Abora OS v2.5.0

Abora OS v2.5.0

Release date: 2026-05-07 UTC

Downloads

• abora-2026.05.07-x86_64-v2.5.0.iso
• tinypm-v3.0.0-abora-v2.5.0.tar.gz
• SHA256SUMS-v2.5.0.txt
• RELEASE_MANIFEST-v2.5.0.txt

Abora OS v2.5.0 is about making the system feel easier to live with after install.

The big theme for this release is management: clearer commands, safer updates, better rollback paths, a real first-run welcome, and less need to remember raw Nix commands just to take care of the machine.

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Highlights

A Real Abora Command Layer

Abora now has a friendlier command front door:

abora welcome
abora doctor
abora recovery
abora desktop list
abora desktop set gnome

abora welcome gives users a first-step status screen with the current desktop, wallpaper, update channel, Flathub state, and ANIX state.

abora doctor checks the installed Abora tooling, Flatpak/Flathub, update channel, desktop config, boot assets, theme sync files, and ANIX health.

abora recovery gathers the scary stuff in one place: rollback, rebuild, Flathub repair, support reports, and doctor checks.

ANIX Is Becoming The Human Layer

ANIX now wraps common NixOS workflows in commands that read more like normal OS management:

anix switch nix gaming
anix rollback nix
anix rollback nix minimal
anix save
anix doctor

Named profiles now point to real flake outputs:

• stable
• minimal
• gaming
• creator
• developer

Snapshots stay local by default. ANIX also warns if it sees possible secrets before saving, and recommends moving real secrets to sops-nix or agenix.

Safer Updates

Installed systems can track either stable or unstable:

nixos channel
nixos channel list
nixos channel set stable
nixos channel set unstable

Before an update rebuilds the system, Abora now offers to save a local ANIX snapshot first. That gives users a cleaner recovery point before changing the system.

Easier System Configuration

abora-local.nix now uses simple abora.* options:

abora.hostname = "my-pc";
abora.timezone = "America/New_York";
abora.desktop  = "gnome";

And abora config can edit the safe settings without opening the Nix file by hand:

abora config
abora config set hostname my-pc
abora config set timezone America/New_York
abora config set desktop hyprland
abora config apply

user and disk stay read-only through the command for safety.

Shared Terminal UI

The Abora terminal tools now share the same ocean-themed UI library. Headers, cards, progress bars, warnings, and success messages should feel like they belong to the same OS instead of a pile of unrelated scripts.

Flatpak + Flathub

Flatpak is enabled on installed systems, and Flathub is added automatically on first boot when networking is available.

App Catalog

The app catalog is now 52 apps across 6 categories.

New categories:

• Gaming: Steam, Lutris, Heroic Games Launcher, Bottles, MangoHud, GameMode
• System: GParted, Disks, Timeshift, Flameshot, btop, Mission Center

Other new picks include Chromium, Bitwarden, Discord, Slack, Zoom, RawTherapee, Zed, tmux, Alacritty, Ghostty, Lazygit, and Docker.

Bundles:

• favorites
• essentials
• social
• creator
• developer
• gaming
• system

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Changed Files

Area	What Changed
scripts/abora.sh	New top-level command router
scripts/abora-welcome.sh	First-step status and quick actions
scripts/abora-doctor.sh	Abora health checker
scripts/abora-recovery.sh	Rollback, repair, rebuild, and diagnostics menu
scripts/abora-desktop.sh	Desktop profile helper
scripts/anix.sh	Profile switching, rollback, snapshots, config, and doctor
scripts/abora-config.sh	Installed-system settings editor
scripts/abora-update.sh	Update channels, snapshots before rebuilds, profile-aware flakes
scripts/abora-apps.sh	Styled catalog and installed-app views
scripts/abora-app-catalog.sh	52 apps across 6 categories
scripts/abora-hardware-test.sh	Shared UI styling
scripts/abora-installer.sh	New config format and named profile outputs
scripts/abora-ui.sh	Shared terminal UI library
nix/modules/abora-options.nix	abora.* NixOS option namespace
nix/modules/installed-base.nix	Management commands, Flatpak, MOTD, first-shell welcome
nix/profiles/live.nix	New commands included in the ISO
Makefile	New make preflight target

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Upgrade Notes

Existing v2.5 installs can update with:

sudo nixos update

The updater syncs the new Abora files into /etc/nixos/abora/, updates the flake, and rebuilds.

Older installs that still use the pre-v2.5 config format will not automatically become full abora.* systems. For those, reinstalling from the v2.5 ISO is the cleanest path. Manual migration is possible by rewriting abora-local.nix to use the new options format.

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Release Assets

• abora-v2.5.0-x86_64.iso
• SHA256SUMS-v2.5.0.txt
• RELEASE_MANIFEST-v2.5.0.txt

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Known Limits

• abora config does not edit user or disk.
• Flathub setup needs network after first boot.
• ANIX snapshots are local unless anix config set snapshots.push true is enabled.
• Named ANIX profiles are flake configs, not raw /nix/var/nix/profiles symlinks.

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Validation Focus

Before tagging, run:

make preflight

For hardware testing, focus on:

1. Live ISO boots and the installer completes cleanly.
2. Fresh install writes the new abora.* config format.
3. abora welcome, abora doctor, abora recovery, and abora desktop list work.
4. abora config can read and change safe settings.
5. nixos channel set unstable followed by nixos update tracks main.
6. abora-apps add <id> works for Gaming and System catalog entries.
7. Flatpak and Flathub are available after first boot.
8. anix switch nix gaming --now targets /etc/nixos#gaming.
9. anix rollback nix uses nixos-rebuild switch --rollback.

Checksums

eb61b0eccc6b92f600fb6548b1ce478289547421b730ae5b37d5e51190d40d22  abora-2026.05.07-x86_64-v2.5.0.iso
c0dccc5058636fa367456c8e9c39eab7d71f96a0aaad49e96267ae9072c9df2b  tinypm-v3.0.0-abora-v2.5.0.tar.gz

NOTICE

Abora OS v2.5 through v2.5.3 currently contains known installer issues that may prevent successful installation on some systems.

If you are planning to install Abora, please wait for an updated build while these issues are being fixed.

If you would like to help gather information, test builds, or report bugs to assist me and Sonakrie in fixing these problems, please report issues here:

#5