How to compile the Linux kernel to be as small as possible?

Question

I'm working on a side project which requires me to configure and compile a tiny Linux System based on Ubuntu.

The result should be a tiny OS with the following features:

• A Bootloader
• A Kernel
• A Process
• A Thread
• Miscellaneous (if possible)
• A File System
• Virtual memory
• A Console

I read lots of documents about it, one of them being: http://users.cecs.anu.edu.au/~okeefe/p2b/buildMin/buildMin.html#toc3

I deleted the file system, and recompiled the kernel using make xconfig . I tried to deactivate modules and configurations many times, but it's not working for me.

How can I configure the kernel for the OS with only the features I listed above? What options can I disable or enable while still having a working system?

Answer 1

Having the Kernel very small is not important for Ubuntu, so maybe choosing Ubuntu is part of your problem. I would use as starting point what OpenWRT does. They do a good work making the Kernel small and it is easy to get started. OpenWrt Buildroot – Usage

Answer 2

try Linux From Scratch. It is a step by step approach on building a minimal Linux system from which you can evolve later on. http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/ .

Answer 3

Use Gentoo Linux distribution - it's great for practicing on creation of Linux systems. Gentoo has excellent setup documentation, for example about configuring the kernel .

And Gentoo is a little easier and faster to setup than Linux From Scratch (LFS). If you want to go deeper, then LFS may be a good learning step too.