Requirements

This page will tell you what requirements you will need to use the Alpine Linux operating system:
__TOC__
== Hardware requirements ==
For installation and usage consider that Alpine can run on several kinds of devices, from personal computers to video game consoles, and as such you must verify the details below:
* CPU architecture
* Memory
* Storage
* Peripherals
=== Architectures ===
CPU architecture is an instruction set design that defines how a processor is used by software. Widely used across desktops and servers are x86 (mostly i686) and x86_64 (also known as amd64). There are other supported computer architectures that are not "x86", like mainframes, servers, and embedded devices (such as routers like Sonicwall and Cisco ones). The table below represents architectures supported by Alpine:
=== Memory ===
Below are shown minimum RAM amounts for various installation types and phases:
Target Arch	Minimum RAM to start	Minimum RAM to install	Minimum RAM for GUI desktop	Enough for GUI work
x86_64 	128 Megs 	320 Megs 	512 Megs 	8 Gigs
x86 	96 Megs 	128 Megs 	320 Megs 	3 Gigs
ppc64le 	128 Megs 	256 Megs 	2 Gigs 	8 Gigs
armhf 	256 Megs 	512 Megs 	1 Gigs 	6 Gigs
armv7 	256 Megs 	512 Megs 	1 Gigs 	6 Gigs
aarch64 	256 Megs 	512 Megs 	2 Gigs 	8 Gigs
s390x 	128 Megs 	256 Megs 	2 Gigs 	N/A
=== Storage ===
This means any external or internal storage device that can be added after or before installation to use by the Alpine Linux system. 
PATA and SATA hard disk drives are supported, as well as any USB or SD card that can be detected by the Linux during installation.
=== Peripherals ===
This means any external or internal device that can be added before or after installation and detected by Alpine Linux. The peripherals that are supported depends on the current version of the Linux kernel.
Almost any GPU is supported, but certain features and 3D acceleration might depend on MESA drivers:
* Intel: Most Intel chips since approximately 2001 should work with the exception of PowerVR-based chips (such as GMA 500, GMA 600, GMA 3600, GMA 3650)
* ATI/AMD, only Radeon series with exception of recent last two years, Rage r128/mach64 series are unsupported.
* Nvidia: support for Nvidia GPUs is limited since their drivers are proprietary and built for GNU libc. Nouveau drivers are available as free alternative.
* 3DfX, S3 Savage, SiS, VIA, and Matrox are all completely unsupported since kernel 6.3 (Alpine 3.18 was the most recent version that had even the slimmest chances of these devices working)
== Software requirements ==
=== Media ===
Alpine boot images are provided on downloads page or on a mirror
The images should be verified as in Installation, to ensure the file wasn't corrupted during transfer.
=== Booting ===
The following table describes supported firmware types, for more information please check Alpine and UEFI wiki page.
Supported Arch	Supported firmware 	Supported Types
x86_64 	Coreboot, Vendor/OEM	BIOS, UEFI
x86 	Coreboot, Vendor/OEM	BIOS, UEFI
ppc64le 	Coreboot, Vendor/OEM	UEFI
armhf 	Uboot, Vendor/OEM 	UEFI
armv7 	Uboot, Vendor/OEM 	UEFI
aarch64 	Vendor/OEM 	UEFI
s390x 	Vendor/OEM 	unknown
=== Space ===
A default installation of Alpine requires at least 1GB of free space. You can see various partition configurations and their sizes on Alpine disk layout for UEFI/BIOS at Alpine and UEFI wiki page.
= See Also =
* Installation
Category:Installation
Category:Hardware
__FORCETOC__