Wild OS Beta 2 (refresh)

A refresh of Beta 2 for 64-bit PCs, with today's fixes built in.

• Download: wildos-amd64.iso (about 2.5 GB)
• Checksums: SHA256SUMS, signed in SHA256SUMS.sig with the Wild OS key in packages/wildos-base/files/apt/wildos-updates-keyring.asc
• Make a USB stick: help.wildos.io

Already on Beta 2? You don't need this. Settings > Updates has already brought you everything below.

Fixed since Beta 2

• Fingerprint: sudo in the terminal no longer asks for your password after your finger is recognised, and the fingerprint keeps working after a restart.
• Start-up: nothing flashes on screen between your PC maker's logo and the Wild OS screen. Holding Shift at start-up still shows the start-up menu.
• Shutting down: much quicker, with Bluetooth file transfer no longer holding it back, and the shutdown sound plays while Wild OS closes.
• Taskbar: the Updates icon is back.
• A fresh install is up to date straight away, instead of offering dozens of updates.

It's a beta, so back up anything that matters before you install. Report problems with the Report a problem app, or in Issues.

Wild OS Beta 2

The second beta of Wild OS, for 64-bit PCs.

• Download: wildos-amd64.iso (about 2 GB)
• Checksums: SHA256SUMS, signed in SHA256SUMS.sig with the Wild OS key in packages/wildos-base/files/apt/wildos-updates-keyring.asc
• Make a USB stick: help.wildos.io

Already on Beta 1? You don't need this. Settings > Updates has already brought you everything below.

What's new since Beta 1

• Linux 7.2 and Mesa 26.1: newer hardware support, faster scheduling and newer Intel and AMD graphics, with an NVIDIA driver that works on it. If a new kernel can't reach the desktop, the PC goes back to the last one that could by itself.
• Faster: quicker on most processors, with Extra processor protection in Settings > Privacy and security for anyone who wants every safeguard. Working with lots of files is quicker, the desktop stays responsive under load and when memory runs out, encrypted SSDs stay fast, and the taskbar barely touches the processor when nothing is happening.
• A quicker start-up: the start-up animation flies through the W onto your desktop, taskbar included.
• Advanced protection: a new page in Privacy and security with extra protection you can switch on, like ignoring USB devices while locked, a panic key that locks the PC and cuts the network, a guest session, a safe box for unknown files, removing personal details from photos and documents, and a taskbar light whenever an app uses the camera or microphone.
• Firewall settings: choose Home or Public for each network, allow an app or a port, and see what was blocked.
• Settings: History shows what happened on the PC in plain words, Devices shows which hardware works, Free up space clears old restore points, update files, app caches and the Recycle Bin, Printers and scanners adds network printers in one click, and you can use your own mouse pointer, including Windows .cur and .ani files.
• Capture scans: pages from a network or USB scanner, straightened, cropped and saved as a PDF or pictures.
• Apps: a Wild OS section in the Store puts back any of our apps you removed. Write and Tables are separate apps, and apps that install themselves in your home folder, such as AppImages, can be uninstalled from Start and Settings.
• Windows mode: Windows can be activated with the licence on your Microsoft account, Windows apps can be uninstalled from Settings, and setup shows real progress and carries on by itself after the PC goes offline.
• Everyday: Cut, Copy and Paste on right-click in every text box, sudo accepts your password or your fingerprint at the same prompt, Task Manager's End task closes an app that stopped responding, and typing a full path in the Open dialog opens it.
• Fixes: the clock no longer starts hours off on a PC that also has Windows, closing the lid to shut down no longer sends the PC to sleep halfway, the keyboard light comes on at start-up, and the battery icon shows when the charger is in.

It's a beta, so back up anything that matters before you install. Windows mode needs a Windows 11 Pro licence. Report problems with the Report a problem app, or in Issues.

Wild OS Beta 1

The first beta of Wild OS, for 64-bit PCs.

• Download: wildos-amd64.iso (about 2 GB)
• Checksums: SHA256SUMS, signed in SHA256SUMS.sig with the Wild OS key in packages/wildos-base/files/apt/wildos-updates-keyring.asc
• Make a USB stick: help.wildos.io

Already on Alpha 2? You don't need this. Settings > Updates has already brought you almost everything below.

What's new since Alpha 2

• Eight new apps: PDF (read, fill in and sign), Capture (screenshots and screen recording), Notes, Music, Videos, Archive (including password-protected 7z, ZIP and RAR5), Voice (recordings with optional transcripts made on your PC) and Backup (encrypted backups to a USB drive).
• Restore points: Wild OS saves one before every update. If an update causes trouble, go back from Settings > System > Recovery with one restart, and your files are never touched. If the PC fails to start twice, start-up recovery offers an earlier version. New installs use snapshots inside the encrypted disk. Reset Wild OS can keep your files or set the PC up afresh.
• Report a problem: writes up what went wrong, removes personal details before you see the report, and opens a GitHub issue for you. When an app closes unexpectedly, Wild OS offers it. Only the app, the signal and the time are recorded, never its memory, and nothing is sent automatically.
• A new look: Albert Sans, Mica glass and neutral colours across Wild OS and its apps, new system icons, and a black start-up screen.
• Write and Tables: every ribbon tab rebuilt, a proper File menu with Recent, Wild OS Save as, and a new Print layout.
• Mail: People and Tasks, alongside Mail and Calendar.
• Fingerprint sign-in: set up in Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options, for the lock screen, the sign-in screen and admin prompts. It works with readers Linux supports, including the Dell XPS 13 9300 and 9310.
• Windows mode: Microsoft Store apps, USB devices you can hand to Windows, two screens at different scales, setup from a Windows file you already have, a leaner Windows that uses less memory, and setup that carries on in the background after first sign-in. Setup now repairs a failed step by itself, and Windows is saved rather than shut down, so the first app after a restart opens in seconds.
• Gaming: Steam from Flathub, with 32-bit support behind a switch in Settings > Privacy and security that is off by default. Turning it on adds controller support and an optional performance overlay.
• Drives: Files formats USB sticks and SD cards, including blank ones, and Backup lists every drive with the reason it can or can't be used.
• Settings: a one-screen Home with a Security card, a 12-hour or 24-hour clock, smarter search with Back, battery saver at 20%, and more hot corner actions.
• Desktop: an Updates icon beside Protection, Mac-style touchpad gestures, Alt+F4 on the desktop opens the shut down screen, and Show in folder works everywhere. Plugged in, the PC no longer sleeps when you step away.

It's a beta, so back up anything that matters before you install. Windows mode needs a Windows 11 Pro licence. Report problems with the Report a problem app, or in Issues.

Wild OS Alpha 2

The second alpha of Wild OS, for 64-bit PCs.

• Download: wildos-amd64.iso (about 2 GB)
• Checksums: SHA256SUMS, signed in SHA256SUMS.sig with the Wild OS key in packages/wildos-base/files/apt/wildos-updates-keyring.asc
• Make a USB stick: help.wildos.io

Already on Alpha 1? You don't need this. Settings > Updates brings you everything below.

What's new

• Write and Tables: documents and spreadsheets, built on LibreOffice. Word and Excel files open in them and save as .docx and .xlsx.
• Remote: Remote Desktop and SSH in one app. SSH passwords can be saved in your keyring, and there's a Port field next to the address. Windows mode's desktop can open in it too.
• Calendar is a tab in Mail, and Gmail accounts bring their calendar with them.
• Windows mode has a taskbar panel to pause, save, resume, restart and shut down Windows, and it asks first when work isn't saved. The memory setting now sticks, and product keys reach Windows.
• Package files: opening a .deb, .flatpak or .flatpakref shows an install page in the Store, which says plainly that nothing has checked it.
• Update notes: Settings > Updates lists what each build brings under New, Improved and Fixed.
• Desktop: Show desktop minimises your windows into the taskbar, screen corners can be set in Settings, snap assist offers windows for the rest of a layout, taskbar previews, and End task for apps that stop answering.
• Accessibility: outline windows, stronger text on glass, and blur for the windows not in use.
• Dates, times and numbers follow the regional format chosen in Settings, everywhere.
• Smoother under memory and disk load.
• Fixed: USB protection off now stays off (#16), and right-click menus, renames and Empty Recycle Bin answer properly (#17).

It's an early alpha, so back up anything that matters before you install. Windows mode needs a Windows 11 Pro licence. Report problems in Issues.

Wild OS Alpha 1

The first alpha of Wild OS, for 64-bit PCs.

• Download: wildos-amd64.iso (about 2 GB)
• Checksums: SHA256SUMS, signed in SHA256SUMS.sig with the Wild OS key in packages/wildos-base/files/apt/wildos-updates-keyring.asc
• Make a USB stick: help.wildos.io

It's an early alpha, so back up anything that matters before you install. Windows mode needs a Windows 11 Pro licence. Report problems in Issues.