Bedrock Linux

[JeffRedd]

Is there anyone here who has used, tried and installed Bedrock Linux? Bedrock Linux allows users to install many different Linux distributions at the same time. I was curious and thinking about installing it one of these days. They warn you from the start that it is best suited for experienced Linux users. I did a search here for Bedrock and I only saw a few posts here and they were 10 and more years old. It doesn’t seem like a lot of people (on Kubuntu forums) are using it. I’ve been reading about it online at different websites including the Bedrock Linux site. I think that this could be fun and a real learning experience and probably a pain in the neck also. I was going to install it a few days ago but a message came up that said:

root@jeffredd-ThinkPad-T16-Gen-1:/home/jeffredd/Downloads# sudo sh bedrock-linux-0.7.29-x86_64.sh --hijack
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* *
* Continuing will: *
* - Move the existing install to a temporary location *
* - Install Bedrock Linux on the root of the filesystem *
* - Add the previous install as a new Bedrock Linux stratum *
* *
* YOU ARE ABOUT TO REPLACE YOUR EXISTING LINUX INSTALL WITH A *
* BEDROCK LINUX INSTALL! THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO BE REVERSIBLE! *
* *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Please type "Not reversible!" without quotes at the prompt to continue:

I was worried that this could cause some problems and I didn’t want to spend the time reinstalling the operating system if something went south. I will do this in the future for sure but right now I have other things I need to do that require my attention. I will need a few days to devote my time to this and to get everything all squared away. So have any of you actually installed Bedrock Linux? If you haven’t installed Bedrock Linux what are your thoughts on this?

[claydoh]

I have not, no reason to. Don't see the point, for me personally. Virtual machines and docker/lxc seem more appropriate.

But, in a very linux fashion : "Hey folks, let's take an already complex thing we have here, and add MUCH more complexity, just to see what happens! Because we can! Yeehaw!!"
It is how fun things can develop.

[GreyGeek]

Here's an interesting video demonstrating the installation, but I don't see anything practical about it, and it is a focal point for a lot of misfortune, especially incompatible library files. It's certainly not an option if one wants to avoid using the terminal. If it is used to get the latest and greatest for a specific application I'd use AppImages.

[jlittle]

Bedrock Linux allows users to install many different Linux distributions at the same time.

"Installing at the same time" can be done routinely with btrfs; one doesn't need to worry about space or partitions. qemu/kvm, as Claydoh suggests, is good too, particularly as you can run them at the same time, which is very convenient for some use cases. However, space and memory may need a little juggling.

[claydoh]

Docker/lxc and other similar containers and emulation systems are also widely used to run different implementations of ....whatever.
My NAS (OpenMediaVault - Debian 11-based) has a Qbittorrent container using an Arch core, others using Alpine, and who knows what else.
The Linux "subsystem" available on Chromebooks is an lxc container running Debian.

qemu is routinely used to cross-compile kernels for different hardware, as building Arm kernels and packages on native CPUs can be sllooowwwowow.