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ZDNET Highlights
- An immutable distribution increases the security of the OS.
- Linux offers many different immutable distributions.
- Most of these are general purpose, so anyone can use them.
What is an “immutable” Linux distribution?
Simply put, an immutable distro is one in which certain directories are read-only and cannot be changed. For example, the /usr directory contains the binary executable files of many of your applications and is mounted read-only. Other directories mounted with read-only permissions include /lib (shared libraries required for system operation), /opt (used for optional software packages), and /var (storing variable data).
Also: What is immutable Linux? Here’s Why You Would Run an Immutable Linux Distro
By mounting the directories that contain application executables as read-only, those apps cannot be swapped out for malicious fakes that could harm your system or steal your data.
How does an immutable distro work?
Here’s how it works:
- The system creates a working image before the upgrade.
- Upgrade occurs.
- The computer must be rebooted to apply the upgrade.
- If anything goes wrong during the upgrade, the newly created image is applied, so you’re back where you started.
With immutable distribution, you never have to worry about an upgrade breaking things.
My colleague Steven Vaughan-Nicholls explains the ins and outs of the immutable distro in more detail.
Now that I’ve sold you on immutable distribution, you may be wondering what alternatives are available. Here are my five favourites.
1. CarbonOS
CarbonOS Designed to be comfortable and robust. What does that even mean? Well, CarbonOS basically uses the GNOME desktop to get it out of your way, so you can focus more on what you want/need to do. With CarbonOS, all system files are mounted read-only, and installed apps are sandboxed, so they’re isolated from each other.
Too: How to Run Windows Apps on Linux with Wine
One thing worth knowing about CarbonOS is that it is an independent distribution – it does not use Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, openSUSE, or any other distribution as its foundation. Because of this, CarbonOS is not beholden to any other distribution, so it can function independently. That freedom allows the development team to focus on users, creating an OS that is user-friendly, stable, and fun.
CarbonOS follows some guidelines: a refined and consistent UI, performance, stability, and innovation. If you are fond of the GNOME desktop and want to use an immutable distribution, CarbonOS is what you want.
2. Fedora Silverblue
Like CarbonOS, fedora silverblue Uses GNOME and it is immutable. And there’s another similarity: both distros use rpm-ostree to manage updates. RPM-Ostry is a hybrid image/package management system that enables immutable distribution. Both also rely on Flatpak apps.
Also: 5 Linux Distros That Work a Little Out of the Box, but Are Worth the Effort
To be honest, the biggest difference between CarbonOS and Fedora SilverBlue is that CarbonOS is independent, whereas Fedora SilverBlue is based on Fedora. And because Fedora is a well-established distribution (unlike CarbonOS, which is relatively new), it benefits a large community. Essentially, the Fedora is the Silverblue Fedora, only unchangeable; So, if you like Fedora and want an immutable OS, Silverblue is the way to go.
3. VanillaOS
VanillaOS is another immutable distribution that uses the GNOME desktop, which makes for a fairly quick learning process. VanillaOS offers a somewhat untouched GNOME environment, but you can always replace it with the extensions you want. However, the developers have included some extensions, such as Apps Menu, Auto Move Windows, Place Status Indicator, Removable Drive Menu, System Monitor, User Themes, Window List, and Workspace Indicator.
Also: I tried a Linux distro that promised free, built-in AI — and things got weird
The big difference between VanillaOS and CarbonOS or Fedora Silverblue is that this distribution is an amalgamation of Debian, Ubuntu, Alpine, Fedora, Arch, and openSUSE, made possible by the APX package management wrapper. With apx, you can install applications from a variety of sources (apt, dnf, pacman, zypper, flatpacks, AppImages and even Android apps). This means that you will have a wide range of applications to choose from when using an immutable operating system.
Like CarbonOS and Fedora Silverblue, VanillaOS is a general-purpose operating system, so you can easily use it as your desktop OS. If you want an unchanged Linux distro that uses GNOME but gives the desktop environment a little more user-friendliness, VanillaOS is a great choice.
4. BlendOS
Similar to vanillaOS, BlendOS allows you to install apps from a variety of sources (RPM, DEB, etc.). BlendOS is also beautiful. This immutable distribution allows you to choose from a variety of desktop environments, including GNOME, KDE Plasma, XFCE, Cinnamon, MATE, Deepin, and LXQt. The Deepin version of BlendOS is particularly pleasing to the eyes.
Too: This is my all-time favorite Linux distro – and I’ve tried them all
The biggest difference between BlendOS and others on this list is that BlendOS caters to the needs of developers. The distro ships with Electron 25, Hardware Locality Isotope, Neovim, Qt Assistant, Qt Designer, Qt Linguist, Qt QDBus View, Qt V4L2 Test Utility, Qt V4L Video Capture Utility, Software Tokens, and Podman – all ready for developers. This doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from BlendOS, but you’ll have to take the time to install the apps you want (like LibreOffice, GIMP, etc.).
If I had to introduce BlendOS to the average user, I would probably whisper in their ear, “Try one of the other distributions first.”
5. Nitrox
Nitrox is based on Debian. Combine this with immutability, and you can guarantee that this distribution will be pretty solid once it arrives. Once upon a time, Nitrox used the KDE Plasma desktop as the basis for the NX desktop and included MouseKit applications. However, as of this June, the developers chose to take a different path with Hyperland and its utilities + Webbar + Vlogout.
Hyperland is a tiling window manager, which puts Nitrux out of reach for most average users. However, if you want an incredibly efficient desktop, this is the way to go.
Also: I install these 11 apps on every new Linux system, and you should too – here’s why
Nitrox has also moved from the Licorix kernel to a cachey alternative, as Licorix still does not include a patch to enable PSI (which is required for WayDroid to function). Nitrux also ignores the systemd init system for OpenRC. Additionally, Nitrux uses the XanMod kernel, which includes some features to make it even more stable and responsive. Those features include kernel caching, full multicore block layer runqueues, BBRv2 TCP congestion control, ORC unwinder for stack traces, high-responsiveness multitasking task type scheduler, and several third-party patch sets.
All this together makes Nitrox a very fast, irreversible delivery.
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