SnapOS images

The SnapOS images. They have no version: the universal image installs the newest SnapOS, and the manual one builds your system from the newest packs.

Image	x86_64	ARM64
Universal (net install)	snapos-installer.iso	snapos-installer-aarch64.iso
Manual (minimal)	snapos-minimal.iso	snapos-minimal-aarch64.iso

Universal. The installer asks a few questions and installs the full SnapOS. With the internet up it downloads the newest SnapOS from snapos-updates and checks its checksum; without the internet it installs the copy on the stick. The review screen shows which one.

Manual. A terminal and no installer: you write your own system the NixOS way, in /etc/snapos, and add the SnapOS packs you want. The handbook walks through every step.

SnapOS versions and what changed in each one are in snapos-updates.

Flash with balenaEtcher. Checksums in the .sha256 files.

SnapOS images

The SnapOS images. They have no version: the universal image installs the newest SnapOS, and the manual one builds your system from the newest packs.

Image	x86_64	ARM64
Universal (net install)	snapos-installer.iso	snapos-installer-aarch64.iso
Manual (minimal)	snapos-minimal.iso	snapos-minimal-aarch64.iso

Universal. The installer asks a few questions and installs the full SnapOS. With the internet up it downloads the newest SnapOS from snapos-updates and checks its checksum; without the internet it installs the copy on the stick. The review screen shows which one.

Manual. A terminal and no installer: you write your own system the NixOS way, in /etc/snapos, and add the SnapOS packs you want. The handbook walks through every step.

SnapOS versions and what changed in each one are in snapos-updates.

Flash with balenaEtcher. Checksums in the .sha256 files.

SnapOS installer V2.5.2

SnapGuard comes alive.

Snappy now has a cup next to him in the SnapGuard window:

• A threat is found: the cup comes up and the virus falls into it.
• While it is in quarantine: the virus jumps around in the cup, angry.
• Delete: Snappy tips the cup and eats the virus.
• Trust: the virus grows wings and flies away.

Installed systems get it with snapos update (from snapos-updates); new installs can use the 2.5.2 images.

Flash with balenaEtcher. Checksums in the .sha256 files.

SnapOS installer V2.5.1

Hyprland back to plain tiling, and a new home for updates.

• Hyprland tiles its windows again, the way it is meant to: no title bars and no minimize. The bar shows one network icon instead of two.
• Updates come from their own repository, snapos-distro/snapos-updates. It holds only what snapos update needs, so checking for updates no longer depends on the repository with the installer images.
• SnapOS moved to the snapos-distro organization. Old links keep working.
• Installer: the new system is written to disk and unmounted before the installer says it is done.

SnapOS installer V2.5

The Debian layer is native.

A .deb on SnapOS now behaves as it would on a Debian computer:

• Install scripts run with every power, as root, like on Debian. The limits added in 2.0 are gone.
• Packages that bring a system service are installed instead of refused. The program works; its service does not start inside the layer, and SnapOS says so.
• The layer is not a sandbox. A program in it can do what it could do on Debian.

The protection is SnapGuard: every .deb is scanned before it is installed, and a threat goes to quarantine.

Everything from 2.4.1 stays: Steam and other 32-bit programs, the update window at login, the snapos commands, x86_64 and ARM64 images, four desktops, SnapGuard in real time.

Flash with balenaEtcher. Checksums in the .sha256 files.

SnapOS installer V2.4.1

The update window shows up again, and Steam works.

Updates are offered at login. The check at login runs as your user, and it tried to write in a folder only root can enter, so it always failed: no window appeared, and opening SnapOS Update said the network could not be reached. Fixed:

• The login check works as a normal user.
• With no news at login, the check asks again every few hours, so a release published during the day is offered too.
• Install now opens the terminal of the desktop you use (Budgie, KDE Plasma, Xfce or Hyprland).
• The window also knows when an update is built and only waits for a restart, and when an update was undone.

Coming from 2.4 or earlier: those versions cannot show the window, so run snapos update once in a terminal. From 2.4.1 on, the window does it.

Steam and other 32-bit programs. On a PC the Debian layer now takes 32-bit (i386) packages too. When the Steam .deb is installed, the libraries Steam asks for (64 and 32 bit) are installed with it, so Steam opens without asking for anything.

Everything from 2.4 stays: the snapos commands, x86_64 and ARM64 images, package updates between releases, the unattended install, four desktops, SnapGuard in real time.

Flash with balenaEtcher. Checksums in the .sha256 files.

SnapOS installer V2.4

The Nix commands people need, under plain names.

SnapOS is a bridge from Debian-based distros to NixOS. This release puts the everyday Nix commands behind snapos:

• Programs: snapos find, snapos add, snapos remove, snapos list; snapos shell and snapos try use a program without installing it.
• Changes: snapos diff shows what a rebuild would change; snapos rebuild --next-boot applies a change at the next start only; snapos rebuild --trace shows the full error; snapos log shows the last rebuild again.
• Going back and disk space: snapos rollback, snapos generations, snapos gc.
• nix-env -i is stopped with an explanation and the SnapOS way.
• snapos help maps the apt habits to their SnapOS names, and the README shows the Nix command behind each one.

Everything from 2.3.1 stays: x86_64 and ARM64 images, package updates between releases, the unattended install, four desktops, SnapGuard in real time, the Debian layer.

Flash with balenaEtcher. Checksums in the .sha256 files.

SnapOS installer V2.3.1

SnapOS for ARM64, package updates between releases, and an installer that can run on its own.

Two images in this release:

• snapos-installer.iso for x86_64 PCs (BIOS or UEFI).
• snapos-installer-aarch64.iso for ARM64 computers that boot by UEFI (ARM laptops, mini PCs and boards with a UEFI firmware). Same SnapOS; the system calls itself SnapOS 2.3.1 ARM. Boards that need a vendor image instead of UEFI (most Raspberry Pi setups) are not covered.

One release for every computer. snapos update downloads the release's source and builds the system for the computer it runs on, so both architectures update from this same release.

The desktop and the programs update too. At every login SnapOS also looks for newer packages on the NixOS 26.05 branch: the desktop (Budgie, Plasma, Xfce, Hyprland), the browser, the kernel and the rest, with their security fixes. snapos update installs them for the next start, and goes back by itself if the new system does not reach the login screen.

Installing without questions. A USB stick labelled SNAPOS_ANSWERS with a file snapos-answers.env (see the README) answers every question and the installer runs by itself.

Verified by CI: every desktop is booted in a virtual machine in both looks through the login screen; on ARM64 the image boots by UEFI in QEMU, SnapOS is installed unattended onto a virtual disk, and the installed system boots to the login screen.

Everything from 2.3 stays: choose Budgie, KDE Plasma, Xfce or Hyprland in the installer; snapos update with the pre-install checklist and automatic rollback; SnapGuard in real time; the Debian layer for .deb programs.

Flash with balenaEtcher. Checksums in the .sha256 files.

SnapOS installer V2.3

Choose your desktop.

The installer now asks which desktop you want: Budgie (the default), KDE Plasma, Xfce or Hyprland, each in the dark or light look. All four get the red icons, the SnapOS wallpaper, the same login screen, SnapGuard, SnapHelper and the updater.

• Plasma and Xfce get a bottom panel like the Budgie dock, with SnapGuard, SnapWeb, the programs store and the terminal pinned.
• Hyprland comes ready to use: a bottom bar with the same programs, title bars with close, maximize and minimize (Super+H shows the minimized windows), launcher (Super+D), notifications, lock screen and wallpaper. SnapOS windows float in the middle.
• Change later with snapos.desktop in /etc/snapos/local.nix and snapos rebuild.

Also in this release:

• NetworkManager (Wi-Fi) is on for every desktop.
• The updater compares the version that is running, says when an update only waits for a restart, and works without the GitHub API.
• The installer has one more step (Desktop) and checks the names it is given.
• Every desktop is booted in a VM by CI, in both looks, through the login screen.

Everything from 2.1 stays: NixOS 26.05 base, snapos update with the pre-install checklist and automatic rollback, SnapGuard in real time, the Debian layer for .deb programs.

SnapOS installer V2.1

SnapGuard in real time.

From the moment you log in, SnapGuard watches your Downloads folder and every USB drive you plug in. A file is scanned as soon as it is complete; a threat is moved to quarantine at once and a notification tells you. A drive is scanned whole when it is plugged in. Temporary download names are ignored, so a download is checked once, when it is done, and a scan never slows the desktop down.