Void Linux derivative · runit · xbps

Born in the void.
Built for the odyssey.

Odyssey Linux is a Void Linux derivative built around an optimised kernel, a graphical installer and a minimal footprint. Nothing added that does not need to be there.

runit
init system
BORE
scheduler
xbps
packages
0
systemd

why odyssey

Built on principle.

Odyssey inherits everything that makes Void Linux exceptional and adds exactly three things.

01
Optimised kernel
linux-odyssey ships with CachyOS patches — BORE scheduler, BBR3, zstd compression — compiled for x86-64-v3. Real performance, measurable gains.
02
Graphical installer
Calamares, patched for runit. Full disk encryption, automatic partitioning, UEFI and BIOS. Void for humans, without compromising Void for humans.
03
xbps GUI
A minimal native frontend for xbps. Search, install, remove, update — without opening a terminal. Built in Python/Qt. No Electron, no bloat.
04
No systemd
runit all the way down. Fast boot, minimal PID 1, service supervision as it was meant to be. The Unix philosophy is not a marketing claim here.
05
Void upstream
All packages come directly from Void Linux repositories. Odyssey adds one small supplementary repo with only three packages. You stay on Void.
06
Free software
No telemetry. No proprietary blobs by default. No corporate agenda. Odyssey Linux is maintained by one person who uses it daily. Small, honest, sustainable.

The kernel Void deserves.

linux-odyssey applies CachyOS patchsets on top of the Linux LTS kernel, compiled for x86-64-v3.

BORE scheduler EEVDF BBR3 zstd modules x86-64-v3 LTS base runit compatible
# Odyssey Linux — kernel info
$ uname -r
6.12.9-odyssey
$ xbps-query linux-odyssey
pkgname: linux-odyssey
version: 6.12.9_1
repo: odyssey-repo
$ cat /sys/kernel/sched/bore
1

philosophy

What Odyssey believes.

A distribution is a statement.

"The Unix philosophy does not say make it easy. It says make it small, make it do one thing, make it composable. Odyssey Linux tries to honour that — a system that is fast because it is lean, not because it is clever." Read more →

Ready to begin the odyssey?

Download the ISO, boot it, install with Calamares. That is the whole story.

Download ISO Read the docs