GoldenDog Linux
A Debian-based Linux distribution. Built to stay out of your way.
The Story
Alexia built GoldenDog Linux as a tribute to YellowDog Linux — a legendary distribution she used to breathe new life into aging PowerPC Macs. Named after her golden retriever and the project that inspired her, GoldenDog is a clean KDE Plasma experience on a Debian Stable base, built for everyday use and designed to stay out of your way.
When GoldenDog started growing past the testing phase, the infrastructure couldn't keep up.
A few hundred users running apt update simultaneously was enough to bring the original server down.
Professional hosting costs money, and Alexia had a clear principle: she didn't want to charge users for GoldenDog,
and she didn't want to ask for donations.
"I needed something professional. But that costs money. And I don't want to charge people for GoldenDog or ask for donations. I don't need to squeeze money out of people. So this advertising deal seemed like the most honest way for everyone to have their GoldenDog."
shrug.host handles the infrastructure. GoldenDog stays free for everyone. Alexia mentions us in her project because she wants to — and because it's the kind of straightforward arrangement that doesn't require anyone to feel weird about it.
What We Host
The primary service. Bandwidth-ready for hundreds of concurrent apt update runs
without breaking a sweat. GoldenDog's packages stay available even when the distro gets popular.
goldendoglinux.org and its documentation — static site hosting with automatic SSL, fast delivery, and the same infrastructure as paying clients.
ISO images and release artifacts — served reliably so new users can actually get the distro without hitting bandwidth limits.
GoldenDog Server edition is on the drawing board — a minimal, security-hardened variant with deployment presets. When it ships, shrug.host will be ready for it.
Visit GoldenDog Linux
GoldenDog Linux 2 is based on Debian 13 "Trixie" and is currently available for download. Find the documentation, changelog, and community at goldendoglinux.org.