Zephix is a live Linux operating system based on Debian's stable branch. It runs totally from removable media without touching any files stored on the user's system disk. The aim of Zephix is to provide a free modular operating system that users can carry with them and use wherever there is a laptop or a desktop system available. The default ISO image used to come without any graphical interface, with several desktop modules made available separately; however, starting with version 8 the project adopted the i3 window manager as the sole graphical user interface.
To compare the software in this project to the software available in other distributions, please see our Compare Packages page.
Notes: In case where multiple versions of a package are shipped with a distribution, only the default version appears in the table. For indication about the GNOME version, please check the "nautilus" and "gnome-shell" packages. The Apache web server is listed as "httpd" and the Linux kernel is listed as "linux". The KDE desktop is represented by the "plasma-desktop" package and the Xfce desktop by the "xfdesktop" package.
Colour scheme:green text = latest stable version, red text = development or beta version. The function determining beta versions is not 100% reliable due to a wide variety of versioning schemes.
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The actual reason I used it was to try i3 for Debian without going into too much trouble. It was fast and easy to install or use since it stays on the usb key. I was kinda also looking into getting Tails but I'm not particularly into the anonymity, tor side. I just wanted to try a portable distro. It's not persistent and dont have a huge Library but it kinda makes sense. There's a way to make it persistent on the website but i was kinda lazy to do it. Planning on keeping that os on my key to hop to it from time to time on my work windows 10 laptop. I wish there was vim keyboard based browser like Vieb etc on it, i easily managed to install it through Firefox but without the persistence it was kinda useless since ot wasn't there the next time. To be honest it had the minimal feeling i was expecting, thanks to the green and black wallpaper and the terminal. The default terminal is kitty, not really a fav but guess it's enough. It has a huge potential and to be honest i installed on my key this morning so it's kinda a warm review from a guy not especially into Linux, my last attempt on other distro had network issues but i didn't got it there.
Version: 8 Rating: 8 Date: 2025-08-21 Votes: 2
I really like the concept of Zephix as a Debian-based live system with i3. The idea of including heavy applications like GIMP is brilliant—those are a pain to install on the fly every time you just want to use them.
That said, i3 is tricky to configure in a way that feels like a proper graphical environment rather than just a multi-terminal setup. Even though it already has a keyboard layout switcher, a network icon, and a volume control, it’s still missing a lot of essentials.
There are no preconfigured shortcuts for the basics—a file manager, a graphical text editor, or even a web browser. The themes aren’t unified, so graphical apps end up looking inconsistent. And the default application launcher (dmenu) is only practical if you already know what’s installed; it doesn’t help a newcomer exploring a preconfigured system. I had to run 'ls /usr/share/applications' in a terminal to figure out what GUI apps were available.
Pros:
- Lightweight
- Comes with big, useful apps preinstalled
Cons:
- Feels too raw to be a ready-to-use live environment
- Keep up the development—I won’t judge too harshly.
Version: 8 Rating: 10 Date: 2025-08-19 Votes: 1
Zephix was surely built with speed and efficiency in mind, booting in seconds and delivering a consistently responsive experience, thanks to the ultra-lightweight i3 window manager and the solid Debian base. It surely comes preloaded with a well-curated selection of software that covers essential everyday tasks without burdening the system with unnecessary bloat ;)
For someone like me who is obsessed with speed and performance, seeking a lightweight and fast live Linux OS to carry on a USB stick, it is the ideal choice. I can also use it as a rescue tool for any crashed machines since it runs totally from USB without needing to be installed.