Nano11 is a stripped-down Windows 11 that shrinks to just 2.8GB by scrapping drivers and other 'fluff' — a quick and dirty testbed

In the next two days, it'll be exactly one month till Microsoft officially pulls the plug on Windows 10, which is slated for October 14, 2025. While the tech giant clearly wants users to upgrade to Windows 11 and has been using bold statements like "Windows 11 PCs are up to 2.3x faster than Windows 10 PCs" to get them to jump ship, getting approximately 400 million people to make this move seems like a big ask.

This is especially true when considering Microsoft's strict minimum system requirements coupled with Windows 11's flawed design elements. Granted, this doesn't necessarily mean that the highlighted 400 million PCs don't support Windows 11; it actually boils down to a matter of preference.

It's been 4 years since Windows 11 shipped, but Microsoft has struggled to gain user interest. The operating system only recently surpassed Windows 10 to become the most dominant desktop OS.

But all hope isn't lost for Windows 10 users, especially if they don't want to enroll in Microsoft's ESU (extended security updates) program by syncing their PC settings to the cloud via a Microsoft account, redeeming 1,000 Microsoft Reward points, or paying $30 for that ESU program, which now supports up to 10 devices.

Earlier this week, I covered Tiny11 getting a new update with Windows 11 version 25H2 support, though it doesn't add new features to the experience. Rather, it removes pre-installed apps like Clipchamp, Copilot, and the new Outlook client, which some users might deem as unnecessary 'bloatware' anyway.

For context, Tiny11 is a lightweight version of Windows 11, designed to run on older PCs that don't meet Windows 11's strict system requirements. And it seems now, there seems to be a new kid on the block (at least that I knew about) that offers a similar experience.

Meet Nano11, a lightweight version of Windows 11 that trims down the operating system's size to less than 3 GB (via The Register). According to Nano11 developer NTDEV:

"You pretty much can't get any tinier than this. Based on tiny11 core, nano11 pushes things even further, by removing even more fluff like Windows Hello packages, unnecessary drivers, .NET precompiled assembly, IME components, wallpapers and more."

Perhaps more interestingly, the developer says you can use any Windows SKU, including Pro, Home, or LTSC. "In fact, results are even better with Windows 11 LTSC, and mixed with LZX compression, you can get to complete installations that are 2.8GB in size, as shown previously," NTDEV added.

Compared to a standard Windows ISO, Nano11 images are up to 3.5 times smaller. And while the script debloats Windows 11 down to the basics for a casual user, the developer has issued a stern warning, indicating:

"You cannot add back features or languages in an image created with this script! The resulting OS is not serviceable. This means you cannot add languages, drivers, or features, and you will not receive Windows Updates. It is intended only for testing, development, or embedded use in VMs where a minimal, static environment is required."

The developer admits that users can't default to Nano11 as their daily driver. However, it can be used as "a quick and dirty testbed."