DraftOS
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The Draft OS handbook

Everything you need to install, update and live with Draft OS — from first steps to administration and development.

Overview

Draft OS is a universal, Arch-based Linux distribution available in two editions. The docs apply to both; differences are marked explicitly: Desktop and Immutable.

Just getting started? Read the getting-started guide first — it's shorter and holds your hand. This page is the reference.

Installation

Grab an image on the download page, verify its SHA-256 checksum, and write it to USB. Boot from the drive and run the installer.

  • Desktop uses the graphical Calamares installer with manual or automatic partitioning.
  • Immutable deploys the immutable image and configures the atomic bootloader.

First boot

On first login, a setup wizard offers to choose language, timezone, apply updates and install base apps. Everything can be changed later in system settings.

Updates

Update the system with a single command. The model depends on the edition:

draft update 
# One command for both editions
$ draft update
# Desktop → pacman + flatpak · Immutable → atomic image
✓ System up to date. No reboot required.

In the Immutable edition the new state applies after a reboot, while the previous one stays available for rollback.

Packages & apps

The recommended way to install applications is Flatpak: it works identically in both editions and keeps the system clean.

flatpak 
$ flatpak install flathub org.mozilla.firefox

Desktop additionally gives you pacman and the AUR for system packages:

pacman 
$ sudo pacman -S neovim ripgrep

Rollbacks & snapshots

Something went wrong after an update? Roll back to the previous state.

  • Immutable — pick a prior version in the boot menu or run draft rollback.
  • Desktop — Btrfs snapshots are taken automatically before updates; restore from the boot menu.

Security

Draft OS offers LUKS full-disk encryption, Secure Boot support and sandbox isolation for Flatpak apps. On Immutable, the read-only base further reduces the attack surface.

Tip: enable disk encryption during installation — doing it afterwards is harder.

Development

Keep the system clean and your tools in isolated environments. This matters most for Immutable, but it's good practice on Desktop too.

Containers

distrobox lets you run any distribution on top of Draft OS with full access to your home directory:

distrobox 
$ distrobox create --name dev --image ubuntu:24.04
$ distrobox enter dev

CLI reference: draft

One unified system-management tool:

  • draft update — update the system
  • draft rollback — roll back to a prior version
  • draft status — system and image state
  • draft install <pkg> — install an application
  • draft edition — show the current edition

Didn't find your answer? The knowledge base grows with the project. Ask in the community or open an issue in the repository.