¶
Be stable.
Be light.
Be fast.
¶ 1. Overview
Beryllium OS is a Linux distribution inspired by its namesake: Element No. 4
In the periodic table, beryllium is a bit of a freak of nature - it is one of the lightest metals known to man, yet it possesses a stability that puts steel to shame.
We figured that’s exactly how an Operating System should behave.
Beryllium OS thus strives to offer a stable, light and fast distro, for all hardware that lacks that.
We target primarily Single Board Computers (SBCs), but also provide images for x86_64 systems, as well as embedded systems, targetting a vast selection of microcontroller ecosystems.
This documentation will guide you through the installation, configuration, and usage of Beryllium OS.
¶ 2. Features
- We ship functional installations, not "riced" configurations.
- No experience required. It’s easy; everything is documented, and we love to help!
- Simple and pure by design! No bloat, ensuring a lightweight and responsive system!
- Arch-based - with customization tailored to be polished and easy to use.
- Tailor-made. Designed with low-spec systems in mind.
- Absolute control is always at your hands. Everything we do is open-source and fully documented.
¶ 2.1 Featured tools
- Bakery - our easy to use and reliable system installer!
- Beryllium-News - your terminal speed-dial & news channel!
- Beryllium-Tools - the swiss knife at your hand!
- Beryllium-Config - like raspi-config, but very much inedible!
- GOVCtl - take control of your system's speed!
¶ 3. System Requirements
We support a wide range of devices-from exciting ARM-based systems and experimental RISC-V setups to plain old lame x86_64 Intel/AMD boards. We've got you covered regardless of what you're using, whether you use our mainline .iso installation or refer to the list of devices we passionately support on our table of supported devices.
Support for embedded systems is provided by Beryllium OS Micro, which is a pseudo-operating-system, running under CircuitPython, providing a UNIX-like system with extended hardware support. The documentation for Beryllium OS Micro is currently very limited, you should instead refer to our Github Page.
¶ 3.1 Beryllium OS System Requirements
- Minimum RAM: 512 MB
- Storage: 8 GB microSD card/eMMC/NVMe or larger
¶ 3.2 Beryllium OS Micro System Requirements
- The currently stable supported MCUs are:
ESP32,ESP32-S2,ESP32-S3,ESP32-C3,ESP32-C6,RP2040,RP2350,nRF52840,SAMD51.
The currently unstable MCUs are:ESP32-C2.
The currently unsupported MCU families:SAMD21,litex,mimxrt10xx,efr32,stm. - CircuitPython version >9.1
- 70 KB of RAM
¶ 4. Download
You can find download links for images in our website!
¶ 5. Installation
To simplify your setup, we’ve mapped out a vein of pure ore for you to follow.
¶ 5.1 Device specific image installation
These are images for the boards we love the most. To install these BerylliumOS images on them, either start with our device specific image installation guide, or take a glimpse to the device page at our wiki, which can be found in the navigation bar left of this.
Visit our download site to find out if your device is one of them.
¶ 5.2 Generic installation
If your device isn’t listed on our download site but supports booting UEFI and is based on either x86_64 or the ARM64 architecture, simply follow our guide for a generic installation available here.
¶ 5.3 Docker container installation
- Easy as one line of command:
docker pull berylliumorg/os
¶ 6. Troubleshooting
Take a look at the device pages in the navigation bar on this page to find known issues specific to your device or search the "troubleshooting" tag directly by following this link. If your problem is not listed there, feel free to contact us directly via our support channels.
¶ 7. Community and Support
Join the BerylliumOS community to get support, share ideas, and contribute to the project:
¶ 8. Contributing
Beryllium is an open-source project, and contributions are welcome! You can contribute in the following ways:
- Report bugs and issues
- Submit patches and improvements
- Write and improve documentation
- Help other users in the community forums and chat
¶ 9. About beryllium
Beryllium (Be) is the fourth element on the periodic table and the first of the alkaline earth metals. It is a steel-grey, strong, and lightweight metal known for its remarkable stability and high melting point.
Key Characteristics:
-
Low Density:
It is one of the lightest metals, yet it has one of the highest melting points among light metals (about 1287°C). -
High Rigidity:
Beryllium is exceptionally stiff. Its Young's modulus (a measure of elasticity) is about one-third greater than that of steel. -
Non-Magnetic & Non-Sparking:
These properties make it invaluable for specialized tools used in environments with flammable gases or sensitive electronics. -
X-Ray Transparency:
Because it has a very low atomic number (Z=4), X-rays pass through it easily. This makes it the standard material for X-ray tube windows.
Find out more here.
¶ 10. About Beryllium
The Beryllium Project is the continuation of the sunsetted BredOS project, preserving it's mission.
We will make stable & easy to use ARM desktops a reality.