@latein @HatkeshiatorTND @SuperDicq @hj @sun @Wiz @hakui The claim that Alpine does not use GNU coreutils is false - Alpine is designed to use GNU coreutils, except there is a cut down installer without coreutils just to be edgy (the user goes and installs coreutils later).

All of such false claims are dependent on the user thinking it's; "all Linux" and not actually looking at it and realizing it's GNU/Linux.


https://www.alpinelinux.org/downloads/
>GnuPG signatures right there on the installation page.
Looks pretty GNU to me, but lets keep going.

>"Just enough to get you started. Network connection is required."
It's clear that the standard install image is just enough to get you started for the install of any of the missing GNU packages.

7z l alpine-standard-3.23.0-x86_64.iso
2025-12-04 02:51:04 D.... boot/grub
2025-12-04 02:48:21 ..... 1474560 1474560 boot/grub/efi.img

There's the GNU GRUB OS - it's clearly GNU/Linux, but lets keep going.

cd apks/x86_64
ls gnutls-3.8.11-r0.apk libunistring-1.4.1-r0.apk ncurses-terminfo-base-6.5_p20251123-r0.apk wget-1.25.0-r2.apk gmp-6.3.0-r4.apk libncursesw-6.5_p20251123-r0.apk libidn2-2.3.8-r0.apk

That's a lot of GNU packages for something not GNU and that's ignoring the GNU dependences for all the other packages.


But there's an "Extended" install image as well; "Most common used packages included. Suitable for routers and servers." - which seems to in fact be what you would use if you don't want pretty much nothing to be included, just to be edgy.


cd apks/x86_64

Just in one pass I found;
ls coreutils-9.8-r1.apk coreutils-env-9.8-r1.apk coreutils-fmt-9.8-r1.apk coreutils-sha512sum-9.8-r1.apk gdbm-1.26-r0.apk gmp-6.3.0-r4.apk gnutls-3.8.11-r0.apk grub-2.12-r8.apk grub-bios-2.12-r8.apk grub-efi-2.12-r8.apk libgcc-15.2.0-r2.apk libidn2-2.3.8-r0.apk libncursesw-6.5_p20251123-r0.apk ncurses-terminfo-6.5_p20251123-r0.apk ncurses-terminfo-base-6.5_p20251123-r0.apk parted-3.6-r2.apk readline-8.3.1-r0.apk tar-1.35-r4.apk wget-1.25.0-r2.apk

Yes, that's right, Alpine GNU/Linux ships GNU coreutils, GNU grub, GNU ncurses, GMP, libgcc, GNU libidn2, GNU parted, GNU readline, GNU tar and GNU wget by default!

All the other packages look very similar to what comes with the default install of a typical GNU/Linux, a lot of proprietary software is included too.

(There's even Quagga there, which is an interesting choice and well that is still GNU code, as it was forked from GNU zebra).


Therefore Alpine is a GNU/Linux distro (with the only large change seemingly being musl instead of glibc - while GNU coreutils is used and even the GNU GRUB OS is used), although there is a barebones BusyBox/Linux installer just to be edgy (but of course still has GNU in it).


>>the first thing its users do is install the GNU software they're "missing"!
Source; Anyone who isn't insane will realize how much important software is missing and install it.

>>it comes with GNU coreutils by default (which is a blatant lie, it having grub also being a lie as far as I can tell)
>Tell the truth of what I determined by looking at the non-edgy installer. >I'm a liar.

>>it not using glibc makes it not GNU I know better
I know better than such weak willed sort, as merely not using glibc doesn't magically make a GNU distro with most packages you would expect from a GNU distro, except for glibc, not GNU.

>>and there's a GNU package somewhere in a repo you can optionally install, that makes it GNU!
All of the popular GNU packages (several dozen) are available in the repository - I'm not going to handhold you, you have to look yourself.

>there because some piece of paper says you can't use it a certain way on top of the designer making it so you can't use it as a library
The license says you can use it for any purpose - it just doesn't grant the power to take the users freedom.

You can use GCC as a library - for example GCC JIT, the developers just didn't go out of their way to assist proprietary software developers in making GCC proprietary.