AC Native OS Size Analysis #

Date: 2026-03-19 Build: native-notepat-latest (kernel 6.14.2) Source: Live data from oven.aesthetic.computer:/opt/oven/native-cache/

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1. Size Summary #

Metric	Size
vmlinuz (compressed, shipped)	271 MB (284,120,064 bytes)
Initramfs uncompressed (cpio)	781 MB
Initramfs compressed (cpio.lz4)	306 MB (320,097,197 bytes)
Initramfs root (on disk)	783 MB
Kernel overhead (vmlinuz - initramfs)	~-35 MB (kernel re-compresses with gzip)
vmlinux (uncompressed ELF)	357 MB
Manifest entries	1,893 files

Compression pipeline: The initramfs is first compressed with LZ4 (781 MB -> 306 MB, 2.55x ratio). The kernel then wraps everything with gzip (CONFIG_KERNEL_GZIP=y), yielding a final vmlinuz of 271 MB. The effective compression ratio from initramfs root to vmlinuz is 2.89x.

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2. Component Breakdown #

2.1 Top-Level Directory Sizes #

Directory	Size	% of 783 MB
bin/	234 MB	29.9%
lib/ (firmware + x86_64 libs)	275 MB	35.1%
lib64/ (shared libraries + DRI)	263 MB	33.6%
usr/ (ALSA, XKB, sbin)	8.4 MB	1.1%
pieces/	616 KB	0.1%
etc/	684 KB	0.1%
Other (dev, proc, sys, scripts, sbin, var)	<100 KB	~0%

Critical finding: lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/ and lib64/ contain 214 MB of duplicated libraries (same files, different inodes -- not hardlinks or symlinks). This is the single largest waste.

2.2 Detailed Component Breakdown #

Core Binary #

Component	Size	Notes
ac-native	1.3 MB	The AC piece runner (dynamically linked, C + QuickJS)

Claude Code #

Component	Size	Notes
bin/claude	226 MB	Bun SEA binary, not stripped, 1,061 symbols exposed

This single file accounts for 28.9% of the uncompressed initramfs and is the #1 largest item.

JavaScript Runtime #

Component	Size	Notes
pieces/ (34 .mjs files)	616 KB	clock.mjs (284K) is largest
jslib/	4 KB	KidLisp bundle (empty -- bundled by ac-os step)

Shared Libraries (lib64/) -- Top 15 #

Library	Size	Purpose	Duplicate in lib/x86_64?
libLLVM.so.20.1	137 MB	LLVM backend for Mesa gallium	YES (137 MB)
libgallium-25.2.8.so	42 MB	Mesa gallium GPU driver (iris/i915/swrast)	No (lib64 only)
libicudata.so.74	30 MB	ICU Unicode data tables	YES (30 MB)
libcrypto.so.3	5.1 MB	OpenSSL crypto	YES
libflite_cmu_us_slt.so.1	4.0 MB	Flite TTS female voice (slt)	YES
libflite_cmu_us_slt.so.2.2	4.0 MB	Same voice, version duplicate in lib64	No
libstdc++.so.6	2.5 MB	C++ standard library	YES
libicuuc.so.74	2.1 MB	ICU Unicode common	YES
libc.so.6	2.1 MB	glibc	YES
libgnutls.so.30	2.0 MB	GnuTLS	YES
libxml2.so.2	1.9 MB	XML parser	YES
libunistring.so.5	1.7 MB	Unicode string handling	YES
libp11-kit.so.0	1.7 MB	PKCS#11 module loader	YES
libflite_cmu_us_kal.so.1	1.4 MB	Flite TTS male voice (kal)	YES
libglib-2.0.so.0	1.3 MB	GLib	YES

Total files: 121 shared libraries in lib64/ (50 are symlinks).

Library Duplication Detail #

The build script copies libs to lib64/ for most binaries, but ac-native libs go to lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/ (via canonical path resolution). The result is two full copies:

Path	Size	Role
lib64/	263 MB	Used by claude, cage, busybox, git, curl, etc.
lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/	217 MB	Used by ac-native (canonical Debian paths)
Overlap	214 MB	Same content, different inodes

Firmware #

Category	Size	Files	Notes
i915 GPU	27 MB	128 blobs	All Intel GPU generations
Intel SOF audio	31 MB	~180+ files	4 directories (sof, sof-ipc4, sof-tplg, sof-ipc4-tplg)
WiFi (iwlwifi)	2.0 MB	4 ucodes	9260, AX200, AX201
Regulatory DB	12 KB	2 files
Total firmware	59 MB	~314 files

i915 by generation:

Generation	Size	Blobs	Target hardware
tgl (Tiger Lake)	4.3 MB	15	11th gen
icl (Ice Lake)	3.0 MB	10	10th gen
dg1/dg2 (Arc)	4.6 MB	16	Discrete GPU
skl (Skylake)	2.0 MB	17	6th gen
kbl (Kaby Lake)	1.9 MB	13	7th/8th gen
bxt (Broxton)	1.9 MB	13	Atom
ehl (Elkhart Lake)	2.1 MB	6	Embedded
mtl (Meteor Lake)	2.1 MB	5	14th gen (current target)
adlp (Alder Lake)	1.7 MB	10	12th gen
glk (Gemini Lake)	1.6 MB	9	Atom
cml (Comet Lake)	1.2 MB	6	10th gen
Other (rkl, cnl, xe3lpd, xe2lpd, bmg, adls)	<0.3 MB	6	Various

Intel SOF audio breakdown:

Directory	Size	Notes
sof-tplg/ (legacy topologies)	9.7 MB	Old IPC format
sof-ipc4/ (new firmware)	7.7 MB	11 platform dirs
sof/ (legacy firmware)	6.7 MB	Old IPC format
sof-ipc4-tplg/ (new topologies)	6.4 MB	129 topology files

SOF IPC4 platforms: adl, adl-n, adl-s, arl, arl-s, lnl, mtl, rpl, rpl-s, tgl, tgl-h

Mesa GPU Stack #

Component	Size	Notes
libLLVM.so.20.1	137 MB	JIT compiler for gallium shaders
libgallium-25.2.8.so	42 MB	Monolithic driver (iris + i915 + swrast)
lib64/dri/ (driver stubs)	120 KB	1 real file + 4 symlinks
EGL/GBM/GLES libs	~2 MB	Symlinks into lib64/
Total Mesa (deduplicated)	~181 MB	libLLVM + gallium + supporting libs

Dependency chain: dri/iris_dri.so -> libdril_dri.so -> libgallium -> libLLVM.so.20.1 -> libicudata.so.74

System Tools #

Binary	Size	Notes
busybox	2.1 MB	45+ applet symlinks (sh, find, cp, mv, etc.)
git	3.9 MB	For Claude Code git operations
awk (gawk)	724 KB	GNU awk
ip	756 KB	Network config
ac-trace	412 KB	BPF/ftrace diagnostic tool
iw	308 KB	WiFi scanner
curl	292 KB	HTTP client
grep	184 KB	Pattern search
dropbear	165 KB	SSH daemon
sed	112 KB	Stream editor
sfdisk	108 KB	Partition tool (USB flash)
cage	64 KB	Wayland kiosk compositor
seatd	48 KB	Seat daemon for wlroots
mkfs.vfat	52 KB	FAT32 formatter
dropbearkey	47 KB	SSH key generator
jq	32 KB	JSON processor
Other (head, cut, sleep, etc.)	~200 KB	Small coreutils

Flite TTS #

Component	Size	Copies	Notes
libflite_cmu_us_slt (female voice)	4.0 MB	3 copies (lib64 .so.1, .so.2.2, lib/x86_64)	12 MB total
libflite_cmu_us_kal (male voice)	1.4 MB	3 copies	4.2 MB total
libflite_cmulex (lexicon)	600 KB	3 copies	1.8 MB total
libflite.so (core)	228 KB	3 copies	684 KB total
libflite_usenglish.so	168 KB	3 copies	504 KB total
Total Flite (all copies)			~19 MB

The .so.1 and .so.2.2 files in lib64/ are also duplicates (different inodes, same content).

Audio Config #

Component	Size	Notes
ALSA ucm2/	2.4 MB	Use Case Manager configs
ALSA topology/	364 KB
ALSA cards/	272 KB
ALSA pcm/ + ctl/ + conf	~90 KB
Total ALSA	3.1 MB

XKB Keyboard Data #

Component	Size	Notes
symbols/	2.5 MB	All keyboard layouts worldwide
rules/	804 KB	Layout selection rules
geometry/	404 KB	Physical keyboard geometry
keycodes/	148 KB
compat/ + types/	152 KB
Total XKB	4.0 MB

Other #

Component	Size	Notes
CA certificates	444 KB	/etc/pki/
SSL certs (duplicate CA)	224 KB	/etc/ssl/
init script	2.9 KB	Boot script
scripts/	4 KB	upload-log.sh
dhclient-script	4 KB
git-credential-ac	4 KB	PAT helper

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3. Shrink Opportunities #

3.1 Library Deduplication (lib64/ vs lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/) #

Current waste: 214 MB of exact duplicates

The build script (build-and-flash.sh) copies libs in two ways:

1. Per-binary ldd copies go to lib64/
2. ac-native's canonical-path copy goes to lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/

Fix: Replace lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/ with a symlink to lib64/ (or vice versa). The transitive dependency resolver (lines 740-769 of build-and-flash.sh) already copies everything to lib64/, so the x86_64-linux-gnu directory can be a symlink.

Estimated savings: 214 MB uncompressed, ~84 MB compressed Difficulty: Low (single line change in build script) Risk: Low (just a symlink, all paths still resolve)

3.2 Flite TTS Version Duplicates in lib64/ #

Both .so.1 and .so.2.2 exist as separate files with identical content (different inodes).

Fix: Make .so.1 a symlink to .so.2.2 (or vice versa).

Estimated savings: 6.4 MB (slt 4.0 MB + kal 1.4 MB + cmulex 600 KB + core 228 KB + usenglish 168 KB) Difficulty: Low Risk: Low

3.3 Claude Code Binary (226 MB) #

The binary is a Bun Single Executable Application (SEA). It is not stripped (1,061 symbols, file reports "not stripped"). However, the build script contains a warning: "Do NOT strip -- Claude Code is a Bun SEA binary and stripping destroys the embedded JS blob."

Options:

1. UPX compression: UPX can compress ELF binaries ~50-70%. The binary would self-extract at startup (adds ~1-2 seconds boot time). UPX is not currently installed on the oven. Bun SEA binaries may or may not survive UPX -- needs testing.

   • Potential savings: 100-150 MB
   • Difficulty: Medium (needs testing)
   • Risk: Medium (may break Bun SEA resource extraction)

2. Lazy load from USB: Instead of embedding Claude in the initramfs, keep it on the FAT32 USB partition and mount + exec at runtime. The initramfs would ship without Claude, loading it on demand.

   • Potential savings: 226 MB from initramfs (but still on USB)
   • Difficulty: Medium (requires init script changes + mount logic)
   • Risk: Low (USB is always present at boot)

3. Download on first use: Only fetch the Claude binary when the user first invokes it (requires network).

   • Potential savings: 226 MB
   • Difficulty: Medium
   • Risk: High (requires network, slow first launch)

4. Wait for smaller Claude builds: Anthropic may release a more compact Claude Code binary in the future.

3.4 libLLVM.so.20.1 (137 MB) #

This is the LLVM JIT compiler, required by Mesa gallium for shader compilation. The dependency chain is: iris_dri.so -> libgallium -> libLLVM.

Options:

1. Build Mesa without LLVM: Mesa can be built with -Dllvm=disabled. This removes software shader compilation (swrast) and some gallium optimizations, but the Intel iris driver can still work using Intel's proprietary shader compiler path (i965 backend, not gallium). However, the Ubuntu-shipped Mesa packages always include LLVM.

   • Potential savings: 137 MB (+ 30 MB libicudata which is only needed by libLLVM)
   • Difficulty: High (custom Mesa build required)
   • Risk: Medium (may degrade GPU performance or break some features)

2. Strip LLVM: The shipped libLLVM may contain debug sections or unnecessary targets. A custom LLVM build targeting only x86_64 backend would be significantly smaller (~30-50 MB).

   • Potential savings: 90-110 MB
   • Difficulty: High
   • Risk: Low (if built correctly)

3. Use i965 DRI driver instead of iris/gallium: For older Intel hardware, the classic i965 driver doesn't need LLVM. But for modern Intel (Gen 12+), iris is required.

   • Not recommended for current target hardware.

3.5 libicudata.so.74 (30 MB) #

ICU Unicode data tables. Only loaded by libLLVM (which loads it via libxml2 -> libicuuc -> libicudata). Nothing else in the initramfs directly needs ICU.

Fix: Eliminating LLVM (3.4 above) would also eliminate ICU.

Estimated savings: 30 MB Difficulty: Tied to LLVM removal Risk: Same as LLVM removal

3.6 i915 GPU Firmware (27 MB, 128 blobs) #

The build copies all i915 generations from the host. If AC Native OS only targets specific hardware (e.g., Meteor Lake laptops), most can be removed.

Minimum set for Meteor Lake + Alder Lake:

• mtl (5 blobs, 2.1 MB) -- 14th gen
• adlp (10 blobs, 1.7 MB) -- 12th gen
• tgl (15 blobs, 4.3 MB) -- 11th gen (backwards compat)

Everything else removable: skl, kbl, bxt, glk, icl, cml, ehl, dg1, dg2, rkl, cnl, xe3lpd, xe2lpd, bmg, adls

Estimated savings: ~19 MB (keep ~8 MB for mtl+adlp+tgl) Difficulty: Low (filter in build-and-flash.sh line 369-383) Risk: Medium (breaks support for older Intel hardware)

3.7 Intel SOF Audio Firmware (31 MB) #

The build copies ALL SOF firmware (legacy IPC + IPC4, all platforms, all topologies).

Options:

1. Remove legacy SOF (sof/ + sof-tplg/): Modern Intel uses IPC4. Legacy is for pre-TGL.

   • Savings: 16.4 MB
   • Risk: Breaks audio on pre-Tiger Lake hardware

2. Trim IPC4 topologies: 129 topology files, most for specific codec combinations. The device likely only needs the HDA-generic topologies + its specific codec.

   • Savings: ~4-5 MB
   • Risk: Medium (need to identify correct topology)

3. Trim IPC4 platforms: Keep only mtl + arl (current targets), remove adl/tgl/rpl variants.

   • Savings: ~4 MB
   • Risk: Medium

Total potential SOF savings: ~20-25 MB Difficulty: Medium (requires knowing exact target hardware)

3.8 Flite TTS Voice Models #

Two voices are bundled: slt (female, 4.0 MB) and kal (male, 1.4 MB).

Options:

1. Keep only one voice: Remove kal (male) if unused.

   • Savings: ~1.4 MB (plus duplicates = ~4.2 MB)
   • Difficulty: Low
   • Risk: Low

2. Use kal only (smaller): kal is 1.4 MB vs slt at 4.0 MB.

   • Savings: ~2.6 MB (plus duplicates)
   • Difficulty: Low
   • Risk: Low (lower voice quality)

3.9 XKB Keyboard Data (4.0 MB) #

The symbols/ directory (2.5 MB) contains layouts for every language/country.

Fix: Keep only us, gb, and inet (for media keys). Remove all other layouts.

Estimated savings: ~2-3 MB Difficulty: Low Risk: Low (US keyboard is the primary target)

3.10 Git Binary (3.9 MB) #

Git is bundled for Claude Code's git operations on-device.

Options:

1. Keep it: Claude Code is significantly more capable with git. At 3.9 MB, it's not a major contributor.
2. Lazy-load from USB partition: Similar to Claude binary lazy-loading.

Recommendation: Keep. The 3.9 MB is worth the capability.

3.11 Compression Algorithm #

Currently: LZ4 for initramfs, gzip for kernel wrapping.

Algorithm	Compress ratio	Decompress speed	Boot impact
LZ4 (current)	2.55x	~4 GB/s	Fastest boot
zstd	~3.0-3.5x	~1.5 GB/s	+100-200ms
xz/lzma	~3.5-4.0x	~200 MB/s	+1-3s

The kernel already supports CONFIG_RD_ZSTD=y. Switching initramfs to zstd would save ~30-60 MB in vmlinuz at the cost of slightly slower boot.

For the kernel wrapper, switching from gzip to zstd (CONFIG_KERNEL_ZSTD=y) would save another ~10-20 MB.

Total compression savings (zstd): ~40-80 MB in final vmlinuz Difficulty: Low (kernel config change) Risk: Low (adds ~200-400ms boot time)

3.12 ALSA UCM2 Config (2.4 MB) #

The UCM2 directory contains Use Case Manager configs for many different sound cards.

Fix: Keep only the configs for the target hardware's codec.

Estimated savings: ~2 MB Difficulty: Medium (need to identify correct configs) Risk: Low

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4. Recommended Reductions (Prioritized) #

#	Change	Savings (uncompressed)	Est. vmlinuz savings	Difficulty	Risk
1	Deduplicate lib/x86_64 -> lib64 symlink	214 MB	~84 MB	Low	Low
2	Remove legacy SOF firmware (sof/ + sof-tplg/)	16.4 MB	~6 MB	Low	Medium
3	Trim i915 to target generations only	19 MB	~7 MB	Low	Medium
4	Fix Flite .so.1/.so.2.2 duplicates (symlinks)	6.4 MB	~2 MB	Low	Low
5	Switch to zstd compression	0 (compression only)	~40-80 MB	Low	Low
6	Trim XKB to US layout only	3 MB	~1 MB	Low	Low
7	Trim SOF IPC4 topologies + platforms	8 MB	~3 MB	Medium	Medium
8	Lazy-load Claude from USB partition	226 MB	~89 MB	Medium	Low
9	Build Mesa without LLVM (custom package)	167 MB	~65 MB	High	Medium
10	UPX-compress Claude binary	~130 MB	~51 MB	Medium	Medium
11	Remove second TTS voice (kal)	4.2 MB	~1.5 MB	Low	Low
12	Trim ALSA UCM2 configs	2 MB	~1 MB	Medium	Low

Quick Wins (items 1-6): ~259 MB uncompressed, ~140-180 MB vmlinuz savings #

Applying just the top 6 low-difficulty changes would reduce the vmlinuz from 271 MB to approximately ~90-130 MB.

Full Optimization (items 1-12): ~796 MB uncompressed savings #

With all changes including LLVM removal and Claude lazy-loading, the vmlinuz could theoretically reach ~50-80 MB.

Fastest Single Fix #

Item #1 alone (lib deduplication) saves 214 MB uncompressed / ~84 MB compressed. It requires changing approximately one line in build-and-flash.sh to create a symlink instead of a separate directory. This should be done immediately -- it's free savings from a build bug.