Managed Linux workstations, built like infrastructure.

DeskOS compiles a workstation from text. You describe the machine (applications, desktop settings, branding, update policy) in YAML resources, and DeskOS produces a bootable Linux image.

DeskOS is not a distribution you consume. The published CentOS Stream 10 image exists so you can try it today. The product is your own golden image, built from your resources, installed with an ISO you make yourself. Two template repositories do that with a fork and one workflow.

A workstation is one file:

apiVersion: core.deskos.org/v1alpha1
kind: Workstation
metadata:
  name: example-devops-centos-stream-10
spec:
  platformRef: centos-stream-10
  profiles: [deskos-core, deskos-gnome, example-organization, example-devops]

Profiles sit at fixed layers: foundation, organization, role, workstation. A higher layer overrides a lower one on purpose, never because of file order. Sets union, keyed definitions must agree, and a scalar takes the highest layer. The resulting plan records where every value came from.

Build your own golden image

Start from a template, not from our image:

Template	What it is
deskos-template-cs10	Use this template, edit four YAML files, and one workflow builds your image on a GitHub-hosted runner and pushes it to ghcr.io. The package starts private; one setting makes it public.
deskos-template-rhel10	The same for RHEL 10, on your entitled RHEL runner, into your private registry. Fork it privately.

Both templates stop at the container image: you pull it and build the ISO with bootc-image-builder, because where an ISO lives and who signs it are your decisions. Installing DeskOS has the full command.

If you prefer to run the compiler here, the same three commands work:

./bin/deskosctl validate ./examples/centos-stream-10
./bin/deskosctl render ./examples/centos-stream-10 \
    --workstation example-centos-stream-10 --output ./dist/centos
sudo podman build -t localhost/deskos-centos:test ./dist/centos

deskosctl is a single binary from Releases, with no Go toolchain needed. Every resource kind, with an example, is in resources.md.

Try the published image

For an evaluation, not for a fleet. The image is quay.io/deskos/deskos-core-centos-stream-10. On a machine that already runs bootc:

sudo bootc switch quay.io/deskos/deskos-core-centos-stream-10:stable
sudo reboot

To install onto a disk, turn the same image into a QCOW2 or an ISO and install it: Installing DeskOS has both commands, complete.

There is also a preview installer ISO at https://download.deskos.org/. Check its SHA256SUMS before booting it.

What the project checks

Every weekly build runs the same sequence, and publishes nothing unless all of it passes:

Check	What it proves	Where
Compile and render	the same resources produce the same plan and build context	checks.yml
Image build and lint	the image builds from a pinned base and passes bootc container lint	image-publish.yml
Boot	QEMU boots the disk to a graphical screen and shuts down	tests/vm/bootcheck.py
Session	every dconf default, extension, favorite, wallpaper and installed binary matches the plan; the desktop exposes its applications through AT-SPI and opens one	tests/vm/sessioncheck.py
First boot	the GNOME Initial Setup wizard is the session that comes up, and no account exists yet	tests/vm/firstbootcheck.py
Update and rollback	a machine moves A to B and back, including a candidate that cannot boot	lifecycle-test.yml
Domain login	a throwaway FreeIPA realm and a Samba AD domain, joined at first boot, with a session as the directory user	identity-freeipa.yml
Supply chain	installed SBOM, CVE scan, keyless signature and provenance on the digest	supply-chain.md

The results of each published digest are in evidence.deskos.org, keyed by digest, and summarised at deskos.org/evidence.

Platforms

Platform	Today
CentOS Stream 10	published image, installer ISO, and the checks above on every weekly build
RHEL 10	composes and renders here; the entitled build runs in the organization that owns the subscription, and is never published
AlmaLinux 10, Fedora	example platforms: they compose, render and boot weekly, and publish nothing

The full matrix, with what is and is not verified on each platform, is platforms.md.

What DeskOS is not

• Not a distribution with editions. Organizations compose their own workstations from Core, their baseline and their roles.
• Not configuration management. DeskOS owns the image, not the running machine. Ansible, Satellite, MDM and EDR keep managing endpoints.
• Not a developer environment manager. Personal tooling stays outside the managed baseline.
• RHEL images are never published. Organizations with a subscription build them privately; the EULA forbids redistribution.

Read more

Install a machine	install.md
Operate one	operations.md, recovery.md
Fix a machine	troubleshooting.md
Choose a platform	platforms.md
Understand the model	architecture.md, runtime.md
Write resources	resources.md
Audit the supply chain	supply-chain.md
Contribute	CONTRIBUTING.md, development.md
What is next	roadmap.md, ADRs

License

Code: Apache License 2.0. DeskOS artwork (resources/assets/deskos/, docs/images/): CC BY-SA 4.0, see PROVENANCE.md.