antiX () is a Linux distribution, originally based on MEPIS, which itself is based on the Debian Stable distribution. antiX initially replaced the MEPIS KDE desktop environment with the Fluxbox and IceWM window managers, making it suitable for older, less powerful x86-based systems. Unlike Debian, antiX does not use the systemd init system; instead, it provides an ISO image in which Runit is set as the default init system. The declared goal of the developers is to significantly extend the useful life of existing old & new computers by specifically selecting efficient software and operating system components.
antiX reflects technical influences from distributions such as sidux, TinyMe, Puppy, Absolute, and SliTaz. These influences are incorporated into current versions of the operating system.
The subtitle of the antiX distribution is âÂÂProudly anti-fascist.â Distro creator is Paul Banham aka anticapitalista from Thessaloniki (Greece), who sees himself as a representative of a left-wing political idea.
The distribution is lightweight and designed for older PCs, including a 'Legacy' 5.10 kernel for older computers and a 'Modern' 6.1 kernel which provides better hardware support for more recent PCs. It has a large app selection from both Debian and antiX repositories, and does not use systemd or elogind.
antiX has extensive support for "live CD" and "live USB" modes, booting quickly and running independently of the system's disk.
antiX comes with a default desktop built on top of the ROX or Zzzfm file managers, with the GTK library and using IceWM as the window manager. antiX-full and antiX-base include these stacking window managers:
Running the ROX or Zzzfm variants provides desktop icons and a drag-and-drop function. Conky provides system monitor availability.
antiX, starting with release 26 is a multi-init system that is provided with 5 init systems. Runit (the default) and SysVinit, which had previously been provided in separate ISO files are now supplemented by dinit, S6-RC, and S6-66.
They are merged into a single ISO where, at startup, the desired init system can be selected. The antiX Control Center offers the possibility to define one of these init systems is set as the standard, which antiX is automatically boots from thereafter.
antiX 26 is available for IA-32 (32-bit) and x86-64 (64-bit) architectures, and comes in two flavours:
antiX23 was offered with two additional flavours:
antiX versions were joined by MEPIS in 2014, developed in cooperation with the MEPIS community to form MX Linux. MX Linux uses Xfce as the default desktop environment, is based directly on Debian Stable, and gives solid performance from a medium-sized footprint. Since November 2016, MX Linux is listed as a separate distro on DistroWatch.
The releases of antiX are named after prominent left-wing figures, groups and revolutionaries.
Historical versions
Supported versions