blendOS v3 "Bhatura" beta is now available
We're excited to announce the new beta release of blendOS, "Bhatura", with a range of exciting new features!
The only operating system you'll ever need. A seamless blend of all Linux distributions, Android apps and web apps.
Note: blendOS is based on Arch Linux, but you can use any app from any of the distros or operating systems supported by blendOS. It doesn't suffer from most of the problems rolling release OSes do, thanks to its update system.
Desktop environments supported by blendOS
Supported DEs
blendOS ships the latest-and-greatest desktop environments, including GNOME 43.4 and KDE Plasma 5.27 without any modifications, giving you a vanilla experience, thanks to the Arch base!
GNOME
GNOME is a fresh take on the Linux desktop environment, with a unique dash and app launcher. It also supports auto-grouping of apps on the basis of the operating system they belong to.
KDE Plasma
KDE Plasma is a Windows-like desktop environment, which includes a number of amazing apps, including Kdenlive and Krita. It is an excellent choice for users coming from Windows.
Features
What you get with blendOS
Here are some of blendOS's features.
Immutable
blendOS is an immutable operating system. However, unlike all other immutable OSes, it allows you to install system packages normally, thanks to an overlay system, that also allows you to roll back to existing snapshots.
Apps from any distribution
You can use any of the hundreds of thousands of apps from any of the distributions (Arch, Fedora, Ubuntu) supported by blendOS.
Use any package manager directly
You can use apt, dnf-3, pacman and yay all together from tha single blendOS shell, just like you'd use them on their native distributions (Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch respectively).
Access installed apps in containers from base OS
Create any distro container easily, install an app there and you can access it from your base OS as well. And so is the case for any installed binaries.
Use Android apps
Install Android apps from your favorite app stores like F-Droid and the Aurora Store, and use them like native Linux apps, even with NVIDIA GPUs. This would also be extremely useful for Android app developers who can easily test their apps in Android Studio as though they were native Linux apps.
Use web apps
Simply use blendOS as a web operating system and install and use web apps just like desktop apps. You can also submit your own apps to the web store.
DE support
GNOME and KDE Plasma are the officially supported desktop environments and we have separate ISOs for them, but it's going to be really easy for you to submit your own remix of blendOS, with a desktop environment or window manager of your choice.
Install a DE just like you would on Arch
Any packages, including DEs get installed to a /usr overlay. So you aren't touching the main root file system.
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.
Android Stores
Install apps from some of the most popular Android stores, including Aurora Store or F-Droid. We use WayDroid behind the scenes to accomplish this.This is a boon for Android developers, since your apps will behave just like native apps and open in a regular window, making testing much easier.
Keep in mind that Android apps do not work in VMs. If you're using an NVIDIA GPU, blendOS will detect it and automatically configure WayDroid to use software rendering.
Use any package manager in the same blendOS shell
You can use apt, dnf-3, 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).Apps or binaries you install using these package managers will automatically appear on the host system too, and if you install the same app from two distros, you can prioritize one over the other.
Editions of blendOS
Aside from the officially supported editions of blendOS (GNOME and KDE Plasma), you can also use the official blendOS build webpage to easily create and submit your own blendOS remix, with a window manager or desktop environment of your choice.blendOS Installer (Jade GUI)
We've adapted the excellent installer GUI from Crystal Linux, Jade-GUI, and have written a new installer framework as the backend for it to help you install blendOS.
This allows for a quick 'n' breezy three-minute installation, making the blendOS installer one of the fastest in any operating system.
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 blendOS!
blendOS v2 "Avial" is now available
We're excited to announce the new stable release of blendOS, "Avial", with a range of exciting new features!
What's coming next in blendOS?
We're excited to announce a range of exciting new features in the upcoming release of blendOS.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I install regular packages on blendOS?
Yes, you can, thanks to the overlay system blendOS has implemented without even having to reboot, unlike in other distributions which have tried to implement this. If anything goes wrong, you can easily rollback to the previous state snapshot.
What happens when I install the same package from multiple distributions? Would there be conflicts?
Nope, there are not going to be any conflicts. In fact, blendOS lets you control which container you would like to prioritize.
Can I use an app installed from a distribution on the base OS itself?
Indeed, any apps or CLI utils/binaries you install would be available instantaneously on the base OS itself, so for example, you could use a CLI tool installed in a container directly from the host's terminal, unlike other implementations such as Distrobox.