Debian-based Distribution Engineering for CX Linux
cx-distro handles everything related to building and distributing CX Linux as a Debian-based operating system. This includes ISO generation, package repository management, automated installation, and supply-chain security.
CX Linux is an AI-native operating system that translates natural language commands into Linux operations, eliminating traditional documentation complexity for server management.
# Clone repository git clone https://github.com/cxlinux-ai/cx-distro.git cd cx-distro # Install dependencies (requires sudo) sudo apt-get install -y live-build debootstrap squashfs-tools xorriso \ isolinux syslinux-efi grub-pc-bin grub-efi-amd64-bin \ mtools dosfstools dpkg-dev devscripts debhelper fakeroot gnupg # Build offline ISO (recommended) chmod +x scripts/build.sh sudo ./scripts/build.sh offline # Or use Makefile make deps # Install dependencies make iso # Build ISO
After a successful build:
output/
├── cx-linux-0.1.0-amd64-offline.iso # Bootable ISO
├── cx-linux-0.1.0-amd64-offline.iso.sha256
├── packages/
│ ├── cx-archive-keyring_*.deb
│ ├── cx-core_*.deb
│ └── cx-full_*.deb
└── sbom/
├── cx-linux-0.1.0.cdx.json # CycloneDX SBOM
└── cx-linux-0.1.0.spdx.json # SPDX SBOM
cx-distro/
├── iso/ # ISO build configuration
│ ├── live-build/ # Debian live-build configs
│ │ ├── auto/ # Build automation scripts
│ │ └── config/ # Package lists, hooks, includes
│ └── preseed/ # Automated installation preseeds
├── packages/ # Debian package definitions
│ ├── cx-archive-keyring/ # GPG keyring package
│ ├── cx-core/ # Minimal installation meta-package
│ └── cx-full/ # Full installation meta-package
├── repository/ # APT repository tooling
│ └── scripts/ # repo-manage.sh
├── sbom/ # SBOM generation (CycloneDX/SPDX)
├── branding/ # Plymouth theme, wallpapers
├── scripts/ # Build automation
│ └── build.sh # Master build script
├── tests/ # Verification tests
│ ├── verify-iso.sh
│ ├── verify-packages.sh
│ └── verify-preseed.sh
├── .github/workflows/ # CI/CD pipelines
├── Makefile # Build targets
└── README.md
| Component | Description |
|---|---|
| ISO Builder | Reproducible ISO image pipeline using Debian live-build |
| APT Repository | Signed package repository with GPG key management |
| Meta-packages | cx-core (minimal), cx-full (complete) |
| First-boot | Preseed automation and idempotent provisioning |
| SBOM | Software Bill of Materials (CycloneDX/SPDX) |
- Base system with Python 3.11+
- Security sandbox (Firejail, AppArmor)
- SSH server
- CX package manager dependencies
Everything in cx-core plus:
- Docker and container tools
- Network security (nftables, fail2ban)
- Monitoring (Prometheus node exporter)
- Web server (nginx) and TLS (certbot)
- GPU support prerequisites
- Modern CLI tools (htop, btop, fzf, ripgrep, bat)
CX Linux supports fully unattended installation via preseed:
# Boot parameter for automated install
preseed/file=/cdrom/preseed/cx.preseed- UEFI and BIOS support
- LVM partitioning (default)
- Optional LUKS encryption
- SSH key injection
- Admin user creation
- CX repository configuration
CX uses a signed APT repository with deb822 format:
# /etc/apt/sources.list.d/cx.sources
Types: deb
URIs: https://repo.cxlinux-ai.com/apt
Suites: cx cx-updates cx-security
Components: main
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/cx-archive-keyring.gpg
# Initialize repository ./repository/scripts/repo-manage.sh init # Add package ./repository/scripts/repo-manage.sh add packages/cx-core_0.1.0-1_all.deb # Publish (sign and generate metadata) CX_GPG_KEY_ID=ABCD1234 ./repository/scripts/repo-manage.sh publish # Create snapshot ./repository/scripts/repo-manage.sh snapshot # Export for offline use ./repository/scripts/repo-manage.sh export cx-offline-repo
- Signed ISO images (SHA256/SHA512)
- Signed APT repository (GPG)
- SBOM generation (CycloneDX, SPDX)
- Reproducible builds (goal)
- AppArmor profiles
- Firejail sandboxing
- Secure sysctl defaults
- SSH hardening
- nftables firewall
make help # Show all targets make iso # Build full offline ISO make iso-netinst # Build minimal network installer make package # Build all Debian packages make package PKG=cx-core # Build specific package make sbom # Generate SBOM make test # Run verification tests make clean # Remove build artifacts make deps # Install build dependencies
This repository implements 9 major topics from the CX Linux planning:
- Automated installation and first-boot provisioning
- CX package repository and apt trust model
- Debian base selection and compatibility contract
- Debian packaging strategy for CX components
- GPU driver enablement and packaging (NVIDIA/AMD)
- ISO image build system (live-build)
- Kernel, firmware, and hardware enablement plan
- Reproducible builds, artifact signing, and SBOM outputs
- Upgrade, rollback, and version pinning
- Debian 12+ or Ubuntu 24.04+
- 10GB+ free disk space
- Internet connection (for package downloads)
- Root/sudo access
- x86_64 (amd64) architecture
- UEFI or Legacy BIOS
- 2GB+ RAM (4GB+ recommended)
- 20GB+ storage
See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch
- Make changes
- Run tests:
make test - Submit PR
BSL 1.1 - See LICENSE
- Documentation: https://cxlinux-ai.com/docs
- Issues: https://github.com/cxlinux-ai/cx-distro/issues
- Discord: https://discord.gg/cxlinux-ai
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