Simple OS 1.0.3

Simple OS 1.0.3

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 1.0.3

A maintenance update. If you run Simple OS 1.0, 1.0.1 or 1.0.2, you get it through Software Updates – no need to
reinstall. The update adds a few small packages (about 60 MB) and removes nothing.

• Night light works. On real computers the setting did nothing before; now the screen turns warm.
• New: Mouse & Touchpad in the Control Center – natural scrolling, tap to click and pointer speed. Your settings
  stay for mice you plug in later.
• New: Date & Time in the Control Center – set the time automatically, change the time zone, change your password.
• New: Wi-Fi band. If downloads drop to a few kB/s although the signal is strong (some routers' 5 GHz channel is
  unstable), choose "2.4 GHz only" for that network in the Control Center → Wi-Fi.
• A monitor, projector or TV you plug in turns on by itself and extends the desktop (Super+P changes it). Before,
  it stayed dark.
• Your language. Dictionaries, Firefox and LibreOffice come in the language you chose in the installer (needs the
  internet; otherwise they follow with the first Software Updates). Before, LibreOffice always got a German dictionary.
• Sound on newer laptops: speakers and microphone profiles (alsa-ucm-conf) were missing, so some laptops had no
  microphone or only a generic output. alsamixer is there now.
• Web pages in every script: Arabic, Hebrew, Thai, Hindi, Chinese, Japanese and more show letters instead of empty
  boxes.
• The basics are in the box: curl, wget, unzip, zip and ssh, and OpenVPN for the network menu.
• The system log is limited to 200 MB.
• Fixes: the Bluetooth switch could not turn on a Bluetooth that was blocked by the radio switch; "Report a
  Problem" now contains Wi-Fi quality data (signal, retries, band) to help with slow connections; the title of one
  Control Center page was missing.

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.