What's coming next in blendOS?
We're excited to announce a range of exciting new features in the upcoming release of blendOS...
A seamless blend of all Linux distributions.
Note: blendOS is based on Arch Linux, but you can use any app from any of the distros supported by blendOS, or even install a desktop environment from any of the distros and use the distros in standalone sessions.
Features
What you get with blendOS
Here are some of blendOS's features.
Immutable
blendOS is an immutable operating system. This means your filesystem is read-only, thus resulting in stable experience.
Apps from any distribution
You can use any of the hundreds of thousands of apps from any of the distributions supported by blendOS (the creation of containers is managed by distrobox).
Use any package manager directly
You can use apt/apt-get, dnf/yum, pacman and yay all together from the blendOS shell, just like you'd use them on their native distributions (Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch respectively).
DE support
GNOME's the officially supported desktop environment, but you can also choose other desktop environments such as KDE Plasma and XFCE at the time of installation (for users who're familar with the blendOS setup).
Individual sessions for distros
Besides the default session, you can also install a desktop environment from any of these distributions and use the distros in standalone sessions.
Flatpaks
Flatpaks too are supported. You can install them through the Flathub Store included in blendOS.
Distributions supported in blendOS
Supported distributions
Use apps or desktop environments from any of these distributions.
Fedora Rawhide
Install any app from the Fedora repositories, or experience the latest version of GNOME available in the repos.
Arch Linux
Use any of the apps available in one of the largest package repositories, the AUR, or from the Arch repositories.
Ubuntu 22.04 and 22.10
Want to use one of those apps exclusive to Ubuntu? No problem, blendOS has you covered.
First Setup
Ease into BlendOS with our user-friendly First Setup app, your one-stop guide to effortlessly setting up and navigating BlendOSIt's only available on GNOME, which is why we recommend GNOME for new users.
Use any package manager in the same blendOS shell
You can use apt/apt-get, dnf/yum, pacman and yay all together from the same blendOS shell, just like you'd use them on their native distributions (Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch respectively).Use a DE in any distro
You can even install GNOME or MATE on any distro of your choice (Ubuntu, Fedora or Arch), and use the distro as a separate standalone session. Just run:
$ blend install-de gnome # replace gnome with mate to install MATE, and add --distro [NAME] to specify a distro; default: fedora-rawhide
Flathub Store
We've also made Flathub available as a desktop app, from which you can install Flatpaks directly.Removal hasn't been implemented yet, so you'll have to use the flatpak CLI for now.
blendOS Installer (Jade GUI)
We've adapted the excellent installer from Crystal Linux to help you install blendOS with a desktop environment or window manager of your choice (GNOME for new users; KDE Plasma, XFCE, Sway and i3 for users familiar with blendOS).
Use blendOS on a T2 Mac.
We've worked with the t2linux project to add support for T2 Macs (all Intel Macs made after 2018, as well as the iMac Pro) to blendOS.
Discover more content
in our Blog
We've got the juiciest blog posts waiting for you, filled with all the latest news and updates. Don't be left in the dark, join us and stay up-to-date on everything Unity7!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the Flathub Store install apps directly, or does it just download flatpakrefs?
Yep, the Flathub Store installs apps directly (using Souk-Next behind the scenes), instead of downloading their flatpakrefs and requiring manual installation.
Does blendOS use pacman, or its own package manager?
Nope, blendOS uses blend, a package manager designed to work with multiple distributions. Although pacman can be used from a shell, it runs inside an Arch container.
How do I run system updates?
You can run 'blend system-update' to run system updates (unlike on Arch, 'pacman -Syu' will simply update the Arch container and will not update blendOS).
blendOS | The Ultimate Distro-Blend.
Uniting Immutability and Diversity: Experience the future with Blend OS.