Your questions, answered
The essentials, briefly. Don't see yours? Ask in the community.
General
What is Draft OS and what's it based on?
Draft OS is a universal, Arch-based Linux distribution available in two editions: the mutable Desktop and the immutable Immutable. A shared foundation, two approaches to managing the system.
Is Draft OS free?
Yes — completely free and open source under GPL-3.0. The project lives on voluntary donations.
Do you collect telemetry?
No. Draft OS contains no trackers and sends no data about your usage. No analytics “by default”.
Choosing & installing
Which edition should I choose?
If you want full control, the AUR and fine tuning — pick Desktop. If stability, atomic updates and rollbacks matter more — pick Immutable.
The detailed edition comparison will help you decide.
Can I switch from one edition to the other?
There's no in-place “conversion”, but both editions share data formats. Your files in /home carry over intact, so reinstalling is quick.
What are the hardware requirements?
Roughly: a 64-bit CPU (x86-64-v2 or newer, or AArch64), 4 GB RAM (8+ recommended), 25 GB of disk and UEFI. For gaming and heavy work — more memory and a discrete GPU.
Do I really need to verify the checksum?
Strongly recommended. It takes seconds and guarantees the image wasn't corrupted in transit or tampered with. How to do it is on the download page.
Using the system
How do I install apps on the Immutable edition?
The main way is Flatpak: flatpak install flathub <app>. For development tools, distrobox containers are handy. System packages are added as layers over the base.
Does the AUR work?
On Desktop — yes, fully. On Immutable there's no direct AUR access due to the read-only base, but Flatpak or a container almost always covers what you need.
What if an update breaks the system?
Roll back to the previous state. On Immutable, pick the prior version in the boot menu or run draft rollback. On Desktop, automatic Btrfs snapshots are taken before updates.
Is Draft OS good for gaming?
Yes. Fresh drivers, current Mesa/Proton and optimized builds. The Immutable edition is especially handy for gaming machines and HTPCs — in the spirit of SteamOS.
Is there NVIDIA support?
Yes. Proprietary NVIDIA drivers are available in both editions; for Immutable there are dedicated images with the drivers preinstalled.
Not in the list? Search the documentation or ask directly in the community — answers usually come fast.