DietPi, a distribution tailored for single-board PCs utilizing ARM and RISC-V architectures such as Raspberry Pi, Orange Pi, and NanoPi, has recently released version 10.7. This distribution, based on the Debian package base, offers a variety of assemblies for more than 50 boards, including Raspberry Pi, Rock64, Pine64, and Odroid. Additionally, DietPi can also be utilized to create compact environments for virtual machines and x86_64-based PCs. The assemblies for boards are notably smaller in size, averaging around 150 MB in compressed form, in comparison to other operating systems like Raspberry Pi OS and Armbian. The toolkit for building and maintaining the distribution is distributed under the GPLv2 license.
Designed to optimize resource consumption, the DietPi project has developed various utilities to enhance user experience. These include an interface for installing DietPi-Software applications, the DietPi-Config configurator, the DietPi-Backup backup system, and more. The utilities provide a console user interface with menus and dialogs based on whiptail, with support for fully automated installation mode without user intervention.
Notable changes in the latest release of DietPi (version 10.7) include added support for launching isolated containers with virtual network support, running virtual machines built for the ARMv8 architecture, and support for EmbedFire single-board PCs based on the Rockchip RK3588S SoC. Additionally, the home inventory application HomeBox and the video surveillance platform Scrypted have been added to the distribution’s repository. A new network configuration tool called dietpi-network has been introduced, allowing users to configure multiple Ethernet and WiFi networks simultaneously, as well as implement complex configurations with address translators and network bridges. Furthermore, drivers for DVB adapters with USB interface have been added for boards based on Allwinner chips.