AmnesiaOS is a custom Linux distribution built from scratch using Linux From Scratch (LFS) methodology. At boot, the entire operating system — kernel, userland, and init — loads into RAM. Once it’s running, the storage device is no longer touched. When you power off, nothing is written, nothing is left behind, and RAM is cleared by the hardware. AmnesiaOS is designed for privacy-conscious users, security researchers, incident responders, and anyone who needs a clean, stateless computing environment with zero forensic footprint.Documentation Index
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What Makes AmnesiaOS Different
Traditional Linux distributions rely on a persistent root filesystem — changes you make are written to disk, log files accumulate, swap space extends memory onto a physical device, and journal entries survive reboots. AmnesiaOS eliminates all of that. The OS is packaged as a compact initramfs image. GRUB loads the kernel and initramfs directly into RAM, and the init script mounts atmpfs root in memory. From that point on:
- No swap — there is no swap partition or swap file. All memory operations stay in RAM.
- No persistent root filesystem — the root is a
tmpfsmount, ephemeral by nature. - No journal writes — without a disk-backed filesystem, there are no journal or log files to recover after shutdown.
- RAM cleared on power-off — volatile RAM does not retain data once power is removed, so shutting down leaves no recoverable state on any storage medium.
Key Features
Full RAM Execution
The entire OS runs in memory from the moment the kernel hands off to init. No disk I/O occurs during normal operation.
Zero Forensic Footprint
Shutdown leaves no trace on any storage device. There are no log files, no swap artifacts, and no filesystem journals to recover.
Minimal Footprint (~10 MB initramfs)
The initramfs image is approximately 10 MB, keeping RAM usage tiny and boot times fast even on modest hardware.
Custom Linux Kernel 6.16.1
The kernel is compiled from source with
x86_64_defconfig plus explicit TMPFS, BLK_DEV_INITRD, and SQUASHFS support — no binary blobs from a third-party distro.Built from Scratch (LFS Methodology)
AmnesiaOS follows the Linux From Scratch book to build its own cross-compilation toolchain and core packages. There is no upstream distro base.
Automatic DHCP Network
The init script runs
udhcpc at boot to configure network interfaces automatically. DNS resolution is set up via a dynamically written resolv.conf.GRUB BIOS + EFI Support
The ISO is built with
grub-mkrescue, embedding both a BIOS bootloader and an EFI bootloader so it boots on legacy and modern firmware alike.GPL-3.0 Open Source
AmnesiaOS is fully open source under the GPL-3.0 license. The kernel, init scripts, and build tooling are all available for inspection and modification.
Current Release
The following component versions ship in the current release (v0.2.0):| Component | Version |
|---|---|
| Kernel | Linux 6.16.1 |
| Userland | BusyBox 1.35.0 |
| Bootloader | GRUB 2.12 |
| Filesystem | tmpfs (RAM) |
Project Status
AmnesiaOS is currently in early development under the
0.x.x version series. APIs, init scripts, and ISO layout may change between releases. The upcoming v1.0.0 milestone will introduce a full LFS userland delivered as a SquashFS image, enabling a pivot_root into a richer in-RAM environment without requiring USB media to remain inserted after boot.