA256

[RAW/XZ]sowa-0.1-x86_64.img.xz239 MiBSHA256

[RAW]sowa-0.1-x86_64.img2.0 GiB---

[QCOW2/XZ]sowa-0.1-x86_64.qcow2.xz238 MiBSHA256

[QCOW2]sowa-0.1-x86_64.qcow21.1 GiB---

--- system archives and installer ---

TYPEFILESIZECHECK

[ROOTFS]sowa-0.1-x86_64-rootfs.tar.xz239 MiBSHA256

[RECOVERY]sowa-0.1-x86_64-recovery.cpio.xz236 MiBSHA256

[DOCKER]sowa-0.1-x86_64-docker.tar968 MiBSHA256

[INSTALLER]sowa-install77 KiBSHA256

--- kernel and live-system parts ---

TYPEFILESIZECHECK

[SQUASHFS]sowa-0.1-x86_64.sfs250 MiBSHA256

[INITRAMFS]sowa-0.1-x86_64.cpio.xz301 KiBSHA256

[KERNEL]vmlinuz-6.18.44-x86_6418 MiB---

[CONFIG]kernel-6.18.44-x86_64.config152 KiBTEXT

[ X86_64 PACKAGE DIRECTORY ] [ PACKAGE INDEX ] [ INDEX SIGNATURE ] [ PINNED SOURCES ]

root@sowa:~# less /root/sowa-howto/installing.txt

== QUICK START ==

1. Download and check the ISO

$ sha256sum -c sowa-0.1-x86_64.iso.sha256

2. Boot it in QEMU

$ qemu-system-x86_64 -m 2G -cdrom sowa-0.1-x86_64.iso -nographic

3. Install from the live system

# sowa-setup

The live console logs in as root without a password. Remote root login stays disabled until you install an SSH key. Read the installation guide before writing to a real disk.

!!! WARNING: THE INSTALLER CAN ERASE AN ENTIRE DISK. KEEP BACKUPS. !!!