How to Install Slackware 15: Complete Guide (2026)

✅ Covers Slackware 15.0 · Text-based installer — Last updated: September 2026

Slackware's installer doesn't hold your hand, and that's deliberate. There's no graphical wizard, no automatic partitioning suggestion, no dependency resolver quietly installing things behind your back — you're dropped into a limited Linux environment loaded into RAM and you run the install yourself, one step at a time. If you've only installed Ubuntu, Fedora or Debian before, this will feel closer to installing a BSD than anything else you've used. It's not hard once you understand the flow — it's just explicit about every decision instead of making it for you.

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What You Need Before You Start

• A Slackware 15.0 ISO, written to a USB drive or burned to a DVD. Official images are isohybrid-processed, so writing the ISO directly to a USB stick works without extra tools.
• At least one empty partition (or free disk space) for the root filesystem, plus a swap partition — the installer will remind you of this but won't create partitions for you automatically.
• A wired network connection if you plan to configure networking during install — Slackware's installer doesn't do the automatic Wi-Fi detection you may be used to from other distros.

Booting the Installer

Boot from the USB or DVD, set your keyboard map if you're not on a US layout, and you'll land at a login prompt. Log in as root — there's no password at this stage, you're inside the installer environment, not your actual system yet.

slackware login: root

From here you're in a minimal Linux shell. This same environment doubles as a rescue disk if you ever need to fix a broken Slackware install later — worth remembering.

Partitioning: fdisk or cfdisk

Slackware doesn't ship a graphical partitioner. You get fdisk (command-driven) or cfdisk (a simple text UI) — both do the same job. At minimum you need:

• A Linux swap partition (type 82)
• A Linux partition (type 83) for root, marked bootable

With fdisk, the sequence is: create the partition (n), set its type (t, then the hex code — 82 for swap, 83 stays default for a Linux partition), mark the boot partition bootable (a), then write the table (w). cfdisk does the same through arrow-key navigation instead of typed commands — easier if you're not confident with fdisk's command letters.

Once your partitions exist, run setup to launch the actual installer.

The setup Program: Step by Step

Slackware's setup is a curses-based menu. Here's what each stage actually does:

Addswap

Activates the swap partition you created and adds it to /etc/fstab. Do this before installing packages — it prevents out-of-memory issues during the install itself on lower-RAM machines.

Target

Choose your root partition (and any others, like a separate /home) and whether to format them. Format a fresh partition — but if you're reinstalling onto a drive with a /home partition you want to keep, leave that one unformatted so your data survives the reinstall.

Source

Where to install from — the DVD/USB is the simplest option. Network installs (NFS, FTP, HTTP, Samba) are also supported if you're installing over a network instead.

Select

This is where Slackware's package series system shows up — packages are grouped into sets (the A series is the base system and is always required; others cover things like networking, development tools, KDE, and X). You choose which series to install here. Skip X and KDE entirely for a headless server; keep everything for a desktop.

Install

You'll be asked how to select packages within each series:

• full — installs everything in the series you selected. Recommended for first-time installs and for most users generally.
• newbie — installs required packages, then prompts you individually for every optional one with a description. Educational, but slow.
• menu / expert — pick individual packages by hand. For users who already know exactly what they need — it's easy to accidentally skip something the system depends on.

The official Slackware recommendation, straight from the project: "If you have the disk space, we encourage you to do a full installation for best results." Given Slackware's package manager doesn't resolve dependencies for you, a full install is the easiest way to avoid chasing down a missing dependency after the fact.

Configuring LILO (the Bootloader)

Nearly every Slackware install needs LILO — the LInux LOader — configured, or the system won't boot at all. Setup offers two paths:

• simple — auto-configures LILO for straightforward setups. Works well if Slackware is the only OS on the machine.
• expert — walks through each option manually, including dual-boot configuration alongside Windows or another Linux install, and lets you append kernel boot parameters.

If you'd rather not use LILO at all, setup can build a bootable USB recovery stick instead — but note that this erases whatever's currently on that USB drive.

Network, Services, Timezone and Root Password

The remaining setup screens are quicker:

• Network — hostname, domain name, and either DHCP or a static IP (address, netmask, gateway, nameserver).
• Startup services — enable only what you actually need; this affects both boot time and attack surface. You can revisit this later via pkgtool → Setup → Services.
• Timezone — select yours, and specify whether your hardware clock is set to UTC (most factory-set clocks aren't).
• Default desktop — only shown if you installed the X series; sets the default window manager or desktop environment for all users. Change it anytime with xwmconfig.
• Root password — the last step. Make it a strong one; root on Slackware has no guardrails.

Reboot (Ctrl+Alt+Delete), remove the install media, and you should land in your new Slackware system. If it doesn't boot, LILO configuration is the most common culprit — worth double-checking first.

After the Install: What to Do First

1. Create a non-root user. Only root exists by default, and using it as your daily account is a real risk on a system with no permission guardrails. Run adduser and follow the prompts.
2. Update the system. Use slackpkg to sync the package list and pull any security updates released since your ISO was built:

   slackpkg update
   slackpkg upgrade-all

3. Check root's mailbox. Slackware drops useful notes about package management and system configuration into root's local mail during install — worth a quick read with a client like alpine.
4. Enable a graphical login (optional). Test X first with startx. If it works, edit /etc/inittab as root and change id:3:initdefault: to id:4:initdefault: to boot straight into a graphical login on restart.
5. Add multilib if you're on Slackware64 and need to run or compile 32-bit binaries — it's not included by default on the 64-bit build.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Slackware hard to install for a beginner?

It's more manual than Ubuntu or Fedora — you partition the disk and configure LILO yourself instead of an installer doing it silently — but the process is well-documented and linear. The "newbie" package selection mode specifically exists to walk first-time users through what they're installing.

Should I choose full, newbie, or expert package selection?

Full, for almost everyone — it's Slackware's own recommendation if you have the disk space, and it avoids missing a dependency later since the package manager won't fetch one for you automatically.

Do I need to configure LILO manually?

Not necessarily — the "simple" LILO option auto-configures correctly for most single-OS installs. Manual ("expert") configuration is only needed for dual-boot setups or custom kernel parameters.

What do I do after installing if X doesn't start?

Run startx to test manually before editing /etc/inittab to boot into a graphical login by default — that way you confirm X actually works before making it the default boot target.

Can I install Slackware without a DVD drive?

Yes — official ISOs are isohybrid-processed and boot correctly when written directly to a USB stick, and network installs over NFS, FTP, HTTP or Samba are also supported.