CX Distro

Debian-based Distribution Engineering for CX Linux

Overview

cx-distro handles everything related to building and distributing CX Linux as a Debian-based operating system. This includes ISO generation, package repository management, automated installation, and supply-chain security.

CX Linux is an AI-native operating system that translates natural language commands into Linux operations, eliminating traditional documentation complexity for server management.

Quick Start

Build ISO (Debian/Ubuntu host required)

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/cxlinux-ai/cortex-distro.git
cd cx-distro

# Install dependencies (requires sudo)
sudo apt-get install -y live-build debootstrap squashfs-tools xorriso \
    isolinux syslinux-efi grub-pc-bin grub-efi-amd64-bin \
    mtools dosfstools dpkg-dev devscripts debhelper fakeroot gnupg

# Build offline ISO (recommended)
chmod +x scripts/build.sh
sudo ./scripts/build.sh offline

# Or use Makefile
make deps  # Install dependencies
make iso   # Build ISO

Output

After a successful build:

output/
├── cx-linux-0.1.0-amd64-offline.iso      # Bootable ISO
├── cx-linux-0.1.0-amd64-offline.iso.sha256
├── packages/
│   ├── cx-archive-keyring_*.deb
│   ├── cx-core_*.deb
│   └── cx-full_*.deb
└── sbom/
    ├── cx-linux-0.1.0.cdx.json           # CycloneDX SBOM
    └── cx-linux-0.1.0.spdx.json          # SPDX SBOM

Architecture

cx-distro/
├── iso/                        # ISO build configuration
│   ├── live-build/             # Debian live-build configs
│   │   ├── auto/               # Build automation scripts
│   │   └── config/             # Package lists, hooks, includes
│   └── preseed/                # Automated installation preseeds
├── packages/                   # Debian package definitions
│   ├── cx-archive-keyring/ # GPG keyring package
│   ├── cx-core/            # Minimal installation meta-package
│   └── cx-full/            # Full installation meta-package
├── repository/                 # APT repository tooling
│   └── scripts/                # repo-manage.sh
├── sbom/                       # SBOM generation (CycloneDX/SPDX)
├── branding/                   # Plymouth theme, wallpapers
├── scripts/                    # Build automation
│   └── build.sh                # Master build script
├── tests/                      # Verification tests
│   ├── verify-iso.sh
│   ├── verify-packages.sh
│   └── verify-preseed.sh
├── .github/workflows/          # CI/CD pipelines
├── Makefile                    # Build targets
└── README.md

Key Components

Component	Description
ISO Builder	Reproducible ISO image pipeline using Debian live-build
APT Repository	Signed package repository with GPG key management
Meta-packages	cx-core (minimal), cx-full (complete)
First-boot	Preseed automation and idempotent provisioning
SBOM	Software Bill of Materials (CycloneDX/SPDX)

Installation Profiles

cx-core (Minimal)

• Base system with Python 3.11+
• Security sandbox (Firejail, AppArmor)
• SSH server
• CX package manager dependencies

cx-full (Recommended)

Everything in cx-core plus:

• Docker and container tools
• Network security (nftables, fail2ban)
• Monitoring (Prometheus node exporter)
• Web server (nginx) and TLS (certbot)
• GPU support prerequisites
• Modern CLI tools (htop, btop, fzf, ripgrep, bat)

Automated Installation

CX Linux supports fully unattended installation via preseed:

# Boot parameter for automated install
preseed/file=/cdrom/preseed/cx.preseed

Preseed Features

• UEFI and BIOS support
• LVM partitioning (default)
• Optional LUKS encryption
• SSH key injection
• Admin user creation
• CX repository configuration

APT Repository

CX uses a signed APT repository with deb822 format:

# /etc/apt/sources.list.d/cx.sources
Types: deb
URIs: https://repo.cxlinux-ai.com/apt
Suites: cx cx-updates cx-security
Components: main
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/cx-archive-keyring.gpg

Repository Management

# Initialize repository
./repository/scripts/repo-manage.sh init

# Add package
./repository/scripts/repo-manage.sh add packages/cx-core_0.1.0-1_all.deb

# Publish (sign and generate metadata)
CX_GPG_KEY_ID=ABCD1234 ./repository/scripts/repo-manage.sh publish

# Create snapshot
./repository/scripts/repo-manage.sh snapshot

# Export for offline use
./repository/scripts/repo-manage.sh export cx-offline-repo

Security

Supply Chain

• Signed ISO images (SHA256/SHA512)
• Signed APT repository (GPG)
• SBOM generation (CycloneDX, SPDX)
• Reproducible builds (goal)

System Hardening

• AppArmor profiles
• Firejail sandboxing
• Secure sysctl defaults
• SSH hardening
• nftables firewall

Build Targets

make help           # Show all targets
make iso            # Build full offline ISO
make iso-netinst    # Build minimal network installer
make package        # Build all Debian packages
make package PKG=cx-core  # Build specific package
make sbom           # Generate SBOM
make test           # Run verification tests
make clean          # Remove build artifacts
make deps           # Install build dependencies

Topics Covered

This repository implements 9 major topics from the CX Linux planning:

• Automated installation and first-boot provisioning
• CX package repository and apt trust model
• Debian base selection and compatibility contract
• Debian packaging strategy for CX components
• GPU driver enablement and packaging (NVIDIA/AMD)
• ISO image build system (live-build)
• Kernel, firmware, and hardware enablement plan
• Reproducible builds, artifact signing, and SBOM outputs
• Upgrade, rollback, and version pinning

Requirements

Build Host

• Debian 12+ or Ubuntu 24.04+
• 10GB+ free disk space
• Internet connection (for package downloads)
• Root/sudo access

Target Hardware

• x86_64 (amd64) architecture
• UEFI or Legacy BIOS
• 2GB+ RAM (4GB+ recommended)
• 20GB+ storage

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Development Workflow

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make changes
4. Run tests: make test
5. Submit PR

Related Repositories

• cortex - AI-powered package manager CLI
• website - cxlinux-ai.com

License

BSL 1.1 - See LICENSE

Support

• Documentation: https://cxlinux-ai.com/docs
• Issues: https://github.com/cxlinux-ai/cx-distro/issues
• Discord: https://discord.gg/cxlinux-ai

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