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What would you differently, if you could redesign Linux userland from scratch?

by signa11 on 10/20/25, 2:29 AM with 5 comments

Prompted from a similar discussion at lobsters (and i am copying the text verbatim)

    If we kept Linux the kernel exactly as it is today, but redesigned 
    everything in userland from scratch (the init system, the filesystem 
    hierarchy, the shell, libc, packaging, configuration, dbus, polkit, PAM, 
    etc.), what would you do differently, and why?
here is the link to the original lobsters post: https://lobste.rs/s/ko5i9y/if_you_could_redesign_linux_userland_from

  • by d3Xt3r on 10/21/25, 2:31 AM

    I'd use:

    - Nitro instead of systemd

    - musl instead of glibc

    - LLVM/clang instead of gcc

    - uutils instead of GNU coreutils

    - apk as a package manager

    - r/o filesystem in a virtual A/B configuration for immutability and instant-reboots (no post-update reboot delays unlike rpm-ostree).

    - A minimal Rust-based WM/DE similar to XFCE/LabWC but with user-friendly GUI config and sane defaults, with zero GTK and Qt components.

    - Ideally all GUIs will be coded in something fast and minimal, like e-GUI. Ideally the entire system will be free of bloat like GTK/Qt/Electron/Javascript crap, and anything that uses it will be containerised.

  • by jsifly on 10/20/25, 3:16 AM

    I'd have init as a JavaScript runtime, probably some fork of Node that's been rewritten in a memory-safe language like Ada or Rust, and everything else in the system as JavaScript or, preferably, TypeScript programs. Basically, start from scratch and do it more safely and better. Like Android tried to but more modern.

  • by brudgers on 10/22/25, 5:47 PM

      Nothing.

  Because breaking existing systems is bad design.
                                                 ^ That's a period

  • by gus_massa on 10/21/25, 1:07 AM

    Isn't Android somewhat like that?

  • by firefax on 10/22/25, 8:16 PM

    replace bash with qbasic