NexusOS

Preview release (v1.0.0): Engineering preview — not legal clearance for redistribution of release binaries. See Disclaimer, Trademarks, and Third-Party Notices.

A custom Linux distribution for Mac and Windows. Clone the repo and run the installer — inspired by the Asahi Linux install experience. NexusOS is an independent project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Asahi Linux, Apple, or Microsoft.

Quick Install

One-liner (convenience only)

No integrity verification — review scripts/bootstrap.sh before running:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Aidiotic/Operating-system/main/scripts/bootstrap.sh | sh

Git clone (recommended)

git clone https://github.com/Aidiotic/Operating-system.git
cd Operating-system
./install.sh

The installer auto-detects your platform and picks the right install method.

Platform Support

Platform	Method	Command
Mac Apple Silicon	Git clone + native dual-boot (Asahi)	git clone --recursive … && ./install.sh --native
Mac Apple Silicon	Git clone + UTM VM (build locally)	./install.sh --utm
Mac Intel	Live ISO (preview)	./install.sh --iso
Windows 10/11	WSL2 distro	./install.sh or ./install.sh --wsl
Windows / Linux PC	Live ISO (preview)	./install.sh --iso

Mac users: Apple Silicon installers run from a git clone only — aarch64 release binaries are not published. See Redistribution Policy.

What's Included

• GNOME desktop with Wayland
• Firefox web browser
• nexus-store — software center (install apps from catalog or apt)
• nexus-update — system updates
• nexus-settings — system info, disk cleanup, factory reset
• nexus-doctor — diagnostics
• nexus-welcome — first-boot setup wizard
• Terminal, Files (Nautilus), Calculator, Text Editor

Default user: nexus — password expires on first login; nexus-welcome prompts you to set a new password.

Install Details

Mac Apple Silicon (native dual-boot)

Requires macOS 13.5+. Back up with Time Machine first. Git clone required (release binaries for Mac are not published).

git clone --recursive https://github.com/Aidiotic/Operating-system.git
cd Operating-system
./install.sh --native

This uses the Asahi Linux installer boot chain (m1n1 → U-Boot → NexusOS kernel) to dual-boot alongside macOS. Firmware is obtained through the upstream install flow on your Mac — not via prebuilt NexusOS downloads.

Mac UTM (Apple Silicon virtual machine)

No repartitioning required. Builds the VM bundle from your clone (not from Releases).

git clone --recursive https://github.com/Aidiotic/Operating-system.git
cd Operating-system
./install.sh --utm

Requires UTM (installed automatically via Homebrew if available).

Mac Intel

UTM release artifacts are not published for Intel Macs. Use the live ISO path:

./install.sh --iso

Windows WSL2

Run in PowerShell (not inside WSL):

git clone https://github.com/Aidiotic/Operating-system.git
cd Operating-system
.\install.ps1

Or one-liner (convenience only — no integrity verification; review install.ps1 first):

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Aidiotic/Operating-system/main/install.ps1 | iex

Then launch:

wsl -d NexusOS

GUI apps work via WSLg on Windows 11.

Dual-boot ISO (preview)

Engineering preview: live boot only; automated dual-boot installation is not available in v1.0.0.

Download nexusos-x86_64.iso from GitHub Releases or build locally:

sudo ./build/iso/build-iso.sh

Building from Source

All rootfs builds run on Linux (GitHub Actions CI). Requires root for debootstrap.

# x86_64 (Windows WSL / ISO)
sudo ./build/rootfs/build-x86_64.sh

# aarch64 (Apple Silicon Mac / UTM)
sudo ./build/rootfs/build-aarch64.sh

# UTM bundle for Mac
./build/utm/build-utm.sh

# Bootable ISO
sudo ./build/iso/build-iso.sh

Build artifacts land in releases/.

Developer Commands

make validate        # lint + healthcheck
make build-x86_64    # full rootfs (sudo, Linux only)
make clean           # remove build output

Project Structure

install.sh                 Universal installer entrypoint
scripts/                   Platform-specific installers
installer/                 Asahi downstream Mac installer adapter
build/rootfs/              debootstrap rootfs builders
build/iso/                 Dual-boot ISO builder
build/utm/                 macOS UTM VM builder
build/kernel/              Asahi kernel build + platform fetch
build/packages/            .deb package builder
build/repo/                APT repo for GitHub Pages (signed when CI signing key is configured)
docs/repo/                 Published APT tree (Pages)
installer/                 Vendored Asahi installer + NexusOS metadata
packages/                  NexusOS custom tools (store, settings, welcome)
configs/                   Plymouth, GRUB, GDM branding
.github/workflows/         CI build and release pipelines

System Commands

Command	Description
nexus-store	Software center (interactive or CLI)
nexus-store install htop	Install a package
nexus-update	Apply system updates
nexus-update check	Check for available updates
nexus-settings about	System information
nexus-settings cleanup	Disk cleanup
nexus-doctor	Run system diagnostics
nexus-welcome	First-boot setup wizard

Releases

Tag a version to trigger a full release build:

git tag v1.0.0
git push origin v1.0.0

GitHub Actions publishes x86_64 artifacts only:

• nexusos-x86_64-rootfs.tar.xz — WSL2 / ISO
• nexusos-x86_64.iso — Live boot (preview; no automated installer)
• SHA256SUMS — Checksums

Not published on Releases (git clone + ./install.sh on Mac instead): aarch64 rootfs, UTM bundles, Asahi kernel packages, and macOS installer tarballs. See Redistribution Policy.

The NexusOS APT repository is deployed to GitHub Pages at https://aidiotic.github.io/Operating-system/repo/ (signed when NEXUSOS_APT_GPG_* GitHub Actions secrets are configured; otherwise unsigned).

Architecture

NexusOS is a two-layer distribution (similar in spirit to Fedora Asahi Remix):

Layer	What it provides	NexusOS owns?
Platform (Asahi)	m1n1 → U-Boot boot chain, Apple Silicon kernel patches, firmware, Mesa, WiFi/audio	Uses upstream; dual-boot logic unchanged
Distro (NexusOS)	Debian bookworm rootfs, GNOME desktop, nexus-* packages, APT repo, branding, installers	Yes

Platform vs distro

• Apple Silicon native install — vendored Asahi installer with NexusOS metadata; boot chain and recovery/APFS handling stay upstream.
• Kernel — built from Asahi Linux kernel with LOCALVERSION=-nexusos, or prebuilt linux-image-asahi from repo.asahilinux.org when building on non-arm hosts.
• Packages — nexus-store, nexus-settings, nexus-theme, etc. ship as .deb files from the NexusOS APT repo on GitHub Pages.
• x86_64 / WSL2 / ISO — generic Debian rootfs without Asahi platform packages.

Install paths

• WSL2 — Windows import of x86_64 rootfs tarball
• UTM — macOS virtualization bundle (aarch64)
• ISO — dual-boot x86_64 image (preview; live boot supported when kernel is present in rootfs)

License

Build scripts and NexusOS-specific packages in this repository: MIT — see LICENSE.

Release images (rootfs, ISO, kernel packages) bundle third-party software under GPL, LGPL, and other licenses. See THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

Legal notices: Disclaimer · Trademarks · Intended use · Redistribution policy

Links

• Asahi Linux — Apple Silicon Linux platform
• Asahi Installer — Mac install framework
• UTM — macOS virtualization
• WSL2 — Windows Subsystem for Linux