[amalag]

Simple question, but if there is no package management, how do you install basic programs? Download binaries for everything?

[devinus]

Simple answer: you don't. Longer answer: It depends. Do you want to use yum or apt-get to install programs? If you like CentOS, create a CentOS container with Docker and begin installing programs using yum! Ubuntu? Spool up an Ubuntu container and apt-get away! CoreOS is just the cradle upon which you can run the userland of any distribution you please.

[amalag]

So CoreOS is the simple host OS, thank you for the clarification, i thought it was a minimal guest OS.

[ceejayoz]

I believe it's intended to be a minimal OS for running containers like those made by Docker (http://www.docker.io/).