ShredOS is a small bootable Linux distribution built specifically for secure disk erasure.
It starts nwipe automatically and gives technicians a dedicated environment for wiping storage devices on PCs, servers, and Intel-powered Macs without needing to install a full operating system first. The project provides prebuilt images for quick deployment, source for custom builds, and a set of storage-related tools that make it useful for refurbishment, decommissioning, and data sanitization workflows.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Automatically launches nwipe with an interactive interface for selecting drives, wipe methods, rounds, blanking passes, and verification options.
- Offers downloadable 32-bit and 64-bit .img and .iso images for writing to USB flash drives or optical media.
- Can generate multi-page PDF certificates and log files for erased drives, with reports saved to the boot media.
- Includes additional disk utilities such as smartmontools, hdparm, nvme-cli, sg3_utils, hexedit, and GNU parallel.
- Supports BIOS and UEFI booting, with writable image media allowing GRUB and kernel parameter customization.
- Can be used in headless or remote scenarios through PXE boot support and an optional telnet server on secure local networks.
| Working state: | Active |
| Desktop: | - |
| Init Software: | BusyBox |
| Package Management: | |
| Release Model: | Fixed |
| Platforms: | x86_64 (32-bit as well) |
| Home Page: | github.com/PartialVolume/shredos.x86_64 |
| Developer: | PartialVolume |
| This article is part of our Big List of Active Linux Distributions. |
What's a Linux distribution ("distro")? |
| A distro provides the user with a desktop environment, preloaded applications, and ways to update and maintain the system. Each distro makes different choices, deciding which open source projects to install and provides custom written programs. They can have different philosophies. Some distros are intended for desktop computers, some for servers without a graphical interface, and others for special uses. Because Linux is an open source operating system, combinations of software vary between Linux distros. |