Release v0.2.7 · kan-linux/kan

Overview

Kan-Linux (an Omarchy-style Linux desktop distro built from scratch in a single repo) v0.2.7 was released on Oct 10, 2026, v0.2.7.1 (bundling Wireshark 4.6) was released on Oct 12, 2026.

The codename is hengjia (亨嘉). It comes from the I Ching quote: “Heng means the gathering of all good things.” Heng stands for smooth progress; Jia means the gathering of goodness. The codename represents smooth flow and the convergence of good things. It marks a new connecting phase for system iteration. Building on the pioneering spirit of the v0.2.6(qianyuan) release, we move steadily toward our goals of self-hosting and Agent-First design.

Hightlights

Build LiveISO from scratch within a single monorepo
Integrate a preliminary, feature-limited, customized Omarchy desktop shell(source code can be found at https://github.com/kan-linux/omarchy/tree/kan)
Functional session management (login manager daemon and greeter)
Functional multimedia support (online movie playback supported)
Linux kernel 7.3.0-rc6
GCC 16.2.0
Mesa 26.2.3
FFmpeg 9.0.2
OpenSSL 4.0.3
GnuPG 2.5.24
Python 3.15.0
Golang 1.26.7
Firefox 156.0.1
Wireshark 4.6.9(CLI)
It ships with many other non-GUI development tools, making it friendly to AI Agents and targeted at programmers and AI researchers
Much smaller than Omarchy's LiveISO (omarchy-4.0.3.iso ~5.9 GiB, kan-linux-0.2.7.1-x86_64.iso ~1.2 GiB), while offering comparable desktop UI and keybindings

Download Live ISO

wget https://github.com/kan-linux/kan/releases/download/v0.2.7/kan-linux-0.2.7.1-x86_64.iso
wget https://github.com/kan-linux/kan/releases/download/v0.2.7/kan-linux-0.2.7.1-x86_64.iso.sha256

Live ISO File Integrity Verification

You can verify the downloaded Live ISO image with the SHA256 checksum.

sha256sum -c kan-linux-0.2.7.1-x86_64.iso.sha256

If the output shows OK, the file is intact.

$ sha256sum -c kan-linux-0.2.7.1-x86_64.iso.sha256 
kan-linux-0.2.7.1-x86_64.iso: OK

How to Use Live ISO

Launch Live ISO

qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -m 8G -smp 4  -cdrom kan-linux-0.2.7.1-x86_64.iso -device virtio-vga-gl,xres=1920,yres=1080 -display gtk,gl=on  -smbios type=1,manufacturer="kan-linux",product="kan-linux 0.2.7",version="0.2.7" -usb -device usb-tablet -audiodev pa,id=audio0,out.buffer-length=100000,in.buffer-length=100000,timer-period=1000 -device intel-hda -device hda-duplex,audiodev=audio0 -netdev user,id=net0,hostfwd=tcp::2222-:22 -device virtio-net-pci,netdev=net0

This launches QEMU with the live ISO in GTK display mode with SSH forwarding enabled (host port 2222 -> guest port 22).

Keyboard Shortcuts in Desktop Mode

Super + Return: Launch terminal
Super + Shift + Return: Launch Firefox (online movie playback supported)
Super + F: Launch file manager
' Ctrl + Q': close window

Switch to TTY Terminal in Desktop Mode

In the QEMU window, press Ctrl+Alt+G to release the mouse, then click View > compatmonitor0 to open the QEMU monitor. Run:

sendkey ctrl-alt-f2

This switches to a TTY terminal. Log in with root/root.

Remote Login to Live ISO

You may access the Live ISO via SSH from the host machine for convenient troubleshooting:

ssh -p 2222 root@localhost  (root's password is root)

ssh -p 2222 kan@localhost   (kan's password is kan)

Known Limitations

Omarchy desktop shell is feature-limited.
Only supports single-user desktop computing (username: kan, password: kan; root's password is root).
A stale frame appears between the last splash screen frame and the login UI. This issue is planned to be fixed in future releases.
Currently tested only under QEMU. Native boot for physical x86-64 PCs and laptops is planned for future releases.