Features
The distribution consists of configuration and resource packages installed on top of Debian. There are no changes to the way the Debian base system is administrated.
- Pre-configured Openbox window manager with tint2 panel, conky system monitor and jgmenu, a feature-rich desktop menu.
- Assortment of harmonising GTK2/3 themes, wallpapers and conky configurations
- Various configuration and application utilities to maintain this system
- Additional desktop-, multimedia- and hardware-related packages come pre-installed to offer a better “out-of-the-box” experience.
There is no limit to customization: You can review desktop configurations in our forums’ Artwork & Screenshots section, and we also host several active threads on conky configuration. As an example, here’s an user-contributed walkthrough video showing what kind and style of desktop experience you may end up with.
Architectures
We offer combined live-CD and installation media for the Debian amd64 (x86-64) architectures and i386 (i686) architectures.
The main focus is on the DVD-sized amd64 ISO, it comes fully featured. The CD-sized i386 ISO is a slimmed down version meant to support older computers, but can after installation be expanded to include all features.
Our main repository currently offers support for the amd64, i386, armhf (arm32v7) and arm64 (aarch64, arm64v8) Debian ports. Note that BL is tested thoroughly only on amd64 and i386, so your mileage may wary on other architectures.
Community support
In general, we recommend new users to visit and sign up for our forums: It provides plenty of resources and assistance in dealing with every configuration aspect of the BL distribution, and is the main platform for user-to-user support as well as the place to voice suggestions and report bugs.
We have quite a few specialty threads, like the Conky weather+moon scripts thread.
There are a few independent communities, see here for a list.
Reviews and press
Please see this forum thread for more reviews. The list below is pretty much just a random selection.
- 2020-06-09: The Little Distro That Could
- 2020-02-13: リリース間近な BunsenLabs Lithium テスト版をインストールしてみました。
- 2019-12-07: Here are the 5 Lightweight Linux Distributions We Recommend
- 2018-12-22: BunsenLabs Linux | Review from an openSUSE User
- 2018-09-29: c’t 21/2018, page 122 and online: Revival - Alte Hardware mit Linux wiederbeleben
- 2018-06-25: DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 769: Review: BunsenLabs Helium
- 2018-04-26: Report Hot Café, 無料OS『BunsenLabs Linux』軽い…256MBでオフィスソフトも可！
- 2017-07-25: PC-Welt, Openbox/Bunsenlabs vorgestellt: Desktop für Puristen
- 2017-04-28: ghacks.net, A look at Desktop Environments: Openbox Window Manager
- 2017-03-28: Video review in Portuguese: BunsenLabs Linux - Apresentação e Configurações iniciais
- 2017-01: Linux Format, printed issue 219, there is a review of several lightweight distros including BunsenLabs on pages 29f.