Immutable Linux distros always frustrated me for one reason - until RakuOS

4 days ago 15

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

RakuOS is simply a hybrid immutable/standard Linux distro
With RakuOS you get the champion of some worlds with information and usability.
RakuOS tin beryllium downloaded and installed for free.

Immutable Linux is astir arsenic unafraid arsenic an OS tin get. By mounting definite directories arsenic read-only, malicious codification oregon atrocious actors cannot impact the information within. I could earnestly spot my afloat religion successful immutable Linux and not interest astir a thing.

Until I wanted to instal an exertion utilizing the distribution's built-in bundle manager.

With immutable Linux distributions, bundle is typically installed via containers, specified arsenic Flatpak oregon Snap. Installation of apps is done this mode due to the fact that of the read-only quality of definite directories. Because of that, modular bundle managers cannot instal the indispensable files, truthful utilizing the likes of apt, dnf, oregon pacman is simply a no-go.

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Does that mean you're constricted to the apps you person disposable connected an immutable distribution? Somewhat. Don't get maine wrong, the mean idiosyncratic won't consciousness arsenic if they're missing retired connected thing due to the fact that Flathub and Snapcraft person tons of apps.

But erstwhile I'm utilizing an immutable distribution, and I privation to instal thing similar Ollama, I'm retired of luck if I privation to guarantee I'm utilizing the latest mentation of the app (I presently tally Ollama 0.30.7 connected my Pop!_OS desktop). I've attempted to instal Ollama via Flatpak, and though the bid completes, the app is obscurity to beryllium found.

I've tried respective times, but the extremity effect is simply a failure. However, moving the bid sudo dnf instal ollama works conscionable fine; it shouldn't, but it does.

Why should the DNF bid fail? Because RakuOS is immutable, installing via DNF shouldn't beryllium possible. That's wherever RakuOS says, nay, nay. How does RakuOS propulsion this off? According to the authoritative site, "RakuOS uses a persistent overlay strategy mounted straight connected /usr. Your basal strategy is ever pristine -- but you tin instal immoderate autochthonal bundle you want, and it survives each strategy update."

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With this hybrid system, you get:

An immutable basal strategy with instant bootc rollback.
Native packages that automatically persist crossed updates.
Allows installation via dnf, dnf5, oregon the RakuOS Software Center.
A pristine strategy reset with a azygous bid (more connected that successful a bit).
Flatpak for sandboxed apps (heightened security) and autochthonal packages for everything else.

In different words, you get the champion of some worlds.

My acquisition with RakuOS

The happening I appreciated the astir astir RakuOS is that, portion it had each of the underpinnings of an immutable distribution, it inactive felt similar a accepted Linux OS. The lone quality was that alternatively of the KDE Plasma Discover app store, determination was the RakuOS Software app store. The bully quality is that the RakuOS Software app looked and behaved likewise to that of Discover.

With RakuOS, I was capable to instal each of the bundle I usually would usage via a operation of Flatpak and DNF. If I wanted to instal an app with the added information of isolation, I utilized Flatpak; otherwise, I dove into DNF.

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As acold arsenic show is concerned, RakuOS uses the CachyOS kernel, truthful it's built for speed. No substance what I threw astatine the desktop, it didn't bat an eye. Even moving a hefty Ollama query (writing a Python GUI app) didn't dilatory the instrumentality down.

That CachyOS kernel is thing special, and the RakuOS devs were astute to see it.

But then, my curiosity got the champion of me, and I decided to effort the "pristine reset" enactment to spot however good it worked. After installing respective apps and redeeming immoderate files/data to my location directory, I scoured the RakuOS website for immoderate notation of the existent bid utilized for this, but recovered nothing.

Given however RakuOS creates the overlay successful /usr, I thought, "What happens if I simply region everything successful /usr? Couldn't hurt, right? I americium moving RakuOS arsenic a virtual machine, truthful if it does FUBAR the system, I tin rotation up different VM without overmuch trouble.

Ergo, I issued the command:

sudo rm -rf /usr/

That was a spot nerve-racking.

A speedy restart to spot what the results were, lone to find the restart failed. I forced the VM disconnected and past restarted. The footwear process took considerably longer than I would person expected, but then, fixed that I'd nuked the /usr directory, I'm reasoning possibly RakuOS had to rebuild it.

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Maybe?

I waited, and waited, and waited.

No dice.

Once much unto the breach with a reboot, and the aforesaid contented persisted. Time to reinstall. This clip around, I remembered that RakuOS was based connected OSTree, truthful the bid was simple:

sudo rpm-ostree reset

Even idiosyncratic who's utilized a portion of exertion for decades tin get tripped up present and then.

The 2nd clip around, everything went well, and I coiled up with a pristine OS (after installation, use, and resetting with the due command).

My last thought connected RakuOS is this: I'm impressed. This Linux organisation gives users the champion of some worlds: immutability with the quality to usage default bundle managers. Although installation takes a spot longer than I'm utilized to, the extremity effect is precise overmuch worthy the clip invested.

If you're looking for an OS that is adjacent parts unafraid and user-friendly, springiness RakuOS a try. You tin download an ISO for the KDE Plasma, GNOME, oregon COSMIC versions, create a bootable USB drive, and instal it.

If you're already moving a Fedora Atomic-based distro, you tin reset with:

sudo rpm-ostree reset

And past you tin rebase to RakuOS with 1 of the pursuing commands:

KDE Plasma: sudo rpm-ostree rebase ostree-unverified-registry:quay.io/rakuos/rakuos-kde:latest
KDE Plasma with NVIDIA: sudo rpm-ostree rebase ostree-unverified-registry:quay.io/rakuos/rakuos-kde-nvidia:latest
GNOME: sudo rpm-ostree rebase ostree-unverified-registry:quay.io/rakuos/rakuos-gnome:latest
GNOME with NVIDIA: sudo rpm-ostree rebase ostree-unverified-registry:quay.io/rakuos/rakuos-gnome-nvidia:latest
COSMIC: sudo rpm-ostree rebase ostree-unverified-registry:quay.io/rakuos/rakuos-cosmic:latest
COSMIC with NVIDIA: sudo rpm-ostree rebase ostree-unverified-registry:quay.io/rakuos/rakuos-cosmic-nvidia:latest

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