A frugal, portable and flexible OS.
Vanilla Dpup is a lightweight, community-built operating system based on Puppy Linux and Debian.
Like Puppy, it has that 2000s look and features a curated selection of preconfigured, lightweight applications for a variety of daily computing tasks like browsing and note-taking. Like Debian, it's compatible with a huge range of computers and applications. Vanilla Dpup tries to strike the right balance between lightweight and practical, while improving efficiency and security.
Currently, the 11.0.x and 10.0.x releases receive security and stability updates, while 12.0.x is in development.
This release series is based on Debian Trixie and completes the multi-year migration effort to Wayland by replacing the traditional Puppy desktop with labwc, a fork of zzzFM that supports desktop icons on Wayland, and waybar.
It's built by a revamped build system and detaches the project from its woof-CE roots, allowing it to evolve independently and more sustainably.
Is boots faster, shuts down faster, feels faster, improves Debian compatibility, runs the desktop as an unprivileged user to improve security and reduce annoyances like applications that refuse to run, introduces support for lightweight save folder encryption, improves multi-monitor support, adds a screen recording tool, simplifies installation and allows more flexible management of saved sessions with better documentation.
Unlike prior releases, Vanilla Dpup 11.0.x is only offered as a flash drive image for x86_64.
TrixiePup64 'borrows' few features from Vanilla Dpup 11.0.x, but it's not directly based on it. If you like TrixiePup64 but prefer something lighter and more efficient with much better Debian compatibility, Vanilla Dpup could be what you're looking for.
This release series is based on Debian Bookworm packages and cuts the amount of technical debt and legacy cruft accumulated in Puppy Linux throughout the years, to prepare for big and disruptive changes like the deprecation of X.Org and GTK+ 2 in favor of Wayland and GTK+ 3 or 4, and the adoption of overlay as a replacement for aufs.
Those familiar with Puppy Linux will enjoy improved responsiveness, low resource usage, reliable package management with apt-get, GTK+ 3 ports of classic themes, GTK+ 3 ports of lightweight applications lost to time, a modern audio stack with PipeWire and Bluetooth support, fast web browsing thanks to DNS caching, ad blocking and privacy tweaks, Landlock-based sandboxing for internet-facing applications, a fast save2flash that makes flash drives last longer, shell completion, man pages, keyboard shortcuts, easy installation of drivers, multi-language support and even a Wayland preview.
BookwormPup64 is based on an old Vanilla Dpup 10.0.x build: it omits enhancements introduced later (like the improved save2flash), contains more applications, consumes more resources out-of-the-box, and doesn't have a fully automated and transparent build process that incorporates all Debian security and bug fixes frequently. If you like BookwormPup64 but prefer something leaner and lighter, perhaps less user friendly, Vanilla Dpup could be what you're looking for.
| Flavor | X.Org | Xwayland |
|---|---|---|
| Tagline | The safe bet | The best of both worlds, mostly |
| VSync | Requires compositor | Built-in |
| Suitable for Gaming | Yes | Mostly yes |
| Range of Supported GPUs | Wide | Limited |
| Multi-Monitor Support | Normal | With caveats |
| HiDPI Support | Limited | With caveats |
| Flatpak Support | Limited | Better |
This is an unstable "rolling release" that tracks Debian Unstable and contains changes that will go into future releases.