Today is the day! — Nitrux 2.9.1 “vt” is available to download
We are pleased to announce the launch of Nitrux 2.9.1. This new version combines the latest software updates, bug fixes, performance improvements, and ready-to-use hardware support.
Nitrux 2.9.1 is available immediately.
🔰 Information: The codename for this release is “vt,” which refers to “VMetal,” as we include it, once again after two years.
⚠️ Important: Despite the efforts and improvements in this and previous releases, we’re not claiming to be security or forensic experts or that the distribution is “impenetrable” or “unhackable,” so there isn’t any misunderstanding. Suggestions to continue improving on this area are welcome at our bug tracker (open a new discussion).
This release is brought to you by our friends at packagecloud. packagecloud provides Nitrux Latinoamericana with the vital infrastructure that allows us to build our distribution.
Lightning-fast, secure, automated package management.
📜 Table of Contents
✨ What’s new
We recommend new users do a fresh installation using the latest media. For users of the previous version (2.9.0), please check the Notes for information about upgrading Nitrux.
Nitrux 2.9.1 build.310623.vt uses Linux 6.4.8-1 (Liquorix)
We’ve updated the following components of the distribution.
- KDE Plasma 5.27.7, KDE Frameworks to version 5.108.0, and KDE Gear to version 23.04.3.
- Firefox to version 116.0.
- MESA to version 23.3~git2308020600.4de7e0~oibaf~m; see MESA Information.
- Our linux-firmware package includes many new firmware files for the following drivers.
- amdgpu
- ath11k
- brcm
- cirrus
- cxgb4
- i915
- intel/avs
- iwlwifi
- rtl_bt
- rtlwifi
- rtw89
- … and others.
- NVIDIA Linux x64 (AMD64/EM64T) Display Driver to version 535.86.05.
- Intel SOF firmware to version 2.2.6.
- OpenRC to version 0.48.0.
- We’ve configured OpenRC to use CGroups v2 by default.
- 🔰 Information: CGroups v2 improves upon the limitations of v1 by offering a more flexible, efficient, and unified approach to managing and allocating system resources among processes. It simplifies resource control and supports newer use cases and workloads better.
- We’ve configured OpenRC to use CGroups v2 by default.
- AMD Microcode updated with patch for “Zenbleed” on AMD Zen2 processors.
- Nitrux Update Tool System to version 1.0.7.
- Here is a list of changes in this version.
- Correct the syntax for case statements.
- Add checks to avoid word splitting.
- Exit on unset varaibles.
- Here is a list of changes in this version.
We’ve added the following components to the distribution.
- Kernel Boot or kboot. The Kernel Boot (kboot) utility uses kexec and is designed for Nitrux OS to provide a solution to make it friendlier to load other Linux kernels on the fly.
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- ⚠️ Important: Kernel Boot (kboot) is intended to work exclusively in Nitrux OS, and using this utility in other distributions will break them or not work at all. Please do not open issues regarding this use case; they will be closed.
- kboot is designed for a particular purpose, making it friendlier to allow for a faster transition from the currently running kernel to a new kernel, avoiding the time-consuming hardware initialization and bootloader stages. It performs the following steps:
- Reads the settings in the specified configuration file.
- Then, it uses kexec to load the selected kernel using the parameters from the configuration file.
- 🔰 Information: For more information about Kernel Boot, visit its repository.
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- What kboot is
- Minimalistic, focusing on necessary functionality.
- A CLI utility.
- 100% Free and Open Source Software written entirely in POSIX-compliant scripting language.
- What kboot is not
- A bootloader.
- kboot uses a mechanism for loading and executing a new kernel within an already running system, bypassing the complete boot process. In comparison, a bootloader such as GRUB is a full-featured bootloader responsible for the initial bootstrapping of the operating system. GRUB provides a menu to select the desired operating system or kernel.
- An init or service manager.
- kboot does not function as an init or replace an init. The init process is responsible for initializing the system, starting essential system services and daemons, and bringing up the user space environment. kboot does not perform these functions; kboot only loads a new kernel image.
- An initrd or initram generator.
- kboot does not replace or modify the existing initramfs generator. The initram generator tools like dracut or initramfs-tools are responsible for identifying and including the necessary modules, drivers, and scripts to correctly set up the root filesystem and handle any unique configurations (e.g., encrypted root, LVM, RAID, etc.). kboot loads a kernel and an existing initram image and transfers control to it.
- A container, virtual machine, Live USB creator, Linux distribution, Live/Recovery/Rescue/Emergency environment, system installer, desktop environment, firmware, or “proprietary software.”
- Note: We don’t know why anyone would think that, but one can never know, so let’s clarify that.
- A bootloader.
- What kboot is
- 🔰 Information: To learn how to use Kernel Boot, see How to use Kernel Boot.
- ⚠️ Important: If using Nvidia hardware, the display output is not updated when using kboot to switch to a different kernel; see Known Issues.
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Introducing Kernel Boot.
- VMetal. VMetal allows users to run Windows in parallel to Nitrux to provide users access to Windows software. Meanwhile, they can still use their Linux desktop at the same time. VMetal uses QEMU and KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) on the software side and VFIO and IOMMU on the hardware side, meaning that Windows directly accesses the hardware it utilizes.
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- 🔰 Information: VMetal is a software project we made in 2019, which we stopped including in Nitrux approximately a few months later due to the intense backlash we received from people who did not understand how it worked, what it was, its exclusive availability in Nitrux, or that expected VMetal to make technological miracles, i.e., making VFIO “work” in Legacy BIOS, somehow “fix” IOMMU groups in closed-source proprietary firmware or running out of the box in other distributions not configured to use it, etc. Along with the equally controversial and long-dead znx, it was one of the three pillars of the then-planned Nitrux 2.0. We include it again because we’d prefer to include it than have it collecting dust, figuratively speaking. And because it’s useful for specific Windows software, including some games that don’t work in Proton yet.
- For historical context, check our old articles about it.
- 🔰 Information: VMetal is a software project we made in 2019, which we stopped including in Nitrux approximately a few months later due to the intense backlash we received from people who did not understand how it worked, what it was, its exclusive availability in Nitrux, or that expected VMetal to make technological miracles, i.e., making VFIO “work” in Legacy BIOS, somehow “fix” IOMMU groups in closed-source proprietary firmware or running out of the box in other distributions not configured to use it, etc. Along with the equally controversial and long-dead znx, it was one of the three pillars of the then-planned Nitrux 2.0. We include it again because we’d prefer to include it than have it collecting dust, figuratively speaking. And because it’s useful for specific Windows software, including some games that don’t work in Proton yet.
- 🔰 Information: See How to use VMetal in Nitrux.
- 📝 Note: Lastly, while we understand that some people could be preparing their torches in anger seeing that VMetal is not made available for their distribution of choice, we’d prefer to avoid the drama of the last time by exercising our freedom to only focus on the users of our software on our distribution.
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Disclaimer: Due to the magnitude of possible hardware combinations and UEFI firmware versions, we can’t guarantee that a specific hardware combination will work out of the box when using VMetal. We do not possess the means to test or acquire every consumer available product for verification that it will work in VMetal. We have tested VMetal only on the computers we have access to that meet the criteria. Therefore, YMMV. If VMetal works in your hardware configuration, please use hw-probe to let us know what hardware you’ve used.
- Hardware Probe Tool (hw-probe). Hardware Probe Tool is “a tool to probe for hardware, check operability and find drivers with the help of Linux hardware database: https://linux-hardware.org.”
- 🔰 Information: Hardware Probe Tool (hw-probe) is a CLI utility; the launcher generated by appimaged is hidden in the application menu to avoid users clicking on it and thinking that because no window opens that it doesn’t work (or that Nitrux doesn’t work). To use it, open Station and type the command hw-probe.
- Kvantum Manager. We had previously removed Kvantum Manager from the distribution in Nitrux 1.3.9 as we replaced our Kvantum themes with our then-brand-new KStyle, but we’re adding it back for those users who wish to use a different theme.
- 🔰 Information: Our Kvantum themes are not included.
- Some utilities such as the following.
- fdisk, cfdisk, and sfdisk collection of partitioning utilities.
- pv (Pipe Viewer), shell pipeline element to meter data passing through
- Support to provide both compression and decompression of some loosely related file formats used by Microsoft, such as the following formats: COMPRESS.EXE [SZDD], Microsoft Help (.HLP), COMPRESS.EXE [KWAJ], Microsoft Cabinet (.CAB), HTML Help (.CHM), Microsoft eBook (.LIT), Windows Imaging Format (.WIM), Exchange Offline Address Book (.LZX).
- MariaDB database client and server binaries.
- Toolbox, also known as Container Toolbox, is a tool for Linux that allows interactive command line environments to develop and troubleshoot the host operating system without installing software. It is built on top of Podman and other standard container technologies from OCI.
- slirp4netns, user-mode networking for unprivileged network namespaces.
- fuse-overlayfs. An implementation of overlay+shiftfs in FUSE for rootless containers.
We’ve fixed or closed the following issues in the distribution; see Report bugs.
- Pix does not open due to a missing library #121.
- KDE Partition Manager 23.04.3 does not list any partitions #122.
We’ve removed the following components from the distribution.
- VirtualBox Guest Utilities for X11 and non-X11.
📥 Download
Here are various ways to download our ISOs and virtual appliances.
- ISO — Direct HTTP Download from our server.
- FOSS Torrents (Torrent).
- Sourceforge (mirror).
- OSDN (mirror).
Checksums (MD5).
0b24f7196b0c8b1bce1452d255a6cc73 nitrux-nx-desktop-plasma-5309452e-amd64.iso -------------------------------- nitrux-maui-shell-0x0fffff-amd64.iso
⛔ Known issues
To see a list of known issues, click here.
🗒 Notes
To see a list of release notes, click here.
🐞 Report bugs
To report bugs, please use our bug tracker on GitHub.
📝 Changelog history
To see a list of previous changelogs, click here for the changes archived at our site or for the changes archived at Sourceforge.
📰 Resources
Here are various articles, tutorials, and other information on our blog.
📌 PSA
Here’s a list of post-release service announcements for this version of Nitrux.