RaspArch is an open source and freely distributed operating system derived from the well-known and lightweight Arch Linux ARM distro and optimized to run on the Raspberry Pi 2 and Raspberry Pi 3 computer boards.
As its developer describes it, RaspArch is a “ready-to-go” ARM system that works only with the second-generation if the Raspberry Pi tiny computer and it is built around the LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) project.
Comes with all the popular open-source apps you need
The distribution comes with all the popular open-source applications you need in your daily computer life, including the powerful Mozilla Firefox web browser and GIMP image editor. In addition, the GCC 5, Wicd, and GParted software are included as well.
Under the hood, we can mention that RaspArch is powered by a custom 4.1.9-4-ARCH Linux kernel that has been optimized for the Raspberry Pi 3 computer. It is distributed as a TAR archive that must be extracted and deployed onto a Micro SD card.
When booting the RaspArch OS on your Raspberry Pi 2 device, you will be dropped to a terminal prompt, where you must login as root using the root password. To start the LXDE desktop environment, you must run the ‘startx’ command in the console.
Designed for the enthusiast Linux users
As Arch Linux is not the operating system for the regular user, RaspArch is targeted at the enthusiast/advanced Linux user who wants to have an Arch Linux-powered tiny computer near him/her, and who does not mind running commands in a terminal window from time to time.
However, RaspArch can be used like any other Arch Linux system. You can install additional packages from both the official Arch Linux software repositories or from AUR (Arch User Repository). The distribution is very fast and always includes the latest software versions available.
