Skip to content

Abora Denali

Choose a tag to compare

View all tags
@AnimatedGTVR AnimatedGTVR released this 12 Jun 11:55
V3DENALI
254e6d1

Abora OS v3.0.0 Denali

Denali is the release where Abora starts feeling like Abora.

Abora OS v3.0.0 is not just another ISO refresh. This release rebuilds a lot of the rougher parts from older Abora versions and gives the project a much stronger identity. Denali brings a rebuilt installer, proper Abora branding, 21 desktop options, ANIX v1, TinyPM v4, Modularity, app bundles, better hardware support, and a cleaner NixOS-based system underneath it all.

If Abora v2 was the foundation, v3 is where the distro starts coming together.

Download

Release assets are available below in the GitHub Releases section.

File Description
abora-2026.05.30-x86_64-v3.0.0.iso Abora OS v3.0.0 bootable live ISO
tinypm-v4.0.0-abora-v3.0.0.tar.gz TinyPM v4 package for Abora
SHA256SUMS-v3.0.0.txt SHA256 checksums
RELEASE_MANIFEST-v3.0.0.txt Full release manifest

After downloading, check the ISO with:

sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS-v3.0.0.txt

What’s New

Rebuilt Installer

The installer has been rebuilt with a cleaner terminal UI inspired by Omarchy. It now has a large Abora wordmark, compact boxed fields, numbered menus, and a layout that is easier to follow while installing.

The goal was not to make the installer flashy. The goal was to make it calmer, clearer, and harder to break.

Installer improvements:

  • Config validation before nixos-install
  • Cleaner errors when something goes wrong
  • Live install progress
  • Log panel with install output
  • Elapsed install timer
  • Failed installs drop into a live shell
  • Full install log saved at /tmp/abora-install.log
  • Bootloader files are checked before the installer claims success
  • QEMU installs can auto-power off after finishing
  • Installed QEMU systems can be booted with make qemu-disk

21 Desktop Options

Abora v3 lets you pick your desktop during install.

Desktop Type
GNOME Full DE
KDE Plasma Full DE
COSMIC Full DE
XFCE Full DE
Cinnamon Full DE
MATE Full DE
Budgie Full DE
LXQt Lightweight DE
Pantheon Full DE
Hyprland Wayland compositor
Sway Wayland compositor
Niri Wayland compositor
River Wayland compositor
i3 Tiling WM
AwesomeWM Tiling WM
Qtile Tiling WM
BSPWM Tiling WM
Herbstluftwm Tiling WM
Openbox Floating WM
Fluxbox Floating WM
IceWM Floating WM
No desktop Console-only

COSMIC Desktop is new in v3 and uses COSMIC Greeter.

All desktop profiles are checked before release with:

make check-desktops

Abora Branding

Abora now identifies itself properly as Abora OS 3.0 “Denali” across the system.

That includes:

  • OS release metadata
  • Installer text
  • Issue/report URLs
  • First-run surfaces
  • Boot branding
  • Wallpapers
  • Shell defaults

Visual and desktop changes:

  • Limine bootloader branding
  • Plymouth splash theme
  • Abora wallpaper pack
  • Dark-first defaults
  • Papirus Dark icon defaults
  • Fastfetch with the Abora logo
  • zsh with Spaceship prompt
  • GNOME wallpaper and accent color syncing

Included wallpapers:

  • Mountain Day
  • Mountain Night
  • Ocean Dusk
  • Blue Horizon
  • Astronaut
  • Glacier Reflection

ANIX v1

ANIX is Abora’s human layer for NixOS.

It gives you easier commands for profiles, rollbacks, snapshots, health checks, and system changes without needing to memorize long Nix commands every time.

Example commands:

anix quickstart
anix status
anix profiles
anix diff nix gaming
anix test nix gaming
anix switch nix gaming
anix rollback nix
anix save
anix doctor --fix
anix set desktop gnome
anix --gui

Built-in profiles:

  • stable
  • minimal
  • gaming
  • creator
  • developer

The point of ANIX is simple: keep the power of NixOS, but make it feel more usable inside Abora.

TinyPM v4

TinyPM v4 is Abora’s app/package layer.

It is made to make installing apps easier while still understanding Abora, ANIX, and the NixOS base. The main idea is simple: instead of worrying about what backend to use every time, you can use TinyPM and let it handle the cleaner path.

Example commands:

grab firefox
tinypm sources
tinypm system
tinypm repair
tinypm anix status
tinypm abora doctor

TinyPM v4 focuses on:

  • grab as the simple install command
  • tinypm as the main CLI
  • Native package manager support
  • Flatpak support
  • Snap support
  • Source/backend detection
  • Package tracking
  • Repair and doctor tools
  • Abora flavor support
  • ANIX/NixOS awareness

TinyPM v4 is not just a random wrapper anymore. It now has better Abora awareness and can work alongside ANIX instead of fighting the system.

App Catalog

Abora v3 includes an optional app catalog with starter bundles you can choose during install.

Available bundles:

  • Fan Favorites
  • Essentials
  • Social
  • Creator
  • Developer
  • Gaming

Every bundle is optional. You can pick the one that fits your setup, or skip all of them and keep the install clean.

New in v3: Modularity is included in the Developer bundle.

Modularity is a game engine editor by Tareno Labs with PhysX, Vulkan, and Mono support included.

Hardware and Live ISO Improvements

The live ISO now includes more of the things people expect to work before installing.

Included:

  • NetworkManager
  • Radio unblock at boot
  • Bluetooth support
  • Blueman
  • ModemManager
  • Redistributable firmware
  • Intel microcode
  • AMD microcode
  • Common Wi-Fi drivers
  • Common Ethernet drivers
  • Common Bluetooth drivers
  • Storage and VM driver modules
  • Flathub setup on first boot after install

The ISO is larger because of this, but the tradeoff is better out-of-box support on more hardware.

Build from Source

Clone the repo:

git clone https://github.com/AnimatedGTVR/Abora-OS.git
cd Abora-OS

Build the ISO:

make iso

Boot a fresh live ISO in QEMU:

make qemu-fresh

After installing inside QEMU, boot the installed system:

make qemu-disk

Run checks:

make check
make check-desktops
make preflight

Updating Existing Installs

Existing Abora installs can update with:

sudo nixos update

Rollback:

sudo nixos rollback

For the cleanest Denali experience, a fresh install is recommended, especially if you are coming from Abora v2, v2.5, or an older testing build.

Known Limits

  • The ISO is bigger than older v2 builds because it includes more firmware and hardware support.
  • Flatpak and app bundle installs need internet after first boot.
  • Modularity is installed through the Developer bundle, or later with grab modularity.
  • COSMIC Greeter handles its own session setup, so GNOME auto-login settings do not apply to COSMIC.
  • Hardware support still depends on Linux kernel support for your exact device.

Validation

Completed before release:

  • make check
  • make check-desktops
  • make preflight
  • QEMU fresh install
  • QEMU installed disk boot
  • TinyPM v4 package generation
  • TinyPM smoke test
  • Release manifest generation
  • SHA256 checksum generation
  • Release notes generation

GitHub / Project Links

Link URL
Main Website https://aboraos.org/
Source Code https://github.com/AnimatedGTVR/Abora-OS
Issues / Bug Reports https://github.com/AnimatedGTVR/Abora-OS/issues
Releases https://github.com/AnimatedGTVR/Abora-OS/releases
TinyPM https://github.com/AnimatedGTVR/TinyPM

When reporting a bug, please include:

  • Your hardware or VM setup
  • The desktop you selected
  • The ISO version
  • What command failed, if any
  • Installer log, if available: /tmp/abora-install.log

Announcements

Abora v4

Abora v4 is planned.

The next major version of Abora will be called Everest, but it is going to take time. Right now, the focus is Denali: making v3 stable, usable, and ready for people to actually daily-drive.

More v4 information will be posted on the Abora website when it is ready.

AnimatedGTVR

AnimatedGTVR announcement.

Hey everyone, AnimatedGTVR here.

I just want to say thank you for all the support around Abora OS. From LinuxHub making a video about Abora OS on YouTube, to The Weblog of Frederic Bezies talking about the project, it genuinely means a lot to see people notice what Abora is becoming.

That said, with the good also comes the rough stuff. I have seen some criticism around Abora OS v2.5 not working properly, and honestly, that is true for most users. I did not run into those same issues while making v2.5, so a lot of them were hard to catch before release.

If you run into any issue with Abora, big or small, please open a GitHub Issue. Even if it seems minor, it helps a lot. Bug reports make it easier to fix problems, improve future releases, and make Abora better for everyone.

The Abora website will also be getting an announcement page for updates, release notes, future plans, and project news.
</ td>

The Abora website will also be getting an announcement page for updates, release notes, future plans, and project news.

Website:

https://aboraos.org/

Final Note

Abora v3.0.0 “Denali” is a big step forward for the project.

It is cleaner, more complete, more Abora, and much closer to what the distro was meant to become from the start.

Assets 3
Loading
0 Join discussion