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Ask HN: Minimalist OS to run a WebApp?

6 points by Raed667 ↗ HN
I'm looking into building a "greeting screen" web application that just displays some data in full-screen.

I was thinking about system requirements,and I came up with this:

- OS: Debian

- Electron: Wrapper for the web app

- Hardware: Raspberry-pi or an equivalent cheap solution.

Does HN have any better insights or previous experiences?

7 comments

[ 3.9 ms ] story [ 28.9 ms ] thread
marenkay
Why Electron, you could ditch it and just use Go. Works fine on ARM and has all the tools for web apps, APIs, etc.
Raed667
I'm just looking to display a browser window in fullscreen (no interaction).

The server is remote

thatcat
so.. you're running debian minimal with no window manager then just invoking chromium via commandline and browsing to a web app?
symfony_
We are running chromebits. Runs on ChromeOS, simple to build a 'kiosk app' which automatically starts on startup. Costs more than RPI.

Very easy to lock up, easily administered (reboot/screenshot) from the management console. We have a few hundreds of them out there, works like a charm and pretty much no work.

I'd advise against the likes of RPI's if you need a few and remote manage them. Deploying new app versions is very easy and the thing just works. Don't underestimate the freedom it gives to not have to do any damn thing on the box, ever. When working at scale the time you save is enormous.

mindcrash
Alpine with Xorg plus your Electron app, on a Pi.