Installation

The following information will assist you with the installation of Alpine Linux.

Installation Quick-Start in 3 Easy Steps

These steps are meant for x86_64 builds. For ARM, see Alpine on ARM

1st

Download one of the latest stable-release ISOs. Then compare the image's checksum to the one in the corresponding checksum file (*.sha256) and verify its GPG signature.

2nd

If you have a CD drive from which you can boot, then burn the ISO onto a blank CD using your favorite CD burning software. Else create a bootable USB drive.

3rd

Boot from the CD or USB drive, login as root with no password, and voilà! Enjoy Alpine Linux!

Now Alpine are complete running from the media source, you can install it by running the setup-alpine command.

Before runs setup-alpine there's many ways and use cases in the Alpine install manual for beginners

Installation Handbook

Alpine can be booted or not, just use it. Alpine Linux installation process are so minimalist, that indeed can just boot up inside other broken Linux. You believe that every system needs a DVD disc, or a USB to install it?, but Alpine may not even need it, so much so that it can even boot from its phone memory. Obviously the more exquisite the more complicated method. Remember that for beginners can use the Alpine install manual for beginners that have specific cases for. A spanish specific page are at https://mckayemu.github.io/alpineinstalls

Overview alpine running system

1. As any Linux installation, Alpine start process by booting an "install/running medium" from an external device (CD/DVD, USB Drive, etc...). currently supports Storage drives (such like USB, HDD or SSD) or Optical drives (such like CDROM, DVDROM or BD) as running medium of the operating system as is.
2. One booted Alpine Linux are in use or can be used in any of three modes respected the install process:
   1. diskless mode: You'll boot from a "install/runing" read-only medium such as the installation CD/DVD, a USB drive, or a Compact Flash card. This means here a "none" selected device to store data changes to paths.
   2. data mode: As in diskless mode, however, here a writable partition (usually on a hard disk) used to store the data in /var directly, rather than copied into a tmpfs, between reboots without install to disk from "install/running" medium.
   3. sys mode: a traditional hard-disk install; both the boot system and your modifications are written to the hard disk in a standard Linux hierarchy. Commonly used for desktop or servers deploys, automatically will create three partitions on your disk for /boot, /, and swap.
3. As Alpine uses Linux kernel, start step of collecting information to initialize a minimum system, the setup-alpine will copy files. This minimun system started before proceed to property install are a diskless mode started from the "install/running" medium.
4. When selected the "sys" mode, the post installation step provides the way to choose the root password, and eventually boot up the new installed system.

Requirements for Alpine

• A computer machine: Alpine supports any kind of computers devices.. phones, laptops, desktops, embedded, raspberrys, arduinos, etc, this means support:
  • architectures as: i386, amd64, arm, ppc, x390 and any modern or older.
  • minimal memory: of 100Mb of RAM are enough for base system, 1G are enough for complete heavy desktops.
  • optional storage: such as hard disk or usb disk, only in the "sys" or "data" mode

Media source to install and/or run

Those source "install/running" medium are downloaded from https://alpinelinux.org/downloads/; named "images", all the images will need network internet connection present adn available except the iamge named `extended` due comes with minimal need packages but are x86/x64 based only.

To use those media files, must be dumped in a USB or burned into a CD/DVD, are "iso hybrid" that means can be just copied as "cd media.iso /dev/sdb", please check USB drive, or a Compact Flash card for details.

Booting the media source

After flash the USB media or burn a CDROM media, put the media source on respective drive bay of the computer and turn on the computer.

Select proper boot media, this depends on each computer device; by example on DELL's computers almost always are the `F12` key, press at the boot screen and when menu shows select the proper media, on the VirtualBox software are same `F12` key too, by hitting that key a boot selection media will be displayed, boot screen depends on each computer.

This document makes no sense which media was used after this step, rest of the document are same for all cases.

Note: This document assumes you will whipe out all the hard disk of your computer to complete use Alpine as the only and the main operating system, if you want more detailed cases see the wiki page Alpine_newbie_install_manual.

Configure and run the install process

More easy than you think, will just run as any other linux, and ask for a login screen, just input "root" and then a console prompt will be show. Here just type and run the following commands to fast install automaticall on ALL the hard disk of your computer device:

export BOOTLOADER=grub

setup-alpine -f /root/autofile

A few questions will be made, be care of questions and root password questions in the process due will be used later and must be mandatory.

• Keyboard map, such like us and variant of us-nodeadkeys for Canada or es and variant of es-winkeys for spanish speaker users and latinamerican people.
• Hostname: just push enter, it's the human computer name.
• Network options: will as the method to grap the internet connection in wired cases, just enter the suggested values, an network internet connection present are required in most cases.
• DNS options: recommended to use 8.8.8.8 and none for search domain
• Timezone options: just use the default values suggested.
• Proxy options: use "none" if you connect directly to the internet; this are a special filed that permits use the "proxy service" of your network, as to your admins.
• SSH options: use openssh the default that comes with media.
• NTP options: use chrony the default that comes with media.
• Mode: select "sys" to install as described prevously.
• Disk options: the destinartion media to install, as we assumed are only one disk in the computer device, use "sda".

After a while, process start and will format the hard disk device, this will make the disk layout as:

• `/dev/sda1` como BOOT en 500Mb en `/boot`
• `/dev/sda2` como SWAP en 4Gb
• `/dev/sda3` como ROOT en 200Gb en `/`

And then will copy files to your hard disk device, after a while the system will be installed.

Booting and using the new system

After process of coping files ended, media "install/running" must be removed from the USB/CARD reader or CD/DVD bay of the computer

Then the new system can be booted by removing the boot media where was installed; after boot you must read Alpine post install packages and setup configurations for new users where you can follow steps to customized your new system.

Further Documentation

Post-Install

• Alpine post install packages and setup configurations for new users
• Setting up Networking
• Package Management (apk) (How to add/remove packages on your Alpine)
• Alpine local backup (lbu) (Permanently store your modifications in case your box needs reboot)
  • Back Up a Flash Memory ("diskless mode") Installation
  • Manually editing a existing apkovl
• Init System (OpenRC) (Configure a service to automatically boot at next reboot)
  • Multiple Instances of Services
• Setting up Xorg

• Upgrading Alpine

• Setting up a ssh-server (Using ssh is a good way to administer your box remotely)
• setup-acf (Configures ACF (webconfiguration) so you can manage your box through https)
• Hosting services on Alpine(Links to several mail/web/ssh server setup pages)
• Changing passwords

• Setting the timezone (Not needed for the default musl- or uClibc-based installs)

• Setting up a new user

Further Help and Information

• FAQs
• Tutorials and Howtos
• How to Contribute
• Developer Documentation

See Also

1. Newbie_Alpine_Ecosystem
2. Alpine newbie install manual
3. https://mckayemu.github.io/alpineinstalls/ All informatin for Spanish users