Kernels: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 09:37, 9 December 2025

Alpine Linux has several kernels (see linux-*) designed to suit different situations.

linux-lts — Long-term support kernel, configured for a generous selection of hardware
- linux-virt — Long-term support kernel, configured for VM guests (disables most hardware in favor of a commonly-virtualized subset of drivers)
linux-stable — Stable kernel, configured for a generous selection of hardware Only supported in community. For Alpine 3.22 and older there was linux-edge, see Release_Notes_for_Alpine_3.23.0#linux-stable_replaces_linux-edge

linux-rpi — Raspberry Pi's kernel, configured for the Raspberry Pi. For Alpine 3.18 and older there is also linux-rpi2 and linux-rpi4 optimized for the Raspberry Pi 2 and 4 respectively.
linux-openpax — Kernel with OpenPAX patches which provide a layer of defense against memory safety-related vulnerabilities. Only supported in community

For installing a custom kernel, see Custom Kernel. To select a specific kernel or firmware packages during installation from the Alpine ISO, simply install the desired kernel flavor and firmware packages with apk add before running setup-alpine.

Firmware

The linux-firmware meta-package is included in the default installation, and depends on all firmware. It is a large download and due to this reason, installation of this package can produce errors on diskless or data disk modes. If such errors occur, switch to system disk mode.

You may be better served by installing only the firmware you need (see linux-firmware-*), or linux-firmware-none if you do not require any firmware. If you're unsure which firmware you need, boot with no firmware installed and run below command to to get an idea.

# dmesg|grep firmware

Be aware that most firmware is non-free.

Alpine kernel module support(AKMS) page has information on the out-of-tree kernel module driver packages available in Alpine Linux and how to use them.

Experimental Kernels

Some kernels are not well tested and are therefor only available in the testing repository. Use at your own risk.

linux-asahi — Apple Silicon devices, see https://asahilinux.org/
linux-elm — Elm chromebooks
linux-gru — Gru chromebooks
linux-eswin — Linux lts kernel - RISC-V
linux-sophgo — Sophgo RISC-V SoC's
linux-p550 — SiFive P550 RISC-V SoC's
linux-starfive — Starfive RISC-V SoC's
linux-jh7100 — Starfive JH7100 SoC
linux-spacemit — SpacemiT RISC-V SoC's

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 Alpine Linux has several kernels (see {{Pkg|linux-*}}) designed to suit different situations.
-* {{Pkg|linux-lts}} is the stock modular kernel and is configured for a generous selection of hardware.
+* {{Pkg|linux-lts}} &mdash; Long-term support kernel, configured for a generous selection of hardware
-* {{Pkg|linux-virt}} ({{Pkg|linux-lts}}, see the -virt configs) is recommended for Alpine Linux guests, and disables most hardware in favor of a commonly-virtualized subset of drivers.
+** {{Pkg|linux-virt}} &mdash; Long-term support kernel, configured for VM guests (disables most hardware in favor of a commonly-virtualized subset of drivers)
-* [https://pkgs.alpinelinux.org/packages?name=linux-rpi&branch=edge linux-rpi] is optimized for the Raspberry Pi. There are also [https://pkgs.alpinelinux.org/packages?name=linux-rpi2&branch=edge linux-rpi2] and [https://pkgs.alpinelinux.org/packages?name=linux-rpi4&branch=edge linux-rpi4] optimized for the raspberry pi 2 and 4 respectively. See {{issue|15324}} for future plans.
+* {{Pkg|linux-stable}} &mdash; Stable kernel, configured for a generous selection of hardware <i>Only supported in <code>community</code>. For Alpine 3.22 and older there was {{pkg|linux-edge|branch=v3.21|arch=}}, see [[Release_Notes_for_Alpine_3.23.0#linux-stable_replaces_linux-edge]]</i>
+* {{pkg|linux-rpi|arch=}} &mdash; Raspberry Pi's kernel, configured for the Raspberry Pi. <i>For Alpine 3.18 and older there is also {{pkg|linux-rpi2|branch=v3.18|arch=}} and {{pkg|linux-rpi4|branch=v3.18|arch=}} optimized for the Raspberry Pi 2 and 4 respectively.</i>
+* {{Pkg|linux-openpax}} &mdash; Kernel with OpenPAX patches which provide a layer of defense against memory safety-related vulnerabilities. <i>Only supported in <code>community</code></i>
 For installing a custom kernel, see [[Custom Kernel]]. To select a specific kernel or firmware packages during installation from the Alpine ISO, simply install the desired kernel flavor and firmware packages with {{ic|apk add}} before running {{ic|setup-alpine}}.
@@ Line 9: / Line 12: @@
 == Firmware ==
-The {{Pkg|linux-firmware}} meta-package is included in the [[Installation|default installation]], and depends on all firmware. It is a large download. You may be better served by installing only the firmware you need (see {{Pkg|linux-firmware-*}}), or {{Pkg|linux-firmware-none}} if you do not require any firmware. If you're unsure which firmware you need, boot with no firmware installed and run {{ic|dmesg &vert; grep firmware}} to get an idea. Be aware that most firmware is non-free.
+The {{Pkg|linux-firmware}} meta-package is included in the [[Installation|default installation]], and depends on all firmware. It is a large download and due to this reason, installation of this package can produce errors on [[Installation#Diskless Mode|diskless]] or [[Installation#Data Disk Mode|data disk]] modes. If such errors occur, switch to [[Installation#System Disk Mode|system disk]] mode.
+You may be better served by installing only the firmware you need (see {{Pkg|linux-firmware-*}}), or {{Pkg|linux-firmware-none}} if you do not require any firmware. If you're unsure which firmware you need, boot with no firmware installed and run below command to to get an idea. {{Cmd|<nowiki># dmesg|grep firmware</nowiki>}}
+Be aware that most firmware is non-free.
+[[Alpine kernel module support|Alpine kernel module support]](AKMS) page has information on the out-of-tree kernel module driver packages available in Alpine Linux and [[Alpine kernel module support#Using AKMS|how to use]] them.
 == Experimental Kernels ==
-Some kernels are not well tested and are therefor only available in the testing repository. Use at own risk.
+Some kernels are not well tested and are therefor only available in the testing repository. Use at your own risk.
-* {{pkg|linux-asahi|arch=aarch64}} for Apple silicon
+* {{pkg|linux-asahi|arch=aarch64}} &mdash; Apple Silicon devices, see https://asahilinux.org/
-* {{pkg|linux-elm|arch=aarch64}} for elm chromebooks
+* {{pkg|linux-elm|arch=aarch64}} &mdash; Elm chromebooks
-* {{pkg|linux-gru|arch=aarch64}} for gru chromebooks
+* {{pkg|linux-gru|arch=aarch64}} &mdash; Gru chromebooks
+* {{Pkg|linux-eswin}} &mdash; [https://github.com/jmontleon/linux-eswin Linux lts kernel] - RISC-V
+* {{pkg|linux-sophgo|arch=riscv64}} &mdash; Sophgo RISC-V SoC's
+* {{pkg|linux-p550|arch=riscv64}} &mdash; SiFive P550 RISC-V SoC's
+* {{pkg|linux-starfive|arch=riscv64}} &mdash; Starfive RISC-V SoC's
+* {{pkg|linux-jh7100|arch=riscv64}} &mdash; Starfive JH7100 SoC
+* {{pkg|linux-spacemit|arch=riscv64}} &mdash; SpacemiT RISC-V SoC's
 == See also ==
+* [[Custom Kernel]]
+* [[How to build the Alpine Linux kernel]]
 * [https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Kernel Kernel - Archwiki]
 [[category:Kernel]]