# DARK HORSE LINUX

A General Purpose Linux Operating System

## VANILLA FLAVORED

Minimal patching, publicly auditable

## Patching Philosophy

Some level of patching is always necessary.

In the case of DHLP, all patches are incorporated into a publicly auditable build process for transparency.

Outside of security-related patching, DHLP utilizes minimal patching of upstream sources in an auditable fashion, ensuring you get the unadulterated F/OSS components you desire.

## Why Vanilla Matters

When you run software on Dark Horse Linux, it behaves the way the upstream developers intended. Upstream documentation applies directly. Bugs you encounter can be reported upstream without first having to determine whether distribution patches caused them.

Security auditors can verify that the code running on your system matches the publicly reviewed upstream source. Configurations from tutorials and guides work without unexpected distribution-specific modifications getting in the way.

Vanilla packaging respects the work of upstream developers and delivers their software as they designed it.

## The Problem With Heavy Patching

Many distributions maintain extensive patch sets that modify upstream behavior. Sometimes this is done for integration, sometimes for policy compliance, and sometimes for reasons lost to institutional memory.

Heavy patching creates divergence. Users troubleshooting issues find that upstream documentation no longer applies. Bug reports get bounced between distribution maintainers and upstream developers. Security patches must be adapted to work with the distribution's modifications, introducing delay and potential error.

The more a distribution patches, the more it becomes responsible for -- and the further it drifts from the software its users actually wanted.

## Transparency

Every patch applied in Dark Horse Linux is publicly visible in the build system. There are no hidden modifications, no proprietary changes, and no patches applied behind closed doors.

If you want to know exactly what has been changed from upstream, you can look. This transparency is fundamental to trust.

### Philosophy

Guiding principles of the project.

### Focused on Purpose

Contributions are evaluated entirely on their merit and purpose.

### Parent Leaf Status

Not based on another distribution. No upstream politics.

### Vanilla Flavored

Minimal patching. Publicly auditable build process.