The idea of a 10MB Ubuntu installation often refers to "highly compressed" or "minimal" images designed for containers or specialized embedded environments, rather than a full desktop experience. While a standard Ubuntu Desktop ISO
Recompile the entire base system against musl libc instead of glibc. This is a massive undertaking but reduces binary size by 30-40%. Tools like musl-cross-make can help. A static busybox binary replaces coreutils. ubuntu highly compressed 10mb
# Remove snap packages (saves 100s of MB)
sudo snap remove --purge firefox gnome-3-38-2004 core20
Challenges
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Have you successfully created a sub-15MB Ubuntu environment? Share your compression techniques in the forums. And remember: size isn't everything – usability is. The idea of a 10MB Ubuntu installation often
Components:
You won't reach 10MB, but a CLI-only Ubuntu 22.04 server can be stripped to 450 MB disk usage – which compresses to about 180 MB as a tar.xz. Have you successfully created a sub-15MB Ubuntu environment
4. The Closest Thing: Ubuntu Core and Containers
If your goal is to use Ubuntu in a tiny footprint, you aren't looking for a highly compressed ISO; you are looking for a container or a dedicated embedded image.