How do I make a linux image which is of my current system?

Question

I want a really minimalistic version of linux to run on my raspberry pi. I need nothing on it apart form the tools to make it work. I can then install the things I need such as python, nano, ssh etc.

Is there a version of linux like that? I was thinking ubuntu snappy but wasn't too sure.

Secondly. If I got it configured exactly how I wanted on my system, is it possible to convert it make to a .img file so that I could flash it onto an SD card to use exactly the same settings on 3/4 of my raspberry Pi s?

Answer 1

• Use any os (there are a few already trimmed down for you but I think this one is the smallest)
• uninstall what you don't want
• make a backup.
• optionally shrink it

Answer 2

Gentoo linux is what you would want to "build" your OS from a minimal environment, but be warned: it will require quite a bit of time and effort to get from start to end-product. Arch linux is a minimalistic OS from the start, giving you only basic tools and programs. A search of the two will give you more details.

Copying a set up you like to another sd card shouldn't be hard. Just copy your current sd card to another using the dd command (sudo dd if='/dev/sdb' of='/dev/sdf' bs=512k for example), or a tool like win32diskimager Beware: dd has potential to over-write your hard drive! Double check your output path if you use this tool.