Tiny Core Linux 16.2 still fits a proper Linux desktop into a 23MB download — but it has grown 1MB since the last time we looked at it

There’s no two ways about it: Windows 11 is absurdly heavy. Writing as someone who has been here since the days of DOS 3.3, it is patently ridiculous how pathetic Windows 11 makes multi-gigahertz multicore machines look. If only there was something smaller. Something like… I mean, yeah, Linux, but the download for Bazzite is like eight gigs, and it wants over fifty gigabytes of space once it’s installed. What about something like the systems of my youth? What about Tiny Core Linux?

Tiny Core Linux is the extreme alternative to Windows 11, a true example of just how small a functional desktop operating system can be, even now in 2025. The latest release, Tiny Core Linux 16.2, which was published at the end of September, comes in at roughly 23MB for the standard “TinyCore” edition. That’s not 23MB of installer data followed by gigabytes of packages, but 23MB for the entire bootable system with a graphical desktop—no Internet required. There’s an even smaller “Core” version if you don’t need a GUI, at just 17 MB.

This isn’t a prank, and it isn’t just a “look how small we made Linux!” gimmick. Tiny Core Linux is a real, maintained distribution with current kernels all the way up to 6.12, modern libraries, system extension repositories, and working support for contemporary hardware. It’s extremely small because the project has a very strict, long-standing philosophy: keep the base minimal, load everything else as modular extensions, and run the whole system in RAM when possible.

Of course, Tiny Core Linux isn’t the only ultra-lightweight distro out there. SliTaz requires a bit more space, but packs more built-in features (including a browser). Meanwhile, Slax is specifically designed to run as a small, live-USB-friendly system aimed at physical portability; it’s larger, but more compatible with mainstream Linux software. Those projects aim to be something more like “small but complete” out of the box.

Tiny Core takes a different approach, as its base system is intentionally incomplete. You get the kernel, the BusyBox utility package, a tiny GUI stack based on FLTK/FLWM, and that’s about it. Anything beyond the absolute minimum, including a browser, any multimedia support, extra drivers, et cetera — it all gets installed as an extension through Tiny Core’s repository system, which functions kind of like a minimal app store. Since those extensions aren’t baked into the ISO, the default download stays microscopic.