Release Notes (en)
Welcome to SliTaz 5.1. This stable release brings SliTaz to two architectures, 32-bit (i486) and 64-bit (x86_64), with the same tools, the same desktop and the same package format on both. It keeps the old promise of SliTaz: a complete GNU/Linux system that boots in seconds and leaves your RAM to what you actually run.
- Official ISO images for i486 and x86_64
- Linux 6.12 LTS kernel on both architectures, 3.16 kept for very old hardware
- LXDE fully ported to GTK3 with the new LXTaz desktop tools
- Trame: new system settings replaces TazPanel on the ISO images
- Hybrid ISO images: CD or USB key, BIOS or UEFI (x86_64)
- About 6000 packages for i486, 5700 for x86_64
- Desktop ready in under 5 seconds on a recent laptop with NVMe
ISO images
SliTaz 5.1 comes as seven ISO images. Pick the one matching your machine and what you want to do with it:
- base (i486 17 MB, x86_64 25 MB) - text mode system with the installer, no graphical desktop: servers, rescue, a base to build on.
- core (i486 47 MB, x86_64 65 MB) - the GTK3 desktop with the system tools and the installer, no web browser and no applications: you add only what you need.
- core-retro (i486 44 MB) - the core desktop on the Linux 3.16 kernel for very old hardware.
- firefox (i486 125 MB, x86_64 155 MB) - core plus Firefox ESR and a few everyday applications: music player, paint program, calculator, archive manager, GParted.
Firefox on i486 needs a processor with SSE2. On older 32-bit machines, use core or core-retro.
Kernel
The new linux-lts package provides Linux 6.12.89 on both
architectures, split into modules packages (filesystems, hardware,
input, network, sound, storage, wireless) so small systems install
only what they use. Linux 3.16.55 stays available for very old
machines and is the kernel of the core-retro ISO.
Toolchain
- GCC 6.3.0
- glibc 2.20
- binutils 2.37
- BusyBox 1.37.0
Desktop
The desktop is LXDE, now built on GTK3 on both architectures including: LXPanel 0.11.1, PCManFM 1.4.0 and libfm 1.4.1 on the Openbox 3.6.1 window manager. The core images ship with no GTK2 at all. The new SliTaz-Dark theme is the default, a light variant is available.
LXTaz is a set of small GTK3 tools written for SliTaz that modernize the desktop:
- Dash - application launcher with instant search, opened with the Super key
- Dock - your favorite applications, shown on an empty desktop
- Ctrl - quick settings (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, sound,
dark mode, session), opened with Ctrl+Super; actions that need
root asking for the root password with
tazbox su - Logout - log out, reboot or shut down
- Welcome - first-login window: where to install software, change settings, install SliTaz and get help
TazTerm 1.0 is the new default terminal: a light GTK3 terminal written for SliTaz with split panes. Sakura 3.8.9 and XTerm are also installed. The X server is Xorg 1.12.4.
System Tools
- Trame 1.2.2 - system settings in GTK3 (trame-gui), text mode (trame-tui) or command line; replaces TazPanel on the ISO images
- Spk 3.10 - package manager with its GTK3 front-end spk-gui
- TazPkg 5.9.6 - the classic package manager, still the base of spk
- Tazinst 4.2 - installer to hard disk or USB key in GTK3 or text mode
- Reprise 0.3.1 - diagnoses and repairs a broken system offline
- Filature report 0.4 - report a bug in two clicks
- Tazlito 543 and Cookutils 4.28 - build your own live system and packages
Web Browser
Firefox ESR is the browser of SliTaz 5.1: Firefox 140 ESR on i486, Firefox 153 ESR on x86_64. The old Midori and TazWeb browsers based on an outdated WebKit are gone from the ISO images: they could no longer open most of today's web.
Libraries
- GLib 2.56.4, GTK3 3.22.30
- OpenSSL 3.5.3
- GnuTLS 3.8.3
- cURL 7.81.0
- zlib 1.3.2
- ncurses 6.4
- readline 8.3
- ALSA-lib 1.2.7
- eudev 3.2.11
Live Systems and Installation
All ISO images boot from a CD or a USB key: simply write the ISO image to the key as is. The x86_64 images boot on BIOS and UEFI machines. The whole system runs in RAM, so you can try SliTaz without touching your disk.
To install SliTaz, click "Install SliTaz" in the welcome window
or run tazinst. Tazinst installs to a hard disk or
a USB key on BIOS or UEFI machines.
Packages
The SliTaz wok provides about 6000 packages for i486 and 5700 for
x86_64 for instance: desktop, development, servers, multimedia, office. Install
them with spk-gui, the spk or tazpkg
commands or find them online at
pkgs.slitaz.org.
From 4.0 to 5.1
Years passed between SliTaz 4.0 and 5.1: the recommended way is a
fresh install from a 5.1 ISO image
keeping your /home directory.
Known Issues
- No OpenGL hardware acceleration (GLX) with the Xorg 1.12.4 server of this release.
- Wi-Fi support for the most recent chips (Intel BE200, Realtek rtw89, MediaTek MT7921) is not there yet.
Support and Community
Ask your questions on the SliTaz forum, report bugs with Filature report from the desktop. Online documentation is at doc.slitaz.org and the source code at hg.slitaz.org.
Release Notes in English - translations welcome.