An4rch OS v1.1.3

What's new in v1.1.3

Safer installs on real computers

Found on a real laptop and in a bug hunt through 1.1.2. If you install from a Ventoy USB stick, please use this version.

• The installer never offers the USB stick it runs from. On a Ventoy stick (and others that load the ISO from a file), 1.1.2 listed the stick itself as a disk to install on, and erasing it destroyed the stick. Both installers now find the stick through Ventoy's layers and leave it out; the install refuses it even if it is chosen some other way.
• Erasing a disk works when something on it is in use. If one of the disk's old partitions was open (mounted by Files, swap, or left from an earlier system), the install stopped at "Formatting" with "is mounted". The installer now turns off and unmounts everything on the chosen disk first, and never formats unless the new partition layout is really in use.
• Usernames and names that broke the install are caught up front. A name with : " $ or a backquote, or the username root (or one the system uses, like git), made the install fail at the very end. The name is now cleaned, and such usernames are refused before anything is changed.
• When an install fails, the installer says so at once and honestly. It no longer claims nothing was changed after the disk has been erased.
• Password-free sudo is never left behind, however an install ends, and the one used briefly after the first start to install AUR apps is removed straight away, even after a power cut.
• Wi-Fi networks with a "/" in their name reconnect after installing.

Existing installs get all of this with anarch update (the installer fixes only matter for new installs).

Download

⬇ an4rch-os-2026.10.13-x86_64.iso: the full ISO as one file (about 5 GB, hosted on Hugging Face because GitHub limits release files to 2 GB). It installs in minutes from the USB stick. Checksum: an4rch-os-2026.10.13-x86_64.iso.sha256.

The same ISO is also attached below in parts, as a backup: download every .part file and join them (see below).

Joining the parts (backup download)

Full ISO (recommended): installs in minutes from the USB stick. Download all of: an4rch-os-2026.10.13-x86_64.iso.part0 an4rch-os-2026.10.13-x86_64.iso.part1 an4rch-os-2026.10.13-x86_64.iso.part2, then join them into one file:

• Windows (Command Prompt, in the download folder): copy /b an4rch-os-2026.10.13-x86_64.iso.part0 + an4rch-os-2026.10.13-x86_64.iso.part1 + an4rch-os-2026.10.13-x86_64.iso.part2 an4rch-os-2026.10.13-x86_64.iso
• Linux / macOS: cat an4rch-os-2026.10.13-x86_64.iso.part* > an4rch-os-2026.10.13-x86_64.iso

Check it against an4rch-os-2026.10.13-x86_64.iso.sha256 if you like (certutil -hashfile an4rch-os-2026.10.13-x86_64.iso SHA256 on Windows, sha256sum -c elsewhere).

Online ISO (an4rch-os-2026.10.13-x86_64-online.iso, if listed): one smaller file, but it downloads the packages while installing, so installing takes longer.

Install

Write the ISO to a USB stick of 8 GB or more (Rufus in DD mode, Ventoy, Impression, Fedora Media Writer or dd), turn off Secure Boot, and boot it (UEFI recommended; older legacy BIOS computers work too). Pick An4rch OS installer for the live desktop with the graphical installer, or (text mode) for the console installer.

⚠️ Erasing a disk deletes everything on it, including Windows. On a disk with Windows you can choose Alongside Windows instead, which keeps Windows and its files (back up first, and turn off Fast Startup in Windows). To just try An4rch, use the live desktop and don't install: nothing on the computer is touched.

NVIDIA graphics (GTX 16xx / RTX 20xx and newer): pick An4rch OS installer (NVIDIA) in the boot menu.

See the An4rch OS manual.

An4rch OS v1.1.2

What's new in v1.1.2

Fixes from a day of testing on 144 virtual machines

Every change in this release was found by installing An4rch OS on test machines (low-spec and high-spec, NVIDIA, dual boot, encrypted, offline, BIOS, French keyboards, servers) and using it the way a person would. Each fix was retested on fresh machines before release.

• Notifications work again. After the rename to An4rch, pop-up notifications (volume, screenshots, reminders, errors) stopped appearing.
• The live USB starts its desktop reliably and shuts down quickly.
• Apps ticked in the installer are always installed. Apps that can't be added during installation (some come from the AUR or Flathub) now install by themselves after the first start, as soon as there is internet. If one still won't install, it is tried again on the next two starts.
• Installing with an AUR app ticked no longer stops at the very end.
• The install carries on if the AUR is down. yay (the AUR helper) is optional: if aur.archlinux.org doesn't answer, An4rch installs without it and says how to add it later, instead of leaving you at a console.
• Backups work on computers installed without internet. restic, the backup tool, is now installed by default and carried on the USB stick. Commands that need to download something now say so straight away when there is no internet, instead of hanging.
• Restoring a deleted file from a backup works.
• anarch update on installs from the USB stick no longer thinks you are offline when it can't reach GitHub.
• Phones find the computer in KDE Connect (anarch phone): the firewall now lets them through.
• Widgets no longer stop the top bar.
• Older installs get the new login screen when they update, whatever the wording of their old greeting.
• The USB stick no longer carries a login for the build server.

Existing installs get all of this with anarch update.

Download

⬇ an4rch-os-2026.10.12-x86_64.iso: the full ISO as one file (about 5 GB, hosted on Hugging Face because GitHub limits release files to 2 GB). It installs in minutes from the USB stick. Checksum: an4rch-os-2026.10.12-x86_64.iso.sha256.

The same ISO is also attached below in parts, as a backup: download every .part file and join them (see below).

Joining the parts (backup download)

Full ISO (recommended): installs in minutes from the USB stick. Download all of: an4rch-os-2026.10.12-x86_64.iso.part0 an4rch-os-2026.10.12-x86_64.iso.part1 an4rch-os-2026.10.12-x86_64.iso.part2, then join them into one file:

• Windows (Command Prompt, in the download folder): copy /b an4rch-os-2026.10.12-x86_64.iso.part0 + an4rch-os-2026.10.12-x86_64.iso.part1 + an4rch-os-2026.10.12-x86_64.iso.part2 an4rch-os-2026.10.12-x86_64.iso
• Linux / macOS: cat an4rch-os-2026.10.12-x86_64.iso.part* > an4rch-os-2026.10.12-x86_64.iso

Check it against an4rch-os-2026.10.12-x86_64.iso.sha256 if you like (certutil -hashfile an4rch-os-2026.10.12-x86_64.iso SHA256 on Windows, sha256sum -c elsewhere).

Online ISO (an4rch-os-2026.10.12-x86_64-online.iso, if listed): one smaller file, but it downloads the packages while installing, so installing takes longer.

Install

Write the ISO to a USB stick of 8 GB or more (Rufus in DD mode, Ventoy, Impression, Fedora Media Writer or dd), turn off Secure Boot, and boot it (UEFI recommended; older legacy BIOS computers work too). Pick An4rch OS installer for the live desktop with the graphical installer, or (text mode) for the console installer.

⚠️ Erasing a disk deletes everything on it, including Windows. On a disk with Windows you can choose Alongside Windows instead, which keeps Windows and its files (back up first, and turn off Fast Startup in Windows). To just try An4rch, use the live desktop and don't install: nothing on the computer is touched.

NVIDIA graphics (GTX 16xx / RTX 20xx and newer): pick An4rch OS installer (NVIDIA) in the boot menu.

See the An4rch OS manual.

Lumen OS v1.1.1 / An4rch OS v0.0.1

What's new in v1.1.1

The an4rch look: red and black

• A new boot screen. The an4rch logo starts large in the middle of the screen, shrinks into place as the computer starts, and a red glow settles behind it. The disk password (on encrypted installs) is asked for right under it.
• The signature an4rch theme is now red and black, to match the logo: the accent, borders, menus, wallpapers, icons, the USB's boot menu and its splash.
• New themes: the anarchism themes come with an4rch. Twelve themes, black with one colour each, one per school of anarchism, each with wallpapers painted from its own gradient, plus an4rch Light (the an4rch red on white, used by day by anarch auto). They replace the old palettes (Cachy, Tokyo Night, Catppuccin, Gruvbox, Nord, Rosé Pine, Everforest, Kanagawa and the violet an4rch): if you used one, updating switches you to an4rch (or an4rch Light). Themes you made yourself are kept.

One-step login

• A new login screen that carries on from the boot screen: the logo stays where it was, the clock sits above it, your name is filled in, and you only type the password and press Enter.
• Pick a session (the desktop or Steam's Game Mode) and restart or shut down from the same screen.
• anarch login wallpaper on shows your wallpaper behind it.

The an4rch Hub

• Settings is now the an4rch Hub: one window for everything, with new pages for Privacy and safety, Backups, Phone, Accessibility, Screen time and Hardware and drivers, and Report a problem under System. anarch hub opens it.

New features

• Display scaling that fits the screen: 4K monitors and sharp laptop panels are scaled at login (150%, 160% or 200%) so text is a comfortable size. Displays you set up yourself keep your choice.
• Backups (anarch backup): Time Machine for an4rch. Your home folder, encrypted, every hour to a USB drive or a folder, with versions kept for a year. Restore any file into ~/Restored without overwriting anything.
• Phone link (anarch phone): KDE Connect set up in one command: notifications, files both ways (also from Files' right-click menu), a shared clipboard, ring your phone to find it.
• Graphics drivers (anarch drivers): the right NVIDIA driver for each card (open modules, 580 or 470 legacy, or nouveau), prime-run on laptops with two graphics chips, and a hint in anarch doctor when a better driver is available. The installer no longer puts the new driver on cards it doesn't support.
• Secure Boot (anarch secureboot): sign an4rch with your own keys so Secure Boot can stay on, for anti-cheat games and work laptops. Kernel updates sign themselves.
• Problem reports (anarch report): everything needed to fix a bug in one file, with your names, addresses and Wi-Fi networks removed, and a new GitHub issue opened to attach it to.
• Automatic recovery: after a kernel update the boot menu falls back to a working entry if an4rch doesn't start three times, and if the desktop crashes twice in a row right after logging in, the login screen offers Undo update.
• The Game edition: a new choice in the installer that starts straight into Steam's Big Picture, like a Steam Deck. Steam → Power → Switch to Desktop goes to the login screen. On any install: anarch gaming game-mode boot on.

Make it yours

• Widgets on the top bar (anarch widget): weather, CPU temperature, disk space, uptime and a countdown come with an4rch; add community widgets from a git link, or make your own with one script (anarch widget new). The collection lives in widgets/, open to pull requests.
• Your own wallpapers: ~/Pictures/Wallpapers/ joins every theme's picker, ~/.config/lumen/backgrounds/<theme>/ just one theme's.

See the manual's new chapter, The Hub, backups and getting help.

Existing installs get all of this with anarch update.

Download

⬇ an4rch-os-2026.10.09-x86_64.iso: the full ISO as one file (about 5 GB, hosted on Hugging Face because GitHub limits release files to 2 GB). It installs in minutes from the USB stick. Checksum: an4rch-os-2026.10.09-x86_64.iso.sha256.

The same ISO is also attached below in parts, as a backup: download every .part file and join them (see below).

Joining the parts (backup download)

Full ISO (recommended): installs in minutes from the USB stick. Download all of: an4rch-os-2026.10.09-x86_64.iso.part0 an4rch-os-2026.10.09-x86_64.iso.part1 an4rch-os-2026.10.09-x86_64.iso.part2, then join them into one file:

• Windows (Command Prompt, in the download folder): copy /b an4rch-os-2026.10.09-x86_64.iso.part0 + an4rch-os-2026.10.09-x86_64.iso.part1 + an4rch-os-2026.10.09-x86_64.iso.part2 an4rch-os-2026.10.09-x86_64.iso
• Linux / macOS: cat an4rch-os-2026.10.09-x86_64.iso.part* > an4rch-os-2026.10.09-x86_64.iso

Check it against an4rch-os-2026.10.09-x86_64.iso.sha256 if you like (certutil -hashfile an4rch-os-2026.10.09-x86_64.iso SHA256 on Windows, sha256sum -c elsewhere).

Online ISO (an4rch-os-2026.10.09-x86_64-online.iso, if listed): one smaller file, but it downloads the packages while installing, so installing takes longer.

Install

Write the ISO to a USB stick of 8 GB or more (Rufus in DD mode, Ventoy, Impression, Fedora Media Writer or dd), turn off Secure Boot, and boot it (UEFI recommended; older legacy BIOS computers work too). Pick an4rch OS installer for the live desktop with the graphical installer, or (text mode) for the console installer.

⚠️ Erasing a disk deletes everything on it, including Windows. On a disk with Windows you can choose Alongside Windows instead, which keeps Windows and its files (back up first, and turn off Fast Startup in Windows). To just try an4rch, use the live desktop and don't install: nothing on the computer is touched.

NVIDIA graphics (GTX 16xx / RTX 20xx and newer): pick an4rch OS installer (NVIDIA) in the boot menu.

See the an4rch OS manual.

Lumen OS v1.0.10

What's new in v1.0.10

Chromebooks

• The keyboard's top row works: back, forward, refresh, fullscreen, overview (opens Start), brightness and volume, read from each Chromebook's own key layout. Search + top row gives F1–F12 and Search + Backspace is Delete.
• The touchpad (and touchscreen) drivers load on the live USB and after installing.
• (Lumen needs a Chromebook with UEFI firmware, e.g. MrChromebox's, to start at all.)

Fixes

• Dvorak and Colemak keyboards got a plain US (QWERTY) desktop after installing: the installer skipped the keyboard setting whenever the layout was "us", dropping the Dvorak/Colemak variant. Found by the new Dvorak test machine.
• Installing with gaming switched on but no internet stopped the whole desktop install ("Installing the gaming stack failed"). The desktop now installs and gaming (Steam needs the internet) is set up later with lumen gaming install; a failed gaming download online no longer breaks the install either.
• Wi-Fi panel: saved networks whose saved name differs from the network's name (e.g. "Home 1") connect without asking for the password again.
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth panels no longer stack up background refreshes on slow devices.
• About, lumen doctor and the system information show the real Lumen OS version (e.g. 1.0.10).

Testing

• A "brutal" set of 20 extra virtual machines: 1 CPU / 2 GB, 800×600, ultrawide, offline installs with encryption / dual boot / old BIOS / gaming, French, Spanish, Japanese, Swiss and Dvorak keyboards, tiny and huge dual-boot sizes, gaming with NVIDIA and the LTS kernel, every theme and terminal, 8 CPUs / 16 GB.

Existing installs get these with lumen update.

Download

⬇ lumen-2026.10.07-x86_64.iso: the full ISO as one file (about 5 GB, hosted on Hugging Face because GitHub limits release files to 2 GB). It installs in minutes from the USB stick. Checksum: lumen-2026.10.07-x86_64.iso.sha256.

The same ISO is also attached below in parts, as a backup: download every .part file and join them (see below).

Joining the parts (backup download)

Full ISO (recommended): installs in minutes from the USB stick. Download all of: lumen-2026.10.07-x86_64.iso.part0 lumen-2026.10.07-x86_64.iso.part1 lumen-2026.10.07-x86_64.iso.part2, then join them into one file:

• Windows (Command Prompt, in the download folder): copy /b lumen-2026.10.07-x86_64.iso.part0 + lumen-2026.10.07-x86_64.iso.part1 + lumen-2026.10.07-x86_64.iso.part2 lumen-2026.10.07-x86_64.iso
• Linux / macOS: cat lumen-2026.10.07-x86_64.iso.part* > lumen-2026.10.07-x86_64.iso

Check it against lumen-2026.10.07-x86_64.iso.sha256 if you like (certutil -hashfile lumen-2026.10.07-x86_64.iso SHA256 on Windows, sha256sum -c elsewhere).

Online ISO (lumen-2026.10.07-x86_64-online.iso, if listed): one smaller file, but it downloads the packages while installing, so installing takes longer.

Install

Write the ISO to a USB stick of 8 GB or more (Rufus in DD mode, Ventoy, Impression, Fedora Media Writer or dd), turn off Secure Boot, and boot it (UEFI recommended; older legacy BIOS computers work too). Pick Lumen OS installer for the live desktop with the graphical installer, or (text mode) for the console installer.

⚠️ Erasing a disk deletes everything on it, including Windows. On a disk with Windows you can choose Alongside Windows instead, which keeps Windows and its files (back up first, and turn off Fast Startup in Windows). To just try Lumen, use the live desktop and don't install: nothing on the computer is touched.

NVIDIA graphics (GTX 16xx / RTX 20xx and newer): pick Lumen OS installer (NVIDIA) in the boot menu.

See the Lumen OS manual.

Lumen OS v1.0.9

What's new in v1.0.9

Quick panels under the top bar

• Clicking Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, the battery or the power icon now drops down a panel under the top bar (like the sound panel, GNOME and KDE), instead of a menu in the middle of the screen.
• Networks: Wi-Fi and airplane mode switches, a hotspot button (shows the name and password to join), search, the connected network with its live download and upload speed and a Disconnect button, and the networks nearby with Connect (a password box opens right there; school/work networks open the full Wi-Fi menu).
• Bluetooth: on/off, connected devices (with battery level), your devices to connect or forget, and devices nearby to pair.
• Power: battery level and time left, power mode (saver / balanced / performance), screen brightness, and Lock, Sleep, Log out, Restart, Shut down (restart, shut down and log out ask for a second click).
• Right-clicking Wi-Fi or Bluetooth still opens the full menus.

Fixes from a real laptop

• USB sticks keep working after an update. When an update replaced the kernel, exFAT/NTFS USB sticks wouldn't open ("not configured in kernel") until a restart. The running kernel's drivers are now kept until you restart. Tools for exFAT, NTFS and FAT drives are installed too.
• Installing on a slow connection no longer leaves the new system without download mirrors (the mirror test times out sooner, and Arch's worldwide mirrors are used when none answer).

Updates

• lumen update works again. Installs from older USB sticks pointed at an address that no longer exists, so updating asked for a GitHub username and password (and failed). Lumen now always uses the right address, never asks for a login, and updates to the newest release (the same code as the ISOs). If you changed any of Lumen's own files, the changes are kept aside (git stash list in ~/.local/share/lumen) instead of blocking the update.
• "Already up to date" now shows the release you're on (e.g. v1.0.9) instead of an internal number.

Smaller ISO

• The live system leaves out manuals, help pages and translations other than English, and is compressed harder (without slowing down starting from the USB stick). What gets installed is unchanged: installs still get the full packages, manuals and translations included.

Everything from v1.0.8

• The taskbar no longer disappears a few minutes after logging in; the top bar and taskbar come back by themselves if they ever stop.
• Installs with no internet at all; small free space next to Windows is handled; Chromium, Brave and Chrome run as native Wayland apps.

Installed from an older ISO? Updating needs a one-time fix: open a terminal and run
cd ~/.local/share/lumen && git remote set-url origin https://github.com/an4rchuk/lumen-os.git && git fetch --tags origin && git stash; git checkout --detach v1.0.9 && lumen update
— after that, lumen update keeps you current.

Download

⬇ lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso: the full ISO as one file (about 5 GB, hosted on Hugging Face because GitHub limits release files to 2 GB). It installs in minutes from the USB stick. Checksum: lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.sha256.

The same ISO is also attached below in parts, as a backup: download every .part file and join them (see below).

Joining the parts (backup download)

Full ISO (recommended): installs in minutes from the USB stick. Download all of: lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part0 lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part1 lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part2, then join them into one file:

• Windows (Command Prompt, in the download folder): copy /b lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part0 + lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part1 + lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part2 lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso
• Linux / macOS: cat lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part* > lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso

Check it against lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.sha256 if you like (certutil -hashfile lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso SHA256 on Windows, sha256sum -c elsewhere).

Online ISO (lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64-online.iso, if listed): one smaller file, but it downloads the packages while installing, so installing takes longer.

Install

Write the ISO to a USB stick of 8 GB or more (Rufus in DD mode, Ventoy, Impression, Fedora Media Writer or dd), turn off Secure Boot, and boot it (UEFI recommended; older legacy BIOS computers work too). Pick Lumen OS installer for the live desktop with the graphical installer, or (text mode) for the console installer.

⚠️ Erasing a disk deletes everything on it, including Windows. On a disk with Windows you can choose Alongside Windows instead, which keeps Windows and its files (back up first, and turn off Fast Startup in Windows). To just try Lumen, use the live desktop and don't install: nothing on the computer is touched.

NVIDIA graphics (GTX 16xx / RTX 20xx and newer): pick Lumen OS installer (NVIDIA) in the boot menu.

See the Lumen OS manual.

Lumen OS v1.0.8

What's new in v1.0.8

Taskbar

• The taskbar no longer disappears a few minutes after logging in. The top bar and the taskbar are two copies of the same bar program (waybar), which registers itself as a single app on the desktop's message bus; the second copy joined the first instead of running on its own and was shut down by an internal error about five minutes later. The taskbar now runs on its own private message bus, so the two never clash. Apps opened from the taskbar (Start menu, Lumen menu, restoring windows) work as before.
• The bar watchdog from v1.0.7 is fixed: it didn't recognise a bar it had just restarted and kept starting more; and the taskbar's restarts could hold back the top bar's. Each bar is now watched separately and comes back within about 10 seconds if it ever stops.

Everything from v1.0.7

• Installs with no internet at all, entirely from the USB stick.
• Alongside Windows: small free space is handled (30 GB minimum) instead of refused.
• Chromium, Brave and Google Chrome run as native Wayland apps.

Testing

• 19 virtual machines, including new checks that the taskbar is still running at the end of every test and that the top bar comes back after being killed.

Installed v1.0.7? Run lumen update (Lumen menu → Update) to get the taskbar fix without reinstalling.

Download

⬇ lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso: the full ISO as one file (about 5 GB, hosted on Hugging Face because GitHub limits release files to 2 GB). It installs in minutes from the USB stick. Checksum: lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.sha256.

The same ISO is also attached below in parts, as a backup: download every .part file and join them (see below).

Joining the parts (backup download)

Full ISO (recommended): installs in minutes from the USB stick. Download all of: lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part0 lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part1 lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part2 lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part3, then join them into one file:

• Windows (Command Prompt, in the download folder): copy /b lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part0 + lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part1 + lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part2 + lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part3 lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso
• Linux / macOS: cat lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part* > lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso

Check it against lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.sha256 if you like (certutil -hashfile lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso SHA256 on Windows, sha256sum -c elsewhere).

Online ISO (lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64-online.iso, if listed): one smaller file, but it downloads the packages while installing, so installing takes longer.

Install

Write the ISO to a USB stick of 8 GB or more (Rufus in DD mode, Ventoy, Impression, Fedora Media Writer or dd), turn off Secure Boot, and boot it (UEFI recommended; older legacy BIOS computers work too). Pick Lumen OS installer for the live desktop with the graphical installer, or (text mode) for the console installer.

⚠️ Erasing a disk deletes everything on it, including Windows. On a disk with Windows you can choose Alongside Windows instead, which keeps Windows and its files (back up first, and turn off Fast Startup in Windows). To just try Lumen, use the live desktop and don't install: nothing on the computer is touched.

NVIDIA graphics (GTX 16xx / RTX 20xx and newer): pick Lumen OS installer (NVIDIA) in the boot menu.

See the Lumen OS manual.

Lumen OS v1.0.7

What's new in v1.0.7

Installing without internet

• Lumen OS now installs with no internet at all, entirely from the USB stick. Before, an install without Wi-Fi or a cable stopped part-way: it tried to refresh the online package lists, then checked package signatures against keys it could only fetch online, and then the desktop step refused to start without a connection. All three are fixed; the stick's packages are checked when the ISO is built. With internet, nothing changes (mirrors are picked, signatures checked as usual).
• When there's no internet, the installer says so and skips picking the fastest mirrors.

Alongside Windows

• Smaller free space is handled instead of refused: asking for less than 30 GB for Lumen uses 30 GB; asking for more than there's room for uses all the room there is (both with a note). If Windows leaves less than 30 GB, the installer says so clearly before touching the disk.

Desktop

• The top bar and taskbar come back by themselves if they crash (within about 10 seconds), instead of being gone until the next login. Restarts are noted in lumen doctor.
• Chromium, Brave and Google Chrome run as native Wayland apps (sharper on scaled screens, with proper window decorations).
• The list of apps that couldn't start (lumen doctor) no longer fills up with background helpers that stop on their own outside the desktop.

Testing

• Every release now goes through 19 different virtual machines: low-spec and high-spec, NVIDIA (normal and LTS kernel), dual boot with Windows (encrypted, LTS, small disk, gaming), a UK laptop, a fully encrypted disk, an offline install with a German keyboard, Chromium and Brave as the browser, no taskbar, other terminals and themes, a light theme, a 4K screen, a tiny 2-CPU / 3 GB PC and old BIOS computers.

Existing installs get the desktop fixes with lumen update.

Download

⬇ lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso: the full ISO as one file (about 5 GB, hosted on Hugging Face because GitHub limits release files to 2 GB). It installs in minutes from the USB stick. Checksum: lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.sha256.

The same ISO is also attached below in parts, as a backup: download every .part file and join them (see below).

Joining the parts (backup download)

Full ISO (recommended): installs in minutes from the USB stick. Download all of: lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part0 lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part1 lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part2 lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part3, then join them into one file:

• Windows (Command Prompt, in the download folder): copy /b lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part0 + lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part1 + lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part2 + lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part3 lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso
• Linux / macOS: cat lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part* > lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso

Check it against lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.sha256 if you like (certutil -hashfile lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso SHA256 on Windows, sha256sum -c elsewhere).

Online ISO (lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64-online.iso, if listed): one smaller file, but it downloads the packages while installing, so installing takes longer.

Install

Write the ISO to a USB stick of 8 GB or more (Rufus in DD mode, Ventoy, Impression, Fedora Media Writer or dd), turn off Secure Boot, and boot it (UEFI recommended; older legacy BIOS computers work too). Pick Lumen OS installer for the live desktop with the graphical installer, or (text mode) for the console installer.

⚠️ Erasing a disk deletes everything on it, including Windows. On a disk with Windows you can choose Alongside Windows instead, which keeps Windows and its files (back up first, and turn off Fast Startup in Windows). To just try Lumen, use the live desktop and don't install: nothing on the computer is touched.

NVIDIA graphics (GTX 16xx / RTX 20xx and newer): pick Lumen OS installer (NVIDIA) in the boot menu.

See the Lumen OS manual.

Lumen OS v1.0.5

Download

⬇ lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso: the full ISO as one file (about 5 GB, hosted on Hugging Face because GitHub limits release files to 2 GB). It installs in minutes from the USB stick. Checksum: lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.sha256.

The same ISO is also attached below in parts, as a backup: download every .part file and join them (see below).

Joining the parts (backup download)

Full ISO (recommended): installs in minutes from the USB stick. Download all of: lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part0 lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part1 lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part2 lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part3, then join them into one file:

• Windows (Command Prompt, in the download folder): copy /b lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part0 + lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part1 + lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part2 + lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part3 lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso
• Linux / macOS: cat lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.part* > lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso

Check it against lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso.sha256 if you like (certutil -hashfile lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64.iso SHA256 on Windows, sha256sum -c elsewhere).

Online ISO (lumen-2026.10.06-x86_64-online.iso, if listed): one smaller file, but it downloads the packages while installing, so installing takes longer.

Install

Write the ISO to a USB stick of 8 GB or more (Rufus in DD mode, Ventoy, Impression, Fedora Media Writer or dd), turn off Secure Boot, and boot it (UEFI recommended; older legacy BIOS computers work too). Pick Lumen OS installer for the live desktop with the graphical installer, or (text mode) for the console installer.

⚠️ Erasing a disk deletes everything on it, including Windows. On a disk with Windows you can choose Alongside Windows instead, which keeps Windows and its files (back up first, and turn off Fast Startup in Windows). To just try Lumen, use the live desktop and don't install: nothing on the computer is touched.

NVIDIA graphics (GTX 16xx / RTX 20xx and newer): pick Lumen OS installer (NVIDIA) in the boot menu.

See the Lumen OS manual.

Lumen OS v1.0.4

Download

⬇ lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso: the full ISO as one file (about 5 GB, hosted on Hugging Face because GitHub limits release files to 2 GB). It installs in minutes from the USB stick. Checksum: lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.sha256.

The same ISO is also attached below in parts, as a backup: download every .part file and join them (see below).

Joining the parts (backup download)

Full ISO (recommended): installs in minutes from the USB stick. Download all of: lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part0 lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part1 lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part2 lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part3, then join them into one file:

• Windows (Command Prompt, in the download folder): copy /b lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part0 + lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part1 + lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part2 + lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part3 lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso
• Linux / macOS: cat lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part* > lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso

Check it against lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.sha256 if you like (certutil -hashfile lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso SHA256 on Windows, sha256sum -c elsewhere).

Online ISO (lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64-online.iso, if listed): one smaller file, but it downloads the packages while installing, so installing takes longer.

Install

Write the ISO to a USB stick of 8 GB or more (Rufus in DD mode, Ventoy, Impression, Fedora Media Writer or dd), turn off Secure Boot, and boot it (UEFI recommended; older legacy BIOS computers work too). Pick Lumen OS installer for the live desktop with the graphical installer, or (text mode) for the console installer.

⚠️ Erasing a disk deletes everything on it, including Windows. On a disk with Windows you can choose Alongside Windows instead, which keeps Windows and its files (back up first, and turn off Fast Startup in Windows). To just try Lumen, use the live desktop and don't install: nothing on the computer is touched.

NVIDIA graphics (GTX 16xx / RTX 20xx and newer): pick Lumen OS installer (NVIDIA) in the boot menu.

See the Lumen OS manual.

Lumen OS v1.0.3

Download

⬇ lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso: the full ISO as one file (about 5 GB, hosted on Hugging Face because GitHub limits release files to 2 GB). It installs in minutes from the USB stick. Checksum: lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.sha256.

The same ISO is also attached below in parts, as a backup: download every .part file and join them (see below).

Joining the parts (backup download)

Full ISO (recommended): installs in minutes from the USB stick. Download all of: lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part0 lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part1 lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part2, then join them into one file:

• Windows (Command Prompt, in the download folder): copy /b lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part0 + lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part1 + lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part2 lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso
• Linux / macOS: cat lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.part* > lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso

Check it against lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso.sha256 if you like (certutil -hashfile lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64.iso SHA256 on Windows, sha256sum -c elsewhere).

Online ISO (lumen-2026.10.05-x86_64-online.iso, if listed): one smaller file, but it downloads the packages while installing, so installing takes longer.

Install

Write the ISO to a USB stick of 8 GB or more (Rufus in DD mode, Ventoy, Impression, Fedora Media Writer or dd), turn off Secure Boot, and boot it (UEFI recommended; older legacy BIOS computers work too). Pick Lumen OS installer for the live desktop with the graphical installer, or (text mode) for the console installer.

⚠️ Installing erases the entire disk you choose, including Windows and all files on it. Lumen doesn't install alongside another system yet. To just try Lumen, use the live desktop and don't install: nothing on the computer is touched.

See the Lumen OS manual.