Welcome To The d77void GNU/Linux Family

Welcome To The d77void GNU/Linux Family

Table of contents:-

A Hands-On First Look

From Live Session to Your Hard Drive

If you’ve ever wandered through the vibrant ecosystem of Linux distributions and found yourself intrigued by the elegant minimalism of Void Linux, then allow us to introduce you to a fascinating offshoot that celebrates and extends Void’s unique philosophy: d77void GNU/Linux. More than just another respin, d77void is a living showcase of what’s possible when you combine Void’s powerful in-house tooling—like `void-mklive` and `void-packages`—with a deep appreciation for the sheer diversity of the Linux desktop. Born from a modest beginning with the Fluxbox window manager, d77void has blossomed into an impressively broad family, offering enthusiasts a curated selection of some of the most compelling tiling window managers and lightweight desktop environments available today.

At its heart, d77void remains faithful to its Void roots. It’s a distribution built for those who value control, simplicity, and a do-it-yourself spirit, but it thoughtfully lowers the barrier to entry by providing a ready-to-run live environment. This makes it a fantastic playground for both seasoned tinkerers and curious newcomers who want to explore the world beyond the mainstream. And what a world it is! The d77void family is truly a cornucopia for desktop connoisseurs. For fans of the classic, full-featured desktop experience, you’ll find familiar and robust options like XFCE and LXQt. If you’re drawn to the sleek, modern aesthetics of the cosmic desktop, that’s here too. But where d77void truly shines is in its extensive and lovingly maintained roster of window managers. From the legendary, hacker-centric `dwm` and the dynamic `awesome` to the popular `i3wm` and the cutting-edge Wayland compositors like `Hyprland`, `Sway`, and `Wayfire`, there’s a flavour for every taste and workflow. It’s a veritable who’s who of the tiling and dynamic window management scene, all wrapped in the reliable and efficient Void Linux base.

A Hands-On First Look

To get a genuine feel for the project, we took three distinct members of the d77void family for a spin in a VMware Workstation virtual environment: the `i3wm`, `dwm`, and `XFCE` editions, all based on the October 2025 release. Booting into each was a smooth and rapid affair, a testament to Void’s lean underpinnings. The live system greets you with two simple accounts—`anon` and `root`—both secured with the password ‘voidlinux’, making it easy to jump right in without any setup fuss.

The `i3wm` experience was a masterclass in keyboard-driven efficiency. The configuration was clean and intuitive, with a well-chosen set of keybindings that got us productive immediately: `Alt+Return` for a terminal, `Alt+D` to summon the Rofi application launcher, and `Alt+X` for a handy power menu. It felt crisp, responsive, and perfectly tuned for a workflow that lives in the terminal and a handful of well-chosen graphical applications. 

In stark contrast, the `dwm` edition offered a purer, more austere experience. True to its ‘suckless’ philosophy, it was incredibly minimal and fast, a blank canvas for those who love to compile their preferences directly into the window manager itself. It was a refreshing reminder of how little you truly need for a powerful computing environment.

The `XFCE` variant provided a comfortable and familiar middle ground. It delivered the full suite of XFCE’s panel, settings, and file management tools, offering a traditional desktop that was both lightweight and highly functional. A note in its README advised against using the experimental XFCE-on-Wayland session with the Labwc window manager, recommending the standard X11 session instead for a fully stable experience—a thoughtful heads-up for users who might be eager to try the latest display protocols.

From Live Session to Your Hard Drive

Once you’ve found your favourite flavour, installing d77void to your machine is a straightforward process, though it’s worth noting that the project has moved away from graphical installers like Calamares. Instead, it relies on its own capable text-based installer, `d77void-installer`. To begin the process, you simply open a terminal in the live session and run `sudo d77void-installer`. 

The installer guides you through the necessary steps with a clean, menu-driven interface. 

For the best results and to preserve the carefully crafted live environment’s configuration, the documentation recommends choosing a ‘local’ install over a ‘network’ install. A final, important tip is to ensure your new user account is added to the `storage` group during setup. 

This small step enables `udiskie` to automatically mount your external drives and partitions, a convenience that’s easy to miss but greatly appreciated in daily use. 

The project's developer privately affirms that in bare metal, d77void GNU/Linux is a blazing fast system. Void is superfast because of its init system, and d77, with very few bloats installed and only the bare minimum of services started, is a delight. Here’s our own personal proof (displayed below) using d77void XFCE edition installed on our Dell Latitude 5410 laptop which features a 64-bit operating system, an x64-based Intel® Core™ i7-10810U CPU running at 1.10GHz (boost up to 1.61GHz), and 32.0 GB of RAM:-

In conclusion, d77void GNU/Linux is more than just a collection of ISOs; it’s a vibrant, community-driven celebration of desktop freedom and the power of the Void Linux framework. It serves as both an accessible entry point for those new to alternative window managers and a convenient, pre-configured platform for veterans who want to skip the setup and dive straight into their preferred workflow. Whether you’re a die-hard tiler or a fan of a more traditional desktop, there’s a member of the d77void family waiting to welcome you.

As of 2nd November 2025, the d77void developer announced that Calamares is now working and there will be a new ISO too (called super) with Gnome and DWM; DWM is already with all his default configs, whilst Gnome is almost vanilla, letting you customise it as you wish.

Disclaimer: All product and project names mentioned in this article are trademarks of their respective owners. Our aim at The Distrowrite Project is to provide accurate, fair, and educational content. However, software is constantly evolving. We strongly advise all users to back up their important data before installing or testing any new operating system. We explicitly distance ourselves from any form of malware, viruses, or harmful content that could compromise digital security. Additionally, we do not support or authorize any improper use of open-source software that violates legal or ethical standards.

References

• d77void GNU/Linux

• d77void GNU/Linux - i3wm

• d77void GNU/Linux - dwm

• d77void GNU/Linux - XFCE

• GitHub - dani-77/d77void

• DistroWatch.com: d77void GNU/Linux

---

👪

Back to top