blunix.

A quiet Debian host for cloud nodes, named for the Russian Blue. Small by default. Watchful about what it is handed. Able to speak, if you ask it to, before it asks you anything.

Why the name

A quiet cat

Blunix is named for the Russian Blue. It is a famously quiet breed. It is small, it watches a room before it walks in, and when it falls it lands on its feet. The people who build this keep cats. We wanted a host that behaves the same way: says nothing until it is asked, carries little, checks what it is handed, and gets back up when something goes wrong. Each trait below says whether it is in the code today.

Quiet by default. The regular boot starts none of the access programs, and the unit list fits on one screen. In the test image
Small footprint. Debian stable packages and a short default set: ssh, network, time, containers. Root stays available for the person who has to see why a node failed. In the test image
Speaks when you ask. The boot menu beeps when it is ready. Key 1 or key 2 starts speech and braille after the kernel, so a blind operator can answer the install prompts. In the test image and the installer
Watchful. The installer checks the image's sha256 before it writes a disk, and a mismatch writes nothing. Releases are signed with a published release key, starting with v0.1.1-rc.2. A signed boot, where the machine refuses a boot file it cannot verify, is designed. Digest check built. Releases signed. Signed boot designed, not built
Lands on its feet. An update installs beside the running image, and the previous one still boots. That is rollback. Designed, not built
Nine lives, within reason. We will not promise nine. The plan is two: root slots A and B, so there is always one to fall back to. Planned

The short version

Three rules

A quiet Debian host, in three rules. Each one is a promise about how the machine behaves, and the pages linked here say how much of it is built.

Blubie sits upright and perfectly still on a low ledge, tail curled at its side.

Debian, held still

Packages come from Debian stable. An update is a new signed image, and the previous one still boots. Releases are signed, starting with v0.1.1-rc.2. Rollback is designed, not built.

Blubie sits beside a small terminal whose screen glows green.

A shell when it is sick

A default set small enough to read on one screen. Root stays available for a person who has to see why a node failed.

Blubie sits calmly in front of soft concentric sound-wave rings.

Speech before questions

Five numbered boot entries. Speech starts after the kernel, so a blind operator can answer the install prompts. Read the boot entries.

Fresh from GitHub

Latest release

Read live from the releases on afterdarksys/blunix. A new release shows up here without a new deploy of this site.

The latest release loads from GitHub when JavaScript runs. Without it, read the releases on GitHub.

No tall tales

What exists

Built means the code and its tests are in the repository. Live means it answers on the internet. Each line says which.

Boots in a VM, unsignedA test image boots in a VM. The installer ISO boots in a VM, asks for the build hostname and the key with echo off, checks the image digest, and writes the disk. Neither is signed.
Releasesv0.1.0 is an unsigned test release on Debian 13. v0.1.1-rc.2 is the first signed release, a pre-release on Debian 13 with a signed SHA256SUMS. The panel above shows only what GitHub has actually published.
Releases, signedA build server builds official images only from signed git tags. It holds no signing key. Signing happens offline, with a published release key. v0.1.1-rc.2 is the first signed release. Read how to verify a release.
LiveThe API at api.blunix.io, the portal at build.blunix.io, and the build hosts on blnx.io. Sign-in is After Dark Systems SSO. In the portal the browser makes the key and encrypts with age. The server only ever stores ciphertext. Pinned version hosts are not on yet.
Tools, builtThe blunix command for checks and support reports, gitbuild for source builds, the build-proxy for netboot LANs, and the image helpers. Read the tools.
Designed, not builtSigned boot. sysupdate updates and rollback. The image log. Enrolled machines. The service client on each machine. The troubleshoot collector. Google and GitHub sign-in.

The portal is not open yet. Its address is build.blunix.io.

Read the install sequence. Read the tools. Read the five boot entries. Read the release log. Read the account. Read the API. Read the service design. Read the platform design. See how it fits together.

The Blunix cat

Blubie at work

Blubie, the Blunix cat, is a Russian Blue: one even silver-blue coat, green eyes, and a habit of sitting on warm hardware. These are the drawings we use around the site.

At the keyboard.
Reading the manual.
Looking closer.
Late, with a can. Not coffee.
Reading by touch.
Up in the cloud.
Shipping a release.
On watch at night.