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Zenwalk GNU Linux RSS Feed DistroWatch.com: Zenwalk GNU Linux

Zenwalk GNU Linux


Last Update: 2026-09-06 15:15 UTC


zenwalk-current-260905-xfce (more screenshots in our gallery)  
Zenwalk Linux (formerly Minislack) is a Slackware-based GNU/Linux operating system with a goal of being slim and fast by using only one application per task and with a focus on graphical desktop and multimedia usage. Zenwalk features the latest Linux technology along with a complete programming environment and libraries to provide an ideal platform for application programmers. Zenwalk's modular approach also provides a simple way to convert Zenwalk Linux into a finely-tuned modern server (e.g. LAMP, messaging, file sharing).

Popularity (hits per day): 12 months: 273 (58), 6 months: 205 (75), 3 months: 122 (113), 4 weeks: 55 (205), 1 week: 187 (49)

Average visitor rating: 9.3/10 from 4 review(s).


Zenwalk Summary
Distribution Zenwalk GNU Linux (formerly Zenwalk Linux, Minislack)
Home Page http://www.zenwalk.org/
Mailing Lists --
User Forums http://support.zenwalk.org/
Alternative User Forums
Documentation --
Screenshots DistroWatch Gallery
Screencasts
Download Mirrors http://www.zenwalk.org/p/download.html • DistroWatch Torrent Archive
Bug Tracker --
Related Websites Blogspot • Wikipedia
Reviews Current: DistroWatch
15.0: DistroWatch • DistroWatch • Bitcu
8.x: DistroWatch
7.x: DistroWatch • Wordpress • DistroWatch • Blogspot • LinuxBSDos
6.x: Linux Journal • LinuxBSDos • It's A Binary World • LinuxBSDos
5.x: It's A Binary World • OStatic • Viva o Linux (Portuguese) • Blogspot • Linux.com • DistroWatch • Blogspot
4.x: Framasoft (French) • Blogspot • OSNews • Nuxified • Free-Bees
3.x: ABC Linuxu (Czech) • Free-bees • Wordpress • Pro-Linux (German)
2.x: Free-bees • Linux-User (German) • OSNews
1.x: LinMagazine (Hebrew) • Tuxmachines • OSNews • Tuxmachines
Where To Donate, Buy or Try The Linux Shop

Recent Related News and Releases
  Releases announcements with download links and checksums:
 • 2026-09-05: Distribution Release: Zenwalk GNU Linux Current-260905
 • 2023-09-10: Distribution Release: Zenwalk GNU Linux Current-230909
 • 2022-02-05: Distribution Release: Zenwalk GNU Linux 15.0-220204
 • 2020-07-02: Distribution Release: Zenwalk Linux 15.0-200703a
 • 2017-02-22: Distribution Release: Zenwalk Linux 220217
 • 2016-07-02: Distribution Release: Zenwalk Linux 8.0
 • 2016-06-19: Development Release: Zenwalk Linux 8.0 RC2
 • 2016-04-15: Development Release: Zenwalk Linux 8.0 RC1
 • 2016-02-08: Development Release: Zenwalk Linux 8.0 Beta 2
 • 2016-01-25: Development Release: Zenwalk Linux 8.0 Beta
 • 2014-04-29: Distribution Release: Zenwalk Linux 7.4 "Live"
 • 2014-02-14: Distribution Release: Zenwalk Linux 7.4
 • More Zenwalk releases...

Table Notes and Explanations

(Please refer to the table below.)
  • Select view:
  • To compare the software in this project to the software available in other distributions, please see our Compare Packages page.
  • Notes: In case where multiple versions of a package are shipped with a distribution, only the default version appears in the table. For indication about the GNOME version, please check the "nautilus" and "gnome-shell" packages. The Apache web server is listed as "httpd" and the Linux kernel is listed as "linux". The KDE desktop is represented by the "plasma-desktop" package and the Xfce desktop by the "xfdesktop" package.
  • Colour scheme: green text = latest stable version, red text = development or beta version. The function determining beta versions is not 100% reliable due to a wide variety of versioning schemes.
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Feature current-260906 15.0-220204 8.0 7.9.6 7.4 7.2 7.0 6.4 6.2 6.0 5.2 5.0 4.8 4.6.1 3.0 2.8 1.3 0.4 Feature
Release Date 2025-09-06 2022-02-04 2016-07-02 2015-10-31 2014-02-13 2012-10-12 2011-03-25 2010-05-27 2009-09-06 2009-03-07 2008-06-07 2008-01-18 2007-10-07 2007-06-01 2006-09-08 2006-07-21 2005-10-15 2005-03-25 Release Date
End Of Life                                     End Of Life
Price (US$) Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Price (US$)
Image Size (MB) 2900-3000 1200-1300                                 Image Size (MB)
Free Download ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO Free Download
Installation Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Installation
Default Desktop Xfce Xfce Xfce Xfce Xfce Xfce Xfce Xfce Xfce Xfce Xfce Xfce Xfce Xfce Xfce Xfce Xfce WMaker Default Desktop
Default Browser Chromium Chromium Chromium Chromium Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Default Browser
Package Format flatpak, txz flatpak, txz txz txz txz txz txz txz txz tgz tgz tgz tgz tgz tgz tgz tgz tgz Package Format
Package Management netpkg netpkg netpkg netpkg netpkg netpkg netpkg netpkg netpkg netpkg netpkg netpkg netpkg netpkg netpkg netpkg netpkg netpkg Package Management
Release Model Rolling Rolling Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Fixed Release Model
Office Suite -- -- LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice OO.o OO.o OO.o GOffice GOffice GOffice GOffice GOffice GOffice GOffice GOffice Office Suite
Processor Architecture x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 i486 i486 i486 i486 i486 i486 i486 i486 i486 i486 i486 i486 i486 i486 Processor Architecture
Init Software SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV Init Software
Journaled File Systems Btrfs, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext4, ReiserFS, XFS ext4, ReiserFS, XFS ext4, ReiserFS, XFS ext4, ReiserFS, XFS ext4, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ReiserFS, Reiser4, XFS ext3, ReiserFS, Reiser4 ReiserFS Journaled File Systems
Multilingual                                     Multilingual
Full Package List current-260906 15.0-220204 8.0 7.9.6 7.4 7.2 7.0 6.4 6.2 6.0 5.2 5.0 4.8 4.6.1 3.0 2.8 1.3   Full Package List
Package current-260906 15.0-220204 8.0 7.9.6 7.4 7.2 7.0 6.4 6.2 6.0 5.2 5.0 4.8 4.6.1 3.0 2.8 1.3 0.4 Package
alsa-lib (1.2.16.1) 1.2.16.1 1.2.5.1 1.1.1 1.0.29 1.0.27.2 1.0.26 1.0.24.1 1.0.23 1.0.20 1.0.19 1.0.16 1.0.15 1.0.15rc3 1.0.14 1.0.11 1.0.11 1.0.9 1.0.8 alsa-lib (1.2.16.1)
amdgpu (25.0.0) 23.0.0 21.0.0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- amdgpu (25.0.0)
apparmor (5.0.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- apparmor (5.0.2)
apt (3.3.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- apt (3.3.3)
bash (5.3) 5.3 5.1 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.2 4.1 4.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.0 3.0 bash (5.3)
bind (9.20.29) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- bind (9.20.29)
chromium (154.0.8037.57) 151.0.7922.137 97.0.4692.99 51.0.2704.103 46.0.2490.71 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- chromium (154.0.8037.57)
cinnamon (6.6.9) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- cinnamon (6.6.9)
cups (2.4.19) 2.4.19 -- 2.1.4 2.0.4 1.5.4 1.5.4 1.4.6 1.4.3 1.3.11 1.3.9 1.3.7 1.3.5 1.3.3 1.2.11 1.1.23 1.1.23 1.1.23 1.1.23 cups (2.4.19)
e2fsprogs (1.47.4) 1.47.4 1.46.5 1.43.1 1.42.13 1.42.8 1.42.6 1.41.14 1.41.11 1.41.8 1.41.4 1.40.8 1.40.4 1.40.2 1.39 1.38 1.38 1.38 1.35 e2fsprogs (1.47.4)
ffmpeg (9.0.2) 9.0.1 4.4.1 3.0.1 2.5.3 2.1.3 0.11.2 0.6.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ffmpeg (9.0.2)
firefox (157.0) -- -- -- -- 27.0 15.0.1 3.6.15 3.6.3 3.5.2 3.0.6 2.0.0.14 2.0.0.11 2.0.0.6 2.0.0.4 1.5.0.6 1.5.0.4 1.0.7 1.0.1 firefox (157.0)
flatpak (1.18.4) 1.19.0 1.8.2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- flatpak (1.18.4)
freetype (2.14.3) 2.14.3 2.11.1 2.6.3 2.6.1 2.5.0.1 2.4.10 2.4.4 2.3.12 2.3.9 2.3.8 2.3.5 2.3.5 2.3.2 2.3.2 2.1.9 -- -- -- freetype (2.14.3)
gcc (16.2.0) 16.2.0 11.2.0 5.3.0 4.9.3 4.8.2 4.7.1 4.5.2 4.4.4 4.3.3 4.2.4 4.2.3 4.1.2 4.1.2 4.1.2 3.4.6 3.4.6 3.3.6 3.3.5 gcc (16.2.0)
gimp (3.2.6) -- -- 2.8.16 2.8.14 2.8.10 2.8.2 2.6.11 2.6.8 2.6.7 2.6.5 2.4.6 2.4.3 2.2.17 2.2.15 2.2.13 2.2.12 2.2.8 2.2.3 gimp (3.2.6)
git (2.55.0) 2.55.0 2.35.1 2.9.0 2.6.2 1.8.4 1.7.12.1 1.7.4.1 1.7.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- git (2.55.0)
glibc (2.44) 2.44 2.33 2.23 2.21 2.17 2.15 2.13 2.11.1 2.9 2.7 2.7 2.7 2.5 2.5 2.3.6 2.3.6 2.3.5 2.3.4 glibc (2.44)
gnome-shell (51.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gnome-shell (51.0)
grub (2.16) 2.14 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- svn -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- grub (2.16)
gtk (4.24.0) 4.22.4 4.4.1 3.18.9 2.24.28 2.24.20 2.24.10 2.24.3 2.18.7 2.16.5 2.14.7 2.12.9 2.12.2 2.10.14 2.10.12 2.8.20 2.8.19 2.6.10 2.6.3 gtk (4.24.0)
httpd (2.4.68) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- httpd (2.4.68)
hyprland (0.56.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- hyprland (0.56.2)
inkscape (1.4.4) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- inkscape (1.4.4)
kmod (34.2) 34.2 29 22 21 9 9 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- kmod (34.2)
krita (6.0.4) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- krita (6.0.4)
Package current-260906 15.0-220204 8.0 7.9.6 7.4 7.2 7.0 6.4 6.2 6.0 5.2 5.0 4.8 4.6.1 3.0 2.8 1.3 0.4 Package
LibreOffice (26.8.0) -- -- 5.1.3 5.0.2 4.1.3 3.6.2 3.3.1 3.2.0 3.1.0 3.0.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- 1.9.122 -- LibreOffice (26.8.0)
libselinux (3.11) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- libselinux (3.11)
linux (7.2.8) 7.1.7 5.15.19 4.4.14 4.1.12 3.10.25 3.4.8 2.6.37.4 2.6.33.4 2.6.30.5 2.6.28.7 2.6.25.4 2.6.23.12 2.6.22.9 2.6.21.3 2.6.17.11 2.6.17.6 2.6.12.6 2.6.11.4 linux (7.2.8)
mariadb (13.0.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mariadb (13.0.2)
mate-desktop (1.28.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mate-desktop (1.28.2)
mesa (26.2.3) 26.2.2 21.3.5 11.2.2 11.0.4 9.1.7 8.0.4 7.9.2 7.8.1 7.5 7.0.3 7.0.3 6.5.2 6.5.2 6.5.2 -- -- -- -- mesa (26.2.3)
nautilus (51.0.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- nautilus (51.0.1)
NVIDIA (615.71.09) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- NVIDIA (615.71.09)
openjdk (27) -- -- -- -- -- 7u7 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- openjdk (27)
openssh (10.5p1) 10.5p1 8.8p1 7.2p2 7.1p1 6.5p1 6.1p1 5.8p1 5.5p1 5.2p1 5.1p1 5.0p1 4.7p1 4.7p1 4.6p1 4.3p2 4.3p2 4.2p1 4.0p1 openssh (10.5p1)
openssl (4.0.2) 3.5.8 1.1.1m 1.0.2h 1.0.1p 1.0.1f 1.0.1c 0.9.8r 0.9.8n 0.9.8k 0.9.8i 0.9.8g 0.9.8g 0.9.8e 0.9.8e 0.9.8b 0.9.8b 0.9.7g 0.9.7e openssl (4.0.2)
perl (5.44.0) 5.44.0 5.34.0 5.22.2 5.22.0 5.18.1 5.16.1 5.12.3 5.10.1 5.10.1 5.10.0 5.8.8 5.8.8 5.8.8 5.8.8 5.8.8 5.8.8 5.8.7 5.8.6 perl (5.44.0)
php (8.5.11) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- php (8.5.11)
plasma-desktop (6.7.5) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- plasma-desktop (6.7.5)
postfix (3.11.7) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- postfix (3.11.7)
postgresql (18.6) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- postgresql (18.6)
Python (3.14.7) 3.12.14 3.9.10 2.7.11 2.7.10 2.7.5 2.7.3 2.6.6 2.6.4 2.6.2 2.6.1 2.5.2 2.5.1 2.5.1 2.5.1 2.4.3 2.4.3 2.4.1 2.4 Python (3.14.7)
qt (6.11.2) 6.11.2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- qt (6.11.2)
samba (4.25.0) 4.24.6 4.15.5 4.4.4 4.3.1 4.1.4 3.6.8 3.5.8 3.5.2 3.2.13 3.0.30 3.0.30 3.0.28 3.0.24 3.0.24 3.0.21c 3.0.21c 3.0.20 -- samba (4.25.0)
systemd (262) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- systemd (262)
thunderbird (156.0.1) -- -- -- -- 24.3.0 15.0.1 3.0.4 3.0.4 2.0.0.23 2.0.0.19 2.0.0.14 2.0.0.6 2.0.0.6 2.0.0.0 1.5.0.5 1.5.0.4 1.0.7 1.0 thunderbird (156.0.1)
vim (9.2) -- -- 7.4 7.4 7.4 7.3 7.3 7.2 7.2 7.2 7.1 7.1 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 6.3.086 6.3.007 vim (9.2)
vlc (3.0.24) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- vlc (3.0.24)
wayland (1.26.0) 1.26.0 1.20.0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- wayland (1.26.0)
xfdesktop (4.20.2) 4.20.2 4.16.0 4.12.3 4.12.3 4.10.0 4.10.0 4.8 4.6.2 4.6.1 4.6.0 4.4.2 4.4.2 4.4.1 4.4.1 4.3.99.1 4.3.90.2 4.2.2 4.2.0 xfdesktop (4.20.2)
xorg-server (21.1.24) 21.1.24 1.20.14 1.18.3 1.17.3 1.14.3 1.12.3 1.9.5 1.7.7 1.6.3 1.4.2 1.4.0.90 1.4 (7.2) (7.2) (6.9.0) (6.9.0) (6.8.2) (6.8.2) xorg-server (21.1.24)

Reader Ratings
Reader supplied reviews for Zenwalk GNU Linux

Average rating
9.3
from 4 review(s)



What are your thoughts on Zenwalk GNU Linux?
Please include a few pros and a few cons, along with your overall impression of the operating system.
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Past reviews - sort by:

Version: current-260905
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-09-06
Country: France
Votes: 3


I recently tried Zenwalk Linux, and honestly, I was pretty surprised by how fast it felt. I’m not an expert Linux user, so I was a little unsure about what to expect, but after getting it installed and running, I found it much easier to use than I first thought.

The first thing I noticed was the speed. Zenwalk feels really light and quick, even when opening programs or moving around the desktop. My computer isn't exactly new, so this was a big plus for me. Everything felt responsive without the system constantly using a lot of resources.

I also like that Zenwalk doesn’t seem to come with tons of programs that I will probably never use. It feels like the developers have tried to keep things simple and useful. I could browse the web, listen to music, watch videos, and do normal everyday stuff without any major problems.

Coming from more beginner-friendly Linux distributions, I did find some things a little confusing at first. Zenwalk seems to expect you to be willing to learn a few things instead of doing everything automatically for you. At first this was frustrating, but I actually started to enjoy it because I felt like I was learning more about how Linux works.

The Slackware background also gives Zenwalk a different feeling compared with Ubuntu or some of the other popular distributions. It feels simple, straightforward, and not overloaded.

Overall, I really enjoyed trying Zenwalk. It may not be the easiest Linux distribution for someone who has never touched Linux before, but if you have an older PC or simply want something fast and uncomplicated, I think Zenwalk is definitely worth giving a try. For me, it was a pleasant surprise.


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 15.0-220204
Rating: 10
Date: 2023-09-14
Votes: 2


In my 10-year-old Intel Zeon computer with 2GB DDR2 RAM, I successfully installed Zenwalk 8.0 using VMWare Workstation. Previously, I had experience installing Slackware64 14.2 on regular hard disks, as well as VMWare Workstation and VirtualBox setups. After installing Zenwalk 8.0, I connected to a Slackware Current mirror and proceeded to upgrade all packages. Unfortunately, I neglected to search for the newer Zenwalk 15.0 version, resulting in the inability to install web browsers like Firefox or Google Chrome due to the distro's policy of only supporting new packages. Nevertheless, Zenwalk 8.0 comes with Chromium as the default browser, making it sufficient for browsing needs. One positive aspect was the ease of installing VMWare Tools and connecting to a Slackware Current mirror for package upgrades. Overall, Zenwalk 8.0 proves to be a suitable distro for both older and newer computers.


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 15.0-220204
Rating: 9
Date: 2022-02-08
Votes: 5


Everything works except sound for flatpaks. I'm sure this is something that can be fixed


Was this review helpful? Yes No

See all 4 reader reviews of Zenwalk GNU Linux...



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