An attempt to bring back the long-dormant BlankOn project
from the depths of /dev/null
BlankOn is an Indonesian Linux distribution based on Debian and an open-source movement since 2004. After years of dormancy, a new team has rebuilt the infrastructure and shipped the first bootable ISO from our own IRGSH build system. Download it, boot it, hack on it.
FAQ
Until the revival is complete, we will be operating with technical contributors only. We are opening positions for core contributors, but the selection process will be strict for several reasons. We collaborate in a public Telegram group where anyone can watch and join the movements then let the contribution happen naturally. We also desperately need donations in the form of hardware, bandwidth (server colocation), or cold hard cash. We have transparent reports here to show where every rupiah goes. Please contact @senyumslamet if you want to donate.
To become one, you need to prove just how geeky you really are and the willingness to get your hands dirty with your terminal emulator. Gen-Z is preferred, although we don't have a hard limit on that. Bring the spirit, prove you're one of us then you're in.
Please send your CV to herpiko@gmail.com then we will prepare an interview session for you.
Please send your CV to herpiko@gmail.com then we will prepare an interview session for you.
Not yet. Definitely not right now. At this stage, we need people who already have intermediate Linux skills and an unhealthy amount of curiosity to help make this revival actually work. Mentors won't feed you from zero. You should already be comfortable living inside a terminal and occasionally arguing with it.
After the revival, BlankOn will reinforce its original goal of improving/leveraging people's capabilities by opening a broader range of non-technical roles. BlankOn will also lower contribution barriers while enforcing a stricter Code of Conduct, aimed at ensuring inclusivity and keeping the community healthy and contributor-friendly. The project will also work to maintain an optimal ratio of technical to non-technical contributors to make the technical product (at this point, a Linux distribution) sustainable and healthy.
You can download and install a fully-fledged, brand-new BlankOn Linux image, built, baked, and shipped directly from IRGSH. If you can boot it, run it, and hack on it, that is our revival milestone.
Please check out the Updates section below.
Before the end of 2026. Maybe sooner if you help us by contributing.
Updates
The BlankOn Foundation has been legally established. The board members are Rusmanto, Akhmat Safrudin, Slamet Santoso, Iwan Setiawan, and Herpiko Dwi Aguno. The BlankOn Foundation is a separate legal entity established to support the broader open-source ecosystem, communities, and projects in Indonesia. Meanwhile, BlankOn Linux will continue as an independent open-source project, with the Foundation providing full financial and legal support. https://blankon.id/en/team
Saputro Aryulianto borrowed us a beefy arm64 machine to explore the potential of BlankOn distribution on ARM architecture. We already started to sync arm64 port from upstream. http://arsip-dev.blankonlinux.id/dev/dists/verbeek/Contents-arm64
Praya, the successor of Manokwari Desktop, is born. You can find the source code on GitHub or test it via our live ISO image. https://github.com/BlankOn/praya-gnome-shell-extension
IRGSH is up and working end to end on BlankOn cloud infrastructure, ready to package and ship anything. http://irgsh.blankonlinux.id/submissions/
We have successfully built the first bootable ISO image since the revival. It is built against our own repository, which is synced with the Debian Sid repository. http://jahitan.blankonlinux.id/
Saputro Aryulianto, a former contributor of the BlankOn project, had parked the blankonlinux.id domain for years as a precaution. Since blankonlinux.or.id was taken by someone else, he donated this .id domain to us. Thank you!
With the help of Estu Fardani, we gained access to rafi.blankon.id. We also coordinated with Mr. Dhanank, who sponsored us on behalf of HostBadak, to extend the sponsorship of Rafi, including its colocation and bandwidth.
We had our first weekly meeting with the core contributors.
We just wrapped up the first BlankOn Revival Project kickoff meeting! Everyone finally got to meet each other and start talking about the revival plans.
STT-NF just became our first sponsor in this revival project, by hosting a Lenovo M920x (8 cores / 64GB RAM / 1TB SSD / 4x Gigabit LAN) in their campus, which will be the new host for IRGSH.
Core contributor positions are now open, targeting young, geeky enthusiasts.
During break of OpenInfra Days 2025, @stwn and @herpiko met and discussed the possibility of reviving the project. New board members are formed, including the current release manager @senyumslamet and former BlankOn contributor @somat.
Utian Ayuba opened a discussion titled "Mau Dibawa Ke Mana BlankOn Linux?" in BlankOn Telegram group.