Tiny Core (23 MB) is the recommended option for new users who have a wired network connection. It includes the base Core system and a dynamic FLTK/FLWMgraphical user interface.[5]
Core (17 MB) (also known as "Micro Core Linux") is a smaller variant of Tiny Core without a graphical desktop, though additional extensions can be added to create a system with a graphical desktop environment.[5]
CorePure64 is a port of "Core" to the x86_64 architecture. 64-bit kernel and 64-bit extensions.[6]
dCore (12 MB) is a core made from Debian or Ubuntu compatible files that uses import and the SCE package format,[7] a self-contained package format for the Tiny Core distribution since 5.x series.
Core Plus (106 MB) is "an installation image and not the distribution".[5] It is composed of Tiny Core with additional functionality, most notably wireless support and non-US keyboard support.[5]
Minimal configuration:
Tiny Core needs at least 46 MB of RAM in order to run, and (micro) Core requires at least 28 MB of RAM. The minimum CPU is an i486DX.[8]
Recommended configuration:
A Pentium II CPU and 128 MB of RAM are recommended for Tiny Core.[8]
Design philosophy
The developers describe TCL as "a nomadic ultra small graphical desktop operating system capable of booting from cdrom, pendrive, or frugally from a hard drive."[9] As of version 2.8.1, the core is designed to run primarily in RAM but with three distinct modes of operation:
"Cloud" or Internet mode — A "testdrive" mode using a built-in appbrowser GUI to explore extensions from an online application extension repository loaded into RAM only for the current session.
TCE/Install — A mode for Tiny Core Extensions downloaded and run from a storage partition but kept as symbolic links in RAM.
TCE/CopyFS — A mode which installs applications onto a Linux partition like a more typical Linux installation.[10]
