Release v0.3.0 · kan-linux/kan

Overview

Kan-Linux v0.3.0 (kan-linux-0.3.0-x86_64.iso) was released on Oct 31, 2026; updated on Nov 01,2026.

The codename is YouWang(攸往). It comes from the I Ching quote: the foundation is firm, fit to set forth and advance.

This release brings some bug fixes and major enhancements on top of v0.2.9.

Core features

Concise: With a far smaller LiveISO footprint (ubuntu-26.04-desktop-amd64.iso ~6.1 GiB, pop-os_24.04_amd64_generic_27.iso ~3.3 GiB, cachyos-desktop-linux-260809.iso ~3.0 GiB, omarchy-4.0.6.iso ~6.3 GiB, deepin-desktop-community-25.2.0-amd64.iso ~6.5 GiB, kan-linux-0.3.0-x86_64.iso ~ 2.0 GiB), it provides Omarchy-comparable desktop UI and keybindings plus powerful development environments for programmers and AI Agents.
Source-built: Build LiveISO from scratch within a single monorepo, not dependent on any existing Linux distribution. Built from source in-tree, with only Firefox, Go, Rust, Vulkan SDK, MiMo-Code as pinned official prebuilts.
Secure: Kan-Linux starts with zero external network activity by default. No silent update checks, no telemetry, no phone-home. Kan-Linux only talks when you tell it to. Verify it yourself with the bundled Wireshark. More advanced hardening is planned.
Agent-first(WIP)

Highlights

Single-user desktop computing — Optimized for single-user desktop workflows to minimize attack surface (inspired by design ideas from Android OS)
The installer supports dual modes: fresh installation and overwrite installation (we value users' precious data, and this will be the foundation for the one-key-restore feature.
Kan-Linux v0.3.0 can be installed as a guest OS in mainstream virtualization envs, including QEMU, VMware Workstation, VirtualBox, and Hyper-V
Kan-Linux v0.3.0 brings practical support for mainstream AI Agents for the first time
Kan-Linux v0.3.0 can now be installed on physical x86-64 laptops and desktop PCs (GPU, Wi‑Fi, sound card and Bluetooth are functional on our test hardware)
Kan-Linux v0.3.0 adds support for building llama.cpp + ggml-vulkan locally for the first time. This marks a solid foundation toward full self-hosting

Toolchain for programmers and AI agents

GCC 16.2.0
LLVM 23.1.4
Python 3.15.0
It ships with many other non-GUI development tools, making it friendly to AI Agents and targeted at programmers and AI researchers

Go, Rust, Vulkan SDK, MiMo-Code or other tools(such as ONLY OFFICE) can be installed on demand via your preferred AI agent / LLM skills. Details can be found at #8

How to handle unrecognized hardware on your laptop or PC

Tell your preferred agent to rebuild the kernel source from https://github.com/kan-linux/kernel/tree/kan-stable-7.3 for hardware compatibility. Details can be found at #10

LiveISO download and integrity verification

wget https://github.com/kan-linux/kan/releases/download/v0.3.0/kan-linux-0.3.0-x86_64.iso
wget https://github.com/kan-linux/kan/releases/download/v0.3.0/kan-linux-0.3.0-x86_64.iso.sha256

You can verify the downloaded LiveISO image with the SHA256 checksum.

sha256sum -c kan-linux-0.3.0-x86_64.iso.sha256

If the output shows OK, the file is intact.

$ sha256sum -c kan-linux-0.3.0-x86_64.iso.sha256 
kan-linux-0.3.0-x86_64.iso: OK

How to use LiveISO in Virtual Machine

Launch LiveISO

You can try the LiveISO on your favorite Linux OS (make sure QEMU is installed).

qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -cpu host -m 4G -smp 2  -cdrom kan-linux-0.3.0-x86_64.iso -device virtio-vga-gl,xres=1920,yres=1080 -display gtk,gl=on  -smbios type=1,manufacturer="kan-linux",product="kan-linux 0.3.0",version="0.3.0" -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

Install Kan-Linux to virtual disk

Create virtual disk

qemu-img create -f qcow2 kanlinux.qcow2 20G

Launch LiveISO with the virtual disk

qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -cpu host -m 4G -smp 2 -drive file=kanlinux.qcow2,format=qcow2,if=virtio -cdrom kan-linux-0.3.0-x86_64.iso -boot d -device virtio-vga-gl,xres=1920,yres=1080 -display gtk,gl=on -smbios type=1,manufacturer=Kan-Linux,product=Kan-Linux 0.3.0,version=0.3.0 -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

Install Kan-Linux to the virtual disk from LiveISO

Launch the installed Kan-Linux from the virtual disk

qemu-system-x86_64 -enable-kvm -cpu host -m 4G -smp 2 -drive file=kanlinux.qcow2,format=qcow2,if=virtio -device virtio-vga-gl,xres=1920,yres=1080 -display gtk,gl=on -smbios type=1,manufacturer=Kan-Linux,product=Kan-Linux 0.3.0,version=0.3.0 -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

How to use LiveISO in real x86-64 laptops/PCs

Create LiveUSB from the download LiveISO
- verify the USB device path is /dev/sdb with lsblk(ATTENTION here)
- sudo dd if=kan-linux-0.3.0-dev-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync
Configure BIOS settings on your laptop or PC before installing Kan-Linux from the LiveUSB.

Optional configuration (these options may not appear in your laptop or PC BIOS):

Essential configuration (these options must appear in your laptop or PC BIOS):

Launch the installation from the LiveUSB

Launch the installed Kan-Linux from the real x86-64 laptops

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Keyboard shortcuts in desktop mode

Super + Return: Launch terminal
Super + Shift + Return: Launch Firefox (online movie playback supported)
Super + F: Launch file manager
Super + Shift + Space : Toggles the top toolbar visibility
Ctrl + T: Launch terminal
Ctrl + Q: close window
Ctrl + Space : Toggle between Chinese and English input(English is the default)

Known Limitations/Issues

The Omarchy desktop shell is currently feature-limited. We will deliver one final highly customized, compact release of this shell in our next release.
The installer supports only single-OS installation to a specified partition or a standalone disk among multiple disks; LUKS encryption is not yet supported
Built-in support for AMD and Intel GPUs. Nvidia GPU support requires assistance from the built-in Agent or a domain specialist
Tested and verified on a limited set (3+) of physical x86-64 laptops and desktop PCs. Kan-Linux v0.3.0 is our primary daily OS on physical x86-64 hardware; we will validate v0.3.1 across a wider range of physical x86-64 devices.
v0.3.0 contains several known security issues. These will be fixed and hardened in the next release. We will also conduct security audits against the source tree using other top-tier LLM models
Toolchain completeness and consistency issues, to be resolved in v0.3.1. We aim for full self-hosting in v0.3.1 (All subsequent development, building and iteration of Kan-Linux will happen inside Kan-Linux itself)