Added: Simple GUI-Based Linux Distro Creation Guide

Author: mranv

README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,191 @@
+# Simple GUI-Based Linux Distro Creation Guide
+
+This guide will walk you through creating a simple graphical Linux distribution based on BusyBox and Nano-X, adapted to run on QEMU.
+
+## Prerequisites
+
+Ensure you have a Debian-based system and install the necessary dependencies:
+
+```sh
+sudo apt update && sudo apt install wget bzip2 libncurses-dev flex bison bc libelf-dev libssl-dev xz-utils autoconf gcc make libtool git vim libpng-dev libfreetype-dev g++ extlinux nano
+```
+
+## Step-by-Step Instructions
+
+### 1. Download and Prepare the Linux Kernel
+
+1. **Download the Linux Kernel:**
+
+   ```sh
+   wget https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v6.x/linux-6.9.4.tar.xz
+   ```
+
+2. **Extract the Kernel:**
+
+   ```sh
+   tar xf linux-6.9.4.tar.xz
+   cd linux-6.9.4
+   ```
+
+3. **Configure the Kernel:**
+
+   ```sh
+   make menuconfig
+   ```
+
+4. **Compile the Kernel:**
+
+   ```sh
+   make -j 4
+   ```
+
+5. **Create a Directory for the Distro:**
+   ```sh
+   mkdir /distro
+   cp arch/x86/boot/bzImage /distro/
+   ```
+
+### 2. Set Up BusyBox
+
+1. **Download BusyBox:**
+
+   ```sh
+   cd ~
+   wget https://busybox.net/downloads/busybox-1.36.1.tar.bz2
+   ```
+
+2. **Extract BusyBox:**
+
+   ```sh
+   tar xf busybox-1.36.1.tar.bz2
+   cd busybox-1.36.1
+   ```
+
+3. **Configure BusyBox:**
+
+   ```sh
+   make menuconfig
+   ```
+
+4. **Compile and Install BusyBox:**
+   ```sh
+   make -j 4
+   make CONFIG_PREFIX=/distro install
+   ```
+
+### 3. Set Up MicroWindows
+
+1. **Clone MicroWindows:**
+
+   ```sh
+   git clone https://github.com/ghaerr/microwindows
+   cd microwindows/src/
+   ```
+
+2. **Configure MicroWindows:**
+
+   ```sh
+   cp Configs/config.linux-fb config
+   nano config
+   ```
+
+3. **Compile MicroWindows:**
+
+   ```sh
+   make -j 4
+   make install
+   make x11-demo
+   ```
+
+4. **Set Up a Sample GUI Application:**
+
+   ```sh
+   mkdir x11-demo
+   cd x11-demo/
+   nano gui.c
+   ```
+
+5. **Compile the GUI Application:**
+   ```sh
+   cd ..
+   mv x11-demo /distro/
+   cd /distro/x11-demo/
+   gcc gui.c -lNX11 -lnano-X -I /microwindows/src/nx11/X11-local/
+   mv a.out /distro/nirs-test-app
+   ```
+
+### 4. Prepare the Distro Environment
+
+1. **Create Necessary Directories:**
+
+   ```sh
+   mkdir -p /distro/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/
+   mkdir /distro/lib64
+   ```
+
+2. **Copy Required Libraries:**
+
+   ```sh
+   cp /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpng16.so.16 /distro/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpng16.so.16
+   cp /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libz.so.1 /distro/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libz.so.1
+   cp /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libfreetype.so.6 /distro/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libfreetype.so.6
+   cp /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6 /distro/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6
+   cp /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libm.so.6 /distro/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libm.so.6
+   cp /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libbrotlidec.so.1 /distro/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libbrotlidec.so.1
+   cp /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 /distro/lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2
+   cp /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libbrotlicommon.so.1 /distro/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libbrotlicommon.so.1
+   ```
+
+3. **Copy Nano-X Binaries:**
+   ```sh
+   cp -r /microwindows/src/bin /distro/nanox
+   cp /microwindows/src/runapp /distro/nanox/
+   ```
+
+### 5. Create the Bootable Image
+
+1. **Create and Format the Image:**
+
+   ```sh
+   cd /distro/
+   truncate -s 200MB boot.img
+   mkfs boot.img
+   mkdir mnt
+   mount boot.img mnt
+   ```
+
+2. **Install Extlinux:**
+
+   ```sh
+   extlinux -i mnt/
+   ```
+
+3. **Copy Files to the Image:**
+
+   ```sh
+   mv bin bzImage lib lib64 linuxrc nanox nirs-test-app sbin usr mnt
+   ```
+
+4. **Create Additional Directories:**
+
+   ```sh
+   cd mnt/
+   mkdir var etc root dev tmp proc
+   ```
+
+5. **Unmount the Image:**
+   ```sh
+   cd ..
+   umount mnt
+   ```
+
+### Links
+
+- [Linux Kernel](https://www.kernel.org/)
+- [BusyBox](https://busybox.net/)
+- [MicroWindows](https://github.com/ghaerr/microwindows)
+- [X11 Hello](https://gist.github.com/nir9/098d83c7...)
+
+With these steps, you will have created a simple graphical Linux distribution ready to run on QEMU.
+
+<!-- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guSDz5Iwgw0&t=3s -->