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KIRO ISO

Kiro

Kiro Desktop - XFCE

Kiro Desktop - Chadwm

Kiro Desktop - Ohmychadwm

Overview

KIRO is a community Arch-based Linux distribution. This repository is its ISO builder — it uses the official ArchISO toolchain to produce reproducible builds with pre-configured packages, desktop environments, system optimizations, and custom configurations baked in, ready to install and use out of the box.

KIRO is designed with specific preferences in mind:

  • Boot Method: UEFI with systemd-boot
  • Filesystem: ext4
  • Display Manager: SDDM with custom theming
  • Desktop Environments: XFCE4 + Ohmychadwm
  • Philosophy: Free and open-source software

Quick Start

Download the latest KIRO ISO from SourceForge.

Want to build your own? See Building KIRO below.

Features

  • Reproducible Builds — Script-driven, consistent ISO creation
  • Highly Customizable — Easy to add/remove packages and modify configurations
  • Modern Defaults — UEFI, systemd, systemd-oomd, performance optimizations
  • Multiple Desktop Environments — XFCE4 + Ohmychadwm
  • Pre-configured — Ready-to-use after installation with Calamares
  • Performance Tuned — Intelligent task scheduling, memory optimization, system monitoring
  • Educational Foundation — Comprehensive customization examples and best practices
  • Custom Repository Support — Chaotic AUR and personal repositories

What's Included

KIRO comes pre-loaded with:

  • System Tools: Package management, filesystem utilities, boot loaders (GRUB, systemd-boot, rEFInd)
  • Network: NetworkManager, VPN support, SSH, wireless tools
  • Desktop Applications: Firefox, Chromium, Vivaldi, GIMP, Inkscape, VSCode, Sublime Text
  • Media Support: VLC, FFmpeg, GStreamer with full codec support
  • Development Tools: Git, build essentials, development libraries
  • Optimizations: ananicy-cpp task scheduling, systemd-oomd memory management, tuned performance profiles
  • Customization: Curated fonts, icons, themes, and shell configurations from Nemesis repo

Building KIRO

New to building ISOs? Start with BYOI.md — a step-by-step "Build Your Own ISO" guide that assumes zero prior experience. The summary below is the quick version.

Requirements

  • Host System: Arch Linux or Arch-based distribution
  • Packages: archiso, grub (installed automatically if missing)
  • Permissions: Do not run as root — the script calls sudo internally
  • Disk Space: ~10–15 GB for build environment

Build Workflow

# One command does everything — host prep, version bump, and build are merged
# (run as your normal user; the script calls sudo internally)
cd build-scripts && ./build-the-iso.sh

The build bumps the version (vYY.MM.DD) across all version files as its Phase 2, gated by the bump_version="yes" flag in build-scripts/build.conf — set it to no for a same-day rebuild of the currently-pinned version. Build output lands in ~/kiro-Out/. Checksums (sha1, sha256, md5) and a package list are generated alongside the ISO.

All build knobs live in build-scripts/build.conf (a sourced config file — the kiro-iso-builder GUI reads and writes the same file, so CLI and GUI share one source of truth). Edit them there, not in build-the-iso.sh. The live build.conf is gitignored and seeded from the tracked build.conf.defaults on first use, so your local tweaks never get committed.

Kernel Selection

The default build ships linux-cachyos as the live-boot + post-install default and linux-zen as a secondary installed kernel selectable from the boot loader menu. Both are set on one line in build-scripts/build.conf:

kernel="linux-cachyos linux-zen"   # space-separated; first entry = live-boot kernel
picker="auto"                       # auto | gum | dialog — only used when kernel="ask"

Fixed list (default): any space-separated combination of kernels available in your enabled repos works — linux-zen linux-lts, linux-hardened, linux-cachyos-bore, etc. The first kernel in the list is what the live ISO boots and what the installed system defaults to; additional kernels are installed alongside it, each selectable from systemd-boot's menu.

Interactive (kernel="ask"): the build pauses and shows a TUI of every kernel + -headers pair available in your enabled repos. Pick one or more, then pick which one the live ISO should boot. Two TUIs are supported — picker="dialog" (ncurses) or picker="gum" (truecolor Arc-Dark); picker="auto" uses dialog if installed, else gum:

dialog kernel picker

gum kernel picker

The kiro_kernel Calamares module is kernel-agnostic — it copies whichever kernel(s) the live medium ships into the target system, with the live-boot kernel becoming the default for the installed system. No manual edits to packages.x86_64 or boot loader configs are needed; apply_kernel() in the build script rewrites all of that from the single kernel= variable.

NVIDIA Driver Selection

Before building, open build-scripts/build.conf and set nvidia_driver:

nvidia_driver="open"    # nvidia-open-dkms  — modern GPUs (default)
nvidia_driver="580xx"   # nvidia-580xx-dkms — legacy
nvidia_driver="390xx"   # nvidia-390xx-dkms — older legacy

Editions & Extra Apps

Two build.conf knobs let you shape what the ISO ships, without touching packages.x86_64 by hand:

editions="xfce ohmychadwm"   # space-separated desktop/WM sessions to bake in
default_session="xfce"       # which session the live ISO autologs into (must be one of the editions)
  • editions — each name uncomments its EDITION-BLOCK in packages.x86_64 at build time. The default "xfce ohmychadwm" reproduces the standard ISO; the other blocks (awesome, bspwm, chadwm, i3, leftwm, qtile) are opt-in. XFCE is an edition too now — editions="cinnamon" would build a pure-Cinnamon ISO with no XFCE.
  • default_session — sets the live-ISO SDDM autologin session; it must be one of the listed editions.

To add opt-in apps that the base image doesn't ship, list their keys (one per line) in build-scripts/package-additions.conf — the build uncomments the matching EXTRA-APP block in packages.x86_64. An empty file (the default) adds nothing. This is the overlay the kiro-iso-builder GUI's "Add apps" page reads and writes.

Adding a Personal Local Repo

See the commented [personal_repo] block in archiso/pacman.conf and the tutorial: Adding a personal local repo to the ISO build

Project Structure

kiro-iso/
├── archiso/                    # Core ISO build configuration
│   ├── airootfs/               # Root filesystem overlay (lands at / on live ISO)
│   │   ├── etc/                # System config (pacman, NM, locale, polkit, modprobe)
│   │   ├── usr/                # Additional binaries and configs
│   │   └── root/               # Root user's home on the live system
│   ├── bootstrap_packages      # Minimal bootstrap package set
│   ├── efiboot/                # EFI boot files
│   ├── grub/                   # GRUB boot configuration
│   ├── syslinux/               # Syslinux boot configuration
│   ├── packages.x86_64         # Full package list (one package per line)
│   ├── profiledef.sh           # ISO profile: name, label, version, compression
│   └── pacman.conf             # Repos used during the ISO build
├── build-scripts/
│   ├── build-the-iso.sh        # Main build pipeline
│   ├── get-pacman-repos-keys-and-mirrors.sh  # Installs chaotic-keyring/mirrorlist
│   ├── install-yay-or-paru.sh  # AUR helper installer (yay or paru)
│   └── pacman.conf             # pacman config installed on the build host
├── images/                     # Screenshots and branding assets
├── CHANGELOG.md                # Full project history
├── setup.sh                    # Git remote and identity setup
└── up.sh                       # Pull → commit → push helper

Technical Details

System Configuration

Boot & Initialization

  • Boot Methods: UEFI (primary), GRUB (legacy BIOS), Syslinux (alternative)
  • Boot Loader: systemd-boot (default UEFI), GRUB (legacy)
  • Init System: systemd with cgroups-v2 support
  • Filesystem: ext4 (default)

Memory & Performance Management

  • systemd-oomd: Out-of-Memory daemon with proactive memory management
    • 20-second reaction time with 60% memory pressure threshold
    • Memory pressure monitoring enabled
    • Graceful overflow handling
  • ananicy-cpp: Intelligent task scheduling with CachyOS rules
  • tuned: Performance profile manager
  • zram-generator: Compressed RAM swap for memory efficiency

Display & Desktop

  • Display Manager: SDDM with custom themes (multiple variants)
  • Primary DE: XFCE4 with extensive customization
  • Window Manager: Ohmychadwm (tiling WM with integrated menu system)
  • Themes: Arc GTK (with Dawn/Mint variants), Neo-Candy collection
  • Icons: Numix, Sardi, Surfn, Candy Icons
  • Cursors: Bibata, Vimix, Beautyline

Package Categories

System Utilities

  • Core: base, base-devel, linux, linux-headers
  • Live System: archiso
  • Filesystems: btrfs-progs, ntfs-3g, exfatprogs, dosfstools
  • Monitoring: btop, glances, inxi, lm_sensors, systemd-devel

Installation & System Recovery

  • Calamares: Modern graphical installer with modular architecture
  • kiro-calamares-config: Custom Calamares modules and workflows
  • Recovery Tools: clonezilla, fsarchiver, partclone, gparted
  • Disk Utilities: parted, gptfdisk, fdisk, testdisk

Network & Connectivity

  • Management: NetworkManager with graphical frontends
  • VPN: OpenConnect, OpenVPN, VPNC, PPTP support
  • DNS/DHCP: Bind, dnsmasq, nss-mdns, Avahi
  • Wireless: iwd, wpa_supplicant, wireless-regdb
  • SSH: OpenSSH, secure remote management

Desktop Applications

  • Browsers: Firefox, Chromium, Vivaldi
  • Media: VLC, FFmpeg, GStreamer (with all plugins)
  • Graphics: GIMP, Inkscape, ImageMagick, Nomacs
  • Development: VSCode, Sublime Text, Git, meld, build-essential
  • Communication: Signal Desktop, Shortwave
  • Utilities: qBittorrent, yt-dlp, Simple Scan, file-roller

Audio & Video

  • Audio: PulseAudio, ALSA, pavucontrol
  • Bluetooth: Bluez, Blueberry (manager)
  • Video: Mesa (open-source), NVIDIA open drivers
  • Codecs: gst-libav, libdvdcss, complete GStreamer plugin suite

Fonts & Typography

  • Font Families: Noto Fonts, DejaVu, Ubuntu, Roboto, Hack, JetBrains Mono, Meslo Nerd Font
  • CJK Support: Adobe Han Sans (Japanese, Korean, Chinese)
  • Icon Fonts: Material Design, various Nerd Font variants

AUR & Custom Repositories

  • Chaotic AUR: Precompiled packages from Arch User Repository
  • Nemesis Repository (custom): Educational configurations and customizations
    • kiro-dot-files: Pre-configured shell and application settings
    • kiro-xfce: XFCE4 customization package
    • kiro-shells: shell config meta — pulls kiro-bash-config, kiro-zsh-config, kiro-fish-config
    • kiro-rofi + kiro-rofi-themes: Application launcher with themes
    • kiro-polybar: Custom status bar
    • ohmychadwm-git: Tiling window manager with integrated menu
    • kiro-variety-config: Wallpaper manager presets
  • AUR Helpers: paru-git, yay-git
  • Utilities: downgrade (package downgrading)

Custom Repository

KIRO packages are available via:

[kiro_repo]
SigLevel = Never
Server = https://erikdubois.github.io/$repo/$arch

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for the full project history.

Resources

Help fund Kiro

Everything I build here stays free and open — always. If Kiro or any of these tools have ever saved you time or taught you something, a small monthly contribution helps keep the work going. Donations target break-even, nothing more — the core always stays free for everyone.

License

KIRO is built on open-source tools and components. Refer to individual package licenses for details.

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