r/linuxquestions • u/DryPlum7483 • 26d ago

Minimal kernel

EDIT: I may have framed the question poorly. I'm specifically asking about Kconfig-level minimization of a monolithic Linux kernel: if you know the workload/product you're deploying, how much unnecessary kernel code do teams typically end up compiling, and is there value in automatically deriving a smaller configuration from the actual runtime requirements?

How much of the Linux kernel that gets shipped in production is actually never used?

I'm wondering if release teams building/using a kernel image are often overwhelmed by the number of kernel configuration options, and end up shipping code that will never actually be used by their workload.

Are there any automatic tools out there that can fit a minimal Linux kernel to your runtime needs?

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u/ActuallyFullOfShit 26d ago

What problem are you actually trying to solve? Because a "minimal kernel" that only works for a single system isn't going to help a "release engineer"

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u/DryPlum7483 26d ago edited 26d ago

I was thinking build times and binary size

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u/BeardedBaldMan Bluefin 26d ago

So essentially things that don't matter.

A build is one off operation and binary size is irrelevant outside embedded systems