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Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux is a lightweight, security-oriented Linux distribution popular for containers due to its small size.

What is Alpine Linux?

Alpine Linux is a security-oriented, lightweight Linux distribution based on musl libc and BusyBox, with images as small as 5MB, making it popular for container base images.

Alpine features

Small footprint (~5MB), musl libc (not glibc), apk package manager, Security-focused, Container-optimized.

Common misconceptions

  • "Alpine works like other distros" — musl compatibility issues
  • "Smaller is always better" — Debugging can be harder
  • "Alpine is only for containers" — Works for other uses