I have decided to not write up a how too to compile the Linux kernel, as support would be a nightmare.
You get more features and drivers in a Distro Linux kernel, than you do with a standard Linux kernel from source code.
I highly recommend sticking with the pre-compiled Debian kernels with Elive, otherwise users will wonder why their hardware and other things can't be configured or supported in that Linux kernel.
I get away with it because my computer has native Linux kernel driver support out of the box.
So no, I will not write up a configure compile kernel how too for those reasons.
If you are interested in compiling the Linux kernel anyway, then I recommend looking at the Linuxfromscratch book in regards to configuring your new Linux kernel. Here is the Kernel howtoo
You need to install
sudo apt-get install build-essential libncurses-dev bison flex libssl-dev libelf-dev pahole
to install the compiled kernel you need to
sudo make modules_install
sudo make install
note that make install configures the boot loader grub for you automatically .
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No it is not, I have already answered before but seems like sometimes I'm misunderstood, or my english is not clear, so again:
First is important to differentiate that Impermutable mode is not your system, is a different mode, and it should be not considered as your user mode, that's why the visuals needs to be different, to remember constantly that "is not your system"
Second, you are not forced to have the wallpaper switch, here you can:
- change it back to another in any moment
- disable the bilibop / impermutable autorun to not be run on desktop start, so no wallpaper will be changed, simple as that, if you need a command to verify your mode you can just do "grep lockfs /proc/cmdline" for example
You have three command options:
- lockfs-notify (note: it will change the wallpaper)
- grep lockfs /proc/cmdline
- write your own command and call el_notify to send a notification widget in your desktop, to run every 5 minutes or whatever you think is the best experience for you to remember that you are not in your normal user mode
Reading the next comments, the @triantares script / notifier looks nice, it can be added as an extra script in the system of course, the only problem of this different UX is that the user should know this command, and remember to run it, etc... but is a good option to have for those who want's to use this instead of the default provided mode
In fact the impermutable feature (unless you installed it in its first versions) opens a Thunar filemanager showing you the changes you made on your user home (and only the changes! not the flood of all your files), in the same way if you go up in the directory tree you can find the entire system changes, like logs or modifed files in /etc and any other thing, this filemanager is made to exactly tell the user "hey, you can see here the changes and you can copy them, merge them, compare, or do whatever you want with it"
You don't understand... we're asking for a script IN ADDITION to the existing methods of seeing that you're in Impermutable mode!
Having an el_is_impermutable mode would be amazing for scripts or even just checking.
I'm really confused why you're so against this - we wouldn't be replacing anything, just adding a way to detect from the command-line. For example if you stopped X for installing nvidia drivers it would be impossible to know whether you're in the mode or not.
You didn't read my answers fully:
That's correct ..... the script, in the case of lacking X, will answer on the command-line what the current system state is. The "systray notifier" is just a little extra bonus.
- My UX point being: A command in regard to "impermutable" should be called exactly that and not need to be called with methods only the dev knows offhand.
It was/is only meant as a quick check if unsure .... like me, I hardly ever reboot my laptops (or desktops) and sometimes forget what I was doing on that machine when I closed the lid.
Sorry, I misunderstood that sentence. 
Yes the script looks good, what name you suggest, "impermutable-status" maybe? it can also check if the DISPLAY variable is set in order to use a GUI notification too or only the printed message in the terminal. About the notifier I would suggest using el_notify instead, just because keeping an "app" on the systray will consume a few extra MB on the system and the notification is only one shot
Well, it's actually the only sensible one I could come up with. Admittedly it's a bit long but "Tab" is a good friend on the CML. 
I suppose that el_notify is a better option .... like I said it was just a "quicky" so I used my habitual "yad" but it definitely should be "one-shot", a fast check (if in doubt) to see what the status is, not a continual background check.
Tab is always a good friend to found things in cli 
You can add the script into the bilibop sources (bin) in github so it will be included, I also recommend to verify not only /proc but also if the overlay directory is mounted or exists, probably in /proc/mounts or maybe checking the where the filemanager points to
This implies that the overlay could somehow stay intact after lockfs has been removed. 
Is that even possible?
No, what I mean is that the argument can be passed to the boot options (/proc verification), but this doesn't necessarily means that the impermutable mode is working, for example if you remove the bilibop packages it will not work at all (normal boot), so checking only the /proc is not totally reliable way to check that you are in impermutable, it only means that you -wanted- to boot on that mode. That's why I suggest to verify also if that directory is mounted
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Should be this "Impermutable Elive" name be renamed to "Immutable Elive" ?
IMO neither is very clear as to what it does (and not sure about their meaning either) but if at all "impermutable" is preferable.
I'd prefer something like "unbreakable" or better yet "indestructible", to be honest. Especially the latter is stronger and shows more confidence.
"Incorruptible" or "invulnerable" would also work well.
I like indestructible, on the other hand it sounds like a safer/better way to boot which is not, is just a snapshoted boot, maybe this is clarified after the user booted? (where a message appears explaining it), not sure...
The other two options are a bit different, like a more secure / antivirus boot...
In any case, the user should -want- to use it (or at least to try to it to see what it does), where impermutable I think is a confusing name that nobody would try booting elive with
Technically "impermutable" isn't an English word. "Immutable" is (not being able to be mutated, i.e. unchangeable), but in Linux it generally has a specific meaning (distros like Nix that have fully declarative packaging). It's also not a very friendly term for people who don't know what it means.
Also agree with what Thanatermesis said wrt the others.
Maybe something like "read-only boot"?
If you can add a subtitle to the grub option, that would also fix the problem.
I would sound like a broken boot (to me), like booting with the filesystem turned to RO mode and thus not being able to boot, quite confusing
I still have preference for the immutable, just because its the fastest-to-the-mind word that makes you think "this is a temporal boot that wont break / change anything", the important thing is to make the (curious at least) users to boot from it, in order to discover what is for / how useful can be
too much work
To keep it even easier we could also consider calling it "sandbox boot".
Technically that wouldn't be a 100% correct term but it would clarify the zest to "uninitiated" users (as it's a known concept) IMO.
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[ ] Impermutable Elive
Read-Only Elive
Sandboxed Elive
Sandbox Elive
Sandbox Boot
Immutable Elive
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