Linxira OS

Arch Linux for scientific computing

Desktop Supercomputer · Direct Arch · Built for researchers

A personal scientific workstation distribution built on Arch Linux — a ready-to-use KDE Plasma desktop, 93 curated applications, dual-kernel + snapshot safety for rolling updates, upstream security patches, and containerized reproducibility for research workflows. Built for science students, researchers, developers and everyday power users who value high performance, deep customizability and always-current security updates.

Experimental Stable passed full install testing Signed [linxira] repository First Experimental Stable · 2026-08-14
Experimental Stable passed full installation testing Signed repo [linxira] · pacman-tracked updates 93 curated apps · 14 categories 804 offline packages shipped with the ISO Dual kernel + Timeshift snapshot rollback Docs in EN / 中文 / 繁體 Experimental Stable passed full installation testing Signed repo [linxira] · pacman-tracked updates 93 curated apps · 14 categories 804 offline packages shipped with the ISO Dual kernel + Timeshift snapshot rollback Docs in EN / 中文 / 繁體

One Command, Full Control

Headless switching, SSH, rolling updates, snapshot rollback — all in the terminal

linxira — zsh
$ linxira-config headless on now
Switched to headless: desktop stopped, RAM freed for compute ✓
$ linxira-config ssh on
SSH enabled: ssh user@192.168.1.42 ✓
$ linxira-update
Up to date: 0 upstream patches pending ✓
$ linxira-config timeshift status
Snapshots: daily 3 · boot 3 · auto-snapshot before updates ✓

First-party Products

Two core products we build and ship with the system

Out of the Box

From desktop to headless compute to local bioinformatics — one machine, three modes

Launcher 9:41 · Fri Aug 14 linxira — zsh $ linxira-config headless on now → Headless: desktop stopped, RAM freed ✓ $ linxira-update → Up to date: 0 patches pending ✓ $ File Manager ~/research/RNA-seq sample_R1.fastq.gz sample_R2.fastq.gz results/ Terminal · active
KDE Plasma DesktopReady out of the box: Bluetooth / WiFi / printing / Chinese IME
linxira — headless compute mode $ systemctl status linxira-headless ● headless.service — compute-mode daemon Active: active (running) since 08:02:14 Memory: desktop stopped · 11.2 GiB freed 84% for compute $ nvidia-smi RTX 5090 · 32 GB · 412 W · 61°C Process: python3 train.py — VRAM 27.9 / 32 GB 87% utilization $ linxira-config timeshift status Snapshots: daily 3 · boot 3 · pre-update auto-snapshot ✓ $ linxira-config headless off → Back to desktop mode · welcome back ✓
Headless Compute ModeOne command to switch: zero desktop overhead, all RAM & GPU for compute
Bio SDK ▸ Pipelines Data files Reports Sample QC · fastq.qc.v1 Base quality distribution (Q-score) 1 150 Pipeline Read FASTQ data QC statistics Run log ✓ 20,000 reads processed ✓ Avg quality Q36.2 · passed ▍awaiting next step Comparison · Species: Homo sapiens SampleReadsAvg qualityStatus sample_A20,000Q36.2✓ Passed sample_B18,420Q35.8✓ Passed
Bio SDK Local WorkbenchData never leaves your machine: QC / alignment / enrichment, fully visualized

Why Linxira

One distribution that does both: daily desktop and scientific computing

🖥️

Direct Arch Desktop

KDE Plasma built directly on the Arch official repositories — always current, always fast. Dual kernels (linux + linux-lts) as the rolling-update safety net.

📦

93 Curated Apps

An audited software catalog: containers, dev tools, scientific apps, AI tooling… check boxes in the installer, no hunting through repositories.

🔐

Signed [linxira] Repo

All 17 first-party tools ship through our own signing key, tracked by pacman — from Welcome to Config Hub, one chain of trust.

⚠️

Careful Software Sources

Rely on official repositories and the curated catalog. Wild AUR packages are user-maintained and not audited — they often carry quality and security issues. Use them with caution.

🛡️

Rolling Updates · Timely Security

Rolling updates pick up upstream security patches as soon as they land — no waiting for a distro release cycle. Paired with Timeshift snapshots, grub-btrfs rollback and dual kernels for both safety and stability.

🐳

Container Reproducibility

Podman, Distrobox and Apptainer out of the box — pull others' environments, reproduce results, publish your own images. Near-zero overhead.

Headless Mode

One command drops to a command-line target: zero desktop memory, all RAM for compute. Back to the desktop any time. Your PC is a mini supercomputer.

🎮

Gaming Out of the Box

Steam and gaming foundation components ship pre-selected, with the open GPU runtime ready — entertainment is taken as seriously as work.

🈶

Chinese-Ready

Installing with a Chinese locale auto-configures the Fcitx5 input method; docs and community follow in Chinese, English and Traditional Chinese.

Who it's for

Linxira is built for science students, researchers, developers and everyday power users: people who want high performance, deep customizability and always-current, secure updates — and a computer that can also become a compute machine.

Most distributions favor either desktop comfort or server capability — rarely both. Linxira keeps the full desktop (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, printing, graphical environment all work out of the box) and adds what research actually needs: memory tuning, headless mode, container reproducibility. Not a "mini server" — a desktop supercomputer.

Offline-ready, more complete online: the ISO bundles KDE Plasma and the preinstalled software, so a usable system installs with no network. But most additional applications and third-party desktops require an internet connection. Confirm network access in campus or intranet environments.

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Curated apps
0
First-party tools
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Offline packages

Software Ecosystem

A curated catalog covering every step — daily and scientific

Browse the full catalog →

93 curated applications in 14 categories: browsers & office, bioinformatics, container reproducibility, AI coding and more

ContainersDev ToolsBioinformaticsScientific ComputingAI CodingOfficeGaming
Web & BrowserMail & CommunicationOfficeDocs & ReadingPasswords & Personal DataGraphics, Photo & CADVideo & Audio CreationMedia PlaybackFile & Sync ToolsDevelopment AppsEducation & GeographyScientific DesktopGamingSystem Tools Web & BrowserMail & CommunicationOfficeDocs & ReadingPasswords & Personal DataGraphics, Photo & CADVideo & Audio CreationMedia PlaybackFile & Sync ToolsDevelopment AppsEducation & GeographyScientific DesktopGamingSystem Tools
FirefoxChromiumThunderbirdLibreOfficeKritaGIMPBlenderOBS StudioVLCSyncthingNextcloudKateCode - OSSDockerPodmanDistroboxRPythonJuliaJupyterRStudioSteamKeePassXCDBeaver FirefoxChromiumThunderbirdLibreOfficeKritaGIMPBlenderOBS StudioVLCSyncthingNextcloudKateCode - OSSDockerPodmanDistroboxRPythonJuliaJupyterRStudioSteamKeePassXCDBeaver

Release Status

The first Experimental Stable (2026-08-14) passed full installation testing: all first-party software installs cleanly, boot / shutdown artwork and terminal char-art are finalized, and the signed repository tracks updates. Future releases follow the build guide from source — we no longer advertise a fixed release date.

View Roadmap → Release Log Gallery Security
✅ Experimental Stable install verified 🛠️ Future releases from source (build guide) 📦 First Experimental Stable ISO available

Latest News

Project announcements and technical articles

2026-08-15
Linxira OS Today: From a Mint Prototype to Direct Arch
Why Linxira moved from Linux Mint to Direct Arch — the desktop-supercomputer positioning, software ecosystem, and first-party toolchain.
Announcement
2026-08-15
First Experimental Stable: 2026.08.14 Release Notes
ISO download, release highlights, install-test results, and what changed since the betas.
Announcement
2026-08-15
Headless Mode: One-Command Switching Between Desktop and Compute
A standard systemd target switch that turns the desktop off and frees all RAM for compute.
Technical
2026-08-15
Signed Repositories: Linxira's Supply-Chain Security Design
How mandatory pacman signatures, release-key rotation, and a PKGBUILD CI gate block tampering.
Technical
2026-08-15
One Reviewed Catalog Driving the Whole Software Ecosystem: catalog v2/v3
The architecture behind one reviewed metadata source shared by the installer, Welcome, and graphical package management.
Technical
2026-08-15
btrfs Snapshots and grub-btrfs: Self-Healing and One-Key Rollback
Dual-kernel fallback, automatic pre-update snapshots, and direct rollback from the GRUB menu.
Technical
2026-08-15
AI Coding Agents in One Line: Mirror Acceleration and Six CLIs
npm mirror acceleration plus one-line installs of Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Grok, and OpenCode.
Technical
2026-08-15
Designing the Beginner's Guide: Landing Linxira for Linux Newcomers
How the new beginner's guide covers terminal basics, Arch Wiki navigation, Chinese input troubleshooting, and desktop choice.
Technical
2026-06-27
Introducing Linxira OS
What is Linxira OS, who is it for, and why we built it. Design philosophy, technical architecture, and target users.
Announcement