Member Avatar for rahul8590

Well i have been working on linux for a while , eventhough i am stuck to ubuntu only .
Well i am planning to venture out a little and understand more about how os is made and may be build os from scratch .. i mean not to code it but coalesce different units and having a satisfaction of building my own version and including programs .. stuff like these..
Is there any distro which allows me to learn more about linux in depth and delivers what i am looking forward to build ?

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This thread is about moving beyond Ubuntu to learn real OS internals (schedulers, filesystems, getty/tty flow). ’s Gentoo suggestion and ’s Linux From Scratch note point to two complementary routes: Gentoo exposes build-time choices and package control, while LFS forces assembling every component. ’s caution that Gentoo alone won’t teach kernel internals is valid. A staged, hands-on progression mixes both approaches for steady learning rather than a single leap.

A useful staged path: use disposable VMs with snapshots (qemu/KVM or VirtualBox) for safe experiments; start on a source-friendly system or minimal chroot to master compiling libraries and services; implement a simple filesystem in userspace with FUSE to learn VFS callbacks before touching in-kernel fs code; move to incremental LFS chapters or a minimal root to learn boot/init/getty flow; then clone the kernel tree and make small, focused edits.

Practical kernel workflow (keep everything under git and always snapshot the VM before boot tests):

git clone https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git
cd linux
make menuconfig
make -j$(nproc)
make modules_install INSTALL_MOD_PATH=../rootfs
make install

Enable debug options (CONFIG_DEBUG_INFO, ftrace) and use printk, ftrace/perf, SystemTap or eBPF for tracing scheduler behavior. Scheduler core lives in kernel/sched; modify incrementally, run microbenchmarks and stress tests, and validate behavior with tracing. For filesystems, a FUSE prototype clarifies VFS interactions without kernel risk. If a build/boot breaks, restore the VM snapshot or boot a rescue image.

For contribution and next steps: begin with small, well-tested patches and read maintainer guidance. and ’s Slackware/Debian suggestions are useful for learning system layout before deeper kernel work. Treat LFS as a capstone project after accumulating compile, trace, and safe-test experience.

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Member Avatar for Primoz

Hello rahul8590 :)
Sure there is. Its called Gentoo. It really does learn you how to compile and use Linux in a way no other distro does. I suggest you grab it from their offical website and get the Gentoo Handbook (it's located on their offical website too-for free :))

Have fun!

Member Avatar for Member #46692

Linux From Scratch.

Truly hardcore.

Member Avatar for rahul8590

LFS might be a bit overwhelming for me as of now .

Member Avatar for Stefano Mtangoo

Ubuntu Lucid, my vote so goes :)

Member Avatar for rahul8590

lucid doesnt help you to build one AFAIK .
I want something which helps u to build one .. since i am frustrated with theortical concepts like

File systems , scheduling algorithms , the getty , controlling terminal and stuff and i guess the only way to comprehend them profoundly could be building one . (ofcourse not from scratch )
Gentoo is one of the option which kinda suits my requirements , but i am looking for more nascent ones where i can contribute too. :)

Member Avatar for Stefano Mtangoo

lucid doesnt help you to build one AFAIK .

Build what? Applications?
sudo apt-get install build-essential

there you can go building whatever you want with GCC :)

Member Avatar for rahul8590

not build appications .. your not getting my point .
I mean build the internals of operating system , like for example the kernel runs on its own scheduling algorithms , i would like to write my own .
Or tamper with the file system and change some internals .. well basically messing around with the internals of OS in order to understand it better .

Member Avatar for Stefano Mtangoo

not build appications .. your not getting my point .
I mean build the internals of operating system , like for example the kernel runs on its own scheduling algorithms , i would like to write my own .
Or tamper with the file system and change some internals .. well basically messing around with the internals of OS in order to understand it better .

Its looong time since I used to play with those stuffs. I have forgotten much of it, so? No comment on that ;)

Member Avatar for slacke

I vote for slackware. I really dream about the same thing as you ... I hope one day I will find that "big bag" full of free time and do:

1. Read and understand the complete code of linux kernel. (of course the parts needed by my main hardware components)
2. Read and understand all main application packages I use.

I don't know if that much time exists ...

Member Avatar for rahul8590

>I vote for slackware. I really dream about the same thing as you ... I hope one day I will find that "big bag" full of free time and do:


well the problem is .. its very difficult to find tutorials on these arcane topics .. and this leads you to take such bold steps of venturing out on our own.
i would try on slackware.. but i guess its a pretty mature OS and one of the oldest , i was wondering if you could suggest some nascent ones.

Member Avatar for Fewt

You want Linux From Scratch. Gentoo just teaches you how to read a manual, and run commands. It doesn't really teach you about the OS. The rest of the distributions do all the work for you which doesn't solve your problem of learning how it works while you build it.

Member Avatar for kad1r

Yep, I agree with slacke.
Try Debian or Slackware.

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