m68kDeb

Debian for classic Motorola 68k systems

m68kDeb is a Debian-based installation and preservation environment for MMU-equipped Motorola 680x0 computers. Initial target families are Commodore Amiga, Atari 68k, and Apple Macintosh 68k.

The project has two equal goals:

1. Install a current Debian Ports/m68k userspace where practical.
2. Preserve and make historical Debian/m68k releases easy to install on supported classic hardware.

Hardware policy

• Minimum CPU target: 68020 with MMU (for example 68020 + 68851 PMMU).
• 68030, 68040 and 68060 systems are first-class targets.
• EC CPUs without an MMU are out of scope.
• FPU is not a general minimum requirement.
• 68020+MMU is supported by policy even when a faster CPU is strongly recommended.

Initial platforms

• Amiga
• Atari
• Macintosh 68k

The installer architecture keeps the common installation core separate from platform-specific bootstrap and boot handling.

Debian release scope

Historical releases targeted for qualification:

• Debian 2.0 Hamm
• Debian 2.1 Slink
• Debian 2.2 Potato
• Debian 3.0 Woody
• Debian 3.1 Sarge
• Debian 4.0-era m68k material only where it can be qualified as an unofficial historical target

Current target:

• Debian Ports m68k

Historical releases are preservation targets and must not be presented as secure systems for exposure to untrusted networks.

Design principles

• One installer model across Amiga, Atari and Macintosh where possible.
• Platform-specific bootstraps may start from the machine's native OS.
• Release behavior is data-driven through manifests rather than hard-coded release forks.
• Reproducible inputs, checksums and provenance are required.
• Network installation is preferred for current Debian.
• Historical installation must remain possible from archived/mirrored media when upstream infrastructure changes.
• Emulator qualification comes before physical-hardware qualification, but does not replace it.
• Qualified work lands on main; avoid permanent development branches.

Project layout

docs/               project, support and qualification documentation
releases/           Debian release manifests
platforms/
  amiga/             Amiga bootstrap/profile data
  atari/             Atari bootstrap/profile data
  mac68k/            Macintosh 68k bootstrap/profile data
installer/           shared installer implementation (later milestones)
tests/               host-side validation and manifest tests

Milestones

See ROADMAP.md.

M0 establishes scope, provenance rules, release/platform feasibility and the initial machine support policy. It intentionally does not implement an installer yet.

Status

M0 — Foundation & Feasibility: implemented.

See docs/M0_FOUNDATION.md and docs/SUPPORT_MATRIX.md.