Simple OS 1.0.1

Simple OS 1.0.1

SOS – Simple Operating System. Keep it Simple.

Simple OS is a fast, quiet desktop built on Debian 12 "bookworm". It boots straight into a calm dark desktop
(Openbox, Catppuccin colors), sets itself up with a short wizard and keeps itself up to date. You don't
need a terminal.

What's new in 1.0.1

A maintenance update. If you run Simple OS 1.0, you get it through Software Updates – no need to reinstall.

• Updates are checked regularly. Simple OS looks for updates 2 minutes after you sign in and then every
  12 hours, also after the laptop wakes up from sleep. Before, it only checked once after signing in.
• App updates are offered too. Updates for apps from the Software Store (for example the Mullvad Browser or
  ONLYOFFICE) now show up in Software Updates by themselves. Before, they were only installed along with a
  system update.
• Office entries in the menu (LibreOffice, ONLYOFFICE) follow what is installed, also when you add or remove an
  office suite in the Software Center, and they have icons like the other entries. If you picked an office suite
  in the setup wizard of 1.0, your menu gets Simple OS improvements again from now on.
• Gaming with older NVIDIA cards (Kepler, driver 470): the gaming setup now installs the matching 32-bit
  graphics libraries, so Steam works with that driver.

Download

File	What it is
Simple-OS.iso	The live and installer image (about 1.5 GB)
Simple-OS.iso.sha256	Checksum to make sure the download is complete and unchanged
Simple-OS.packages.txt	Every Debian package with its exact version (for source code requests)

Check the download

• Linux: sha256sum -c Simple-OS.iso.sha256 (in the download folder) should print Simple-OS.iso: OK
• Windows (PowerShell): Get-FileHash Simple-OS.iso and compare the hash with the one in Simple-OS.iso.sha256

Make a USB stick (4 GB or larger, everything on it is erased)

• Windows / macOS / Linux: balenaEtcher – pick the ISO, pick the stick, Flash.
• Windows: Rufus also works. If it asks, choose "Write in DD Image mode".
• Linux: open Disks (gnome-disks), select the stick, choose Restore Disk Image… and pick the ISO.

Start the computer from the stick. Usually that's F12, F9, F2 or Esc right after power-on, depending on the brand.
The live system needs no password – not for the installer either. Only if something unexpected asks: the user is
simple and the password is live.
To install, use Install Simple OS on the desktop.

System requirements

• 64-bit PC (x86-64) with UEFI or legacy BIOS. Secure Boot is supported, so you can leave it on.
• 2 GB RAM (1 GB minimum for the installer, 4 GB or more is recommended for browsing and gaming)
• 20 GB disk space (the installer accepts 10 GB)
• Internet for the setup wizard (browser, office suite, games) and for updates

What's inside

• Setup wizard on first login: Wi-Fi, browser (Firefox, Chromium or Mullvad Browser), light/dark,
  accent color, office suite (LibreOffice or ONLYOFFICE) and an optional gaming setup (Steam, Lutris, MangoHud)
• Control Center (Super+I) for sound, display, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, appearance, power and system settings
• Software Store (Flathub) and Software Updates with a single password prompt. Firmware and BIOS updates
  from the LVFS are included, and so are new versions of Simple OS itself: you don't need to reinstall to get
  the next Simple OS. Settings you changed yourself are kept.
• Hardware & Drivers: detects NVIDIA graphics, Wi-Fi chips and CPU microcode and installs what is missing
• Backups: restore points with Timeshift, optionally created before every update
• Firewall on by default: other devices can't connect to you, while browsing, printing and updates keep working
• Battery care (charge to 80 %) on laptops that support it, power modes, and protection against freezing
  when memory runs out (earlyoom)
• Printers & scanners are found automatically on the network and over USB
• Report a Problem (Menu → Help) saves the details of your computer to a file you can attach to a bug report.
  Your name, user name, network names and addresses are removed.
• Kernel 6.12 and current firmware from Debian backports, for recent laptops

Known issues

• English only. The installer lets you choose your language and keyboard, but the Simple OS tools
  (Control Center, wizard, messages) are in English. The keyboard layout can be changed at any time in
  Control Center → System.
• Firewall and LAN games: hosting a game for others on your local network, and Steam Remote Play as the host,
  are blocked by the firewall. Turn it off for that time in Control Center → System → Security.
• Lenovo laptops: the first start after installing may show "Self-Healing BIOS ESP" once. That's
  Lenovo's firmware restoring its backup on the new disk layout and is harmless. It does not come back.
• NVIDIA with Secure Boot: the NVIDIA driver (Control Center → System → Hardware & Drivers) only works
  with Secure Boot turned off in the firmware settings, because the firmware doesn't know the key it is signed with.
  Simple OS itself starts with Secure Boot on. Install the NVIDIA driver only after turning Secure Boot off.
• BIOS/firmware updates only install while the laptop is plugged in. Whether your model gets them depends on
  the manufacturer (LVFS).
• Battery care is only shown if the laptop supports a charge limit (most Lenovo, ASUS, Dell, HP and
  Framework models do).
• Debian 12 base: security updates come from Debian until June 2028 (Debian LTS). A version based on
  Debian 13 is planned.

Found a bug?

Open Menu → Help → Report a Problem. It saves a report file to your Desktop and opens the
issue page. Drag the file into the issue and describe
what happened.

License and source code

Simple OS's own scripts and settings are licensed under the GNU GPL, version 3 or later (see LICENSE).
Simple OS is built from Debian packages. Each keeps its own license in /usr/share/doc/<package>/copyright. The
source code of every package in this release (versions in Simple-OS.packages.txt) is available from
snapshot.debian.org and sources.debian.org.