Do all compiling in the devx container

I have been seeing misunderstandings about how to compile source code in EasyOS. For example:

https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=16285

And further down that thread, I have replied:

https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?p=164057#p164057

Yes, do all compiling in the devx container; that is what it was created for!

The devx container was introduced mid-2025:

https://bkhome.org/news/202507/easy-containers-has-gone-to-the-next-level.html

But also, another great feature is when you update EasyOS, the "devx_<version>_amd64.sfs" file also gets updated for the devx container. See blog:

https://bkhome.org/news/202507/desktop-update-icon-now-updates-devx-sfs.html

A fundamental feature of EasyOS containers is they support multiple layers. In the case of devx, there is 'easy.sfs' on the bottom, 'devx.sfs' above, and you can add more, such as 'kernel.sfs'.

Another misunderstanding is how to compile the kernel source. In the forum thread linked-to at top of this post, forum member ripspin probably wants to compile a module, hence wants both the kernel.sfs and devx.sfs; however, to compile the kernel, yes you could do it by downloading the kernel source in the devx container.

However, all the details of configuring, patching and compiling the kernel source, so as to be compatible with EasyOS, even creating .pet packages, is made easy by downloading the woofQ2 tarball.

See this blog post:

https://bkhome.org/news/202508/kernel-compiling-now-in-woofq2.html

Online there is a readme:

https://distro.ibiblio.org/quirky/woofq2/woofq2-project/readme.txt

In summary, the devx container has been especially designed for compiling. Always use it, do not clutter the main desktop, do not use other containers.

It is mentioned in some documentation that the devx container has very low security. This is deliberate to handle compiling requirements, but it is still a secure isolated environment. A most important feature is that a mounted partition where you have the source code, will be accessible when you start the devx container -- other containers cannot do this. The exception is the working-partition, this is not accessible in the devx container, except for the 'files' folder.   

Tags: easy