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Notes: Nitrux 3.0.0

By Uri Herrera1 September, 2023Notes

Below is a list of release notes we recommend reading before installing the distribution.

📜 Table of Contents

  1. Installing Nitrux
  2. Virtualizing Nitrux
  3. Filesystem, Security, Privacy, and Anonymization Features Information
  4. Upgrading Nitrux from a Previous Version
  5. Using NX Desktop
  6. Software Management
  7. Creating and Managing Backups
  8. Creating OpenRC and User Services
  9. Creating Network Shares
  10. Support for Other Desktop Environments
  11. Wayland Information
  12. PipeWire Information
  13. MESA Information
  14. Plasma X11 Session Information
  15. Latte Dock Information
  16. Nvidia Proprietary Driver Information
  17. General Gaming Information
  18. Using Kernel Boot to swap Kernels
  19. Using VMetal in Nitrux
  20. Installing Hypervisors in Nitrux
  21. Misc. Information

🗒 Notes

Installing Nitrux

Disclaimer: We do not develop the Calamares installer. Please create issues at its bug tracker here to request features or report problems.

Virtualizing Nitrux

Disclaimer: We do not develop VirtualBox, GNOME Boxes, or VMware Workstation/Player. Please inform their developers at their respective bug trackers if you have issues with these hypervisors, such as graphical problems.

Filesystem, Security, Privacy, and Anonymization Features in Nitrux

Upgrading Nitrux from a Previous Version

Using NX Desktop

Software Management

  • Nitrux is a distribution that doesn’t revolve around a package manager like other distributions; in Nitrux, the preferred method of obtaining new software is using AppImages. However, we understand that not all software is available as an AppImage. So, by default, we have included various options for users, such as Flatpak and Distrobox, to complement AppImages.
  • Users can also create their AppImages; to do that, see the following tutorials.

Creating and Managing Backups

  • Nitrux allows users to back up their data using Kup since version 1.1.9 (July 27th, 2019). You can find Kup in System Settings>Backups.

Creating OpenRC and User Services

Creating Network Shares

Support for Other Desktop Environments

  • Nitrux uses the Plasma Desktop with our customization layer NX Desktop by default. Also, our desktop shell, Maui Shell, is in development. In this regard, our focus is on Plasma and MauiKit. However, users can install other desktop environments using Distrobox. With that said, see our tutorial, Installing other DEs in Nitrux.
    • ⚠️ Important: Using Distrobox to install other desktop environments is a feature considered “an experiment” by the Distrobox developer, so keep that in mind.
  • Regarding Maui Shell, as of September 1st, 2023, Maui Shell development focuses on Qt6. Therefore, for now, we’re not providing new ISO files. To test Maui Shell, please compile it using a container.
    • ⚠️ Important: Please report issues with Maui Shell at its bug tracker.

Wayland Information

  • Starting with Nitrux 2.8.1, the distribution uses a Wayland session (Plasma Wayland) by default.

PipeWire Information

  • Since Nitrux 2.6.0, the distribution includes PipeWire by default.

MESA Information

  • As of Nitrux version 2.4.0, we include the most recent version of MESA available, built from MESA’s Git ‘master’ branch, not the “stable” release as most distributions do.
    • ⚠️ Important: Since we include bleeding edge software YMMV. Please report issues with MESA to the MESA developers.
  • If using a graphics processor that uses MESA drivers and the GUI does not work, check whether your GPU is loading its firmware. To check, run the following command after login to a TTY.
lspci -v | grep -A 10 -i "VGA compatible controller"
lshw -C display

Disclaimer: We do not develop or package MESA. To file bugs against MESA, please use their bug tracker here.

Plasma X11 Session Information

  • Starting with Nitrux 2.8.1, the Plasma X11 session is not the default anymore. However, we understand that for many users, especially those with Nvidia graphic processors, using Wayland may not provide the best experience. For these users, run the command below to restore the Plasma X11 session as a selectable session in SDDM.
    • After running the command below, log out, select Plasma X11, and log in.
sudo mv /usr/share/xsessions/orig.plasma.desktop.bak /usr/share/xsessions/plasma.desktop

Latte Dock Information

  • As of July 2022, Latte Dock is now unmaintained by its developer, meaning there’s no guarantee it will continue to work. Since Nitrux 2.9.0, Latte Dock is no longer included in the distribution.

Nvidia Proprietary Driver Information

Please note that starting from version 2.5.0 Nitrux includes the latest available Nvidia proprietary driver.

  • Nitrux includes the latest version of the Nvidia proprietary driver when we build and publish our ISO files.

Disclaimer: We do not develop the Nvidia proprietary driver. For issues with the Nvidia driver, including bugs and adding support for graphics cards, please visit Nvidia Support.

  • For some laptops with supported discrete graphics by the Nvidia proprietary driver, adding our X11 configuration for PRIME (where supported) may be necessary to work correctly.
    • Download the script below to add our X11 configuration if your laptop requires it.
      • ⚠️ Important: The script file below creates files in the root directory; see XFS Features and Root Immutability in Nitrux.
      • 🔰 Information: The default TTY for the graphical session can change if your computer utilizes the Nvidia proprietary driver.
axel -a -o $HOME/Downloads https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Nitrux/storage/master/Other/nvidia-x11-laptop-conf
chmod +x $HOME/Downloads/nvidia-x11-laptop-conf
sudo $HOME/Downloads/nvidia-x11-laptop-conf

General Gaming Information

  • Nitrux uses the Liquorix kernel, described as “an enthusiast Linux kernel designed for uncompromised responsiveness in interactive systems, enabling low latency in A/V production, and reduced frame time deviations in games.”

Disclaimer: We do not develop, maintain, or package the Liquorix kernel. Please file bug reports at their bug tracker or ask for assistance on their forums.

Disclaimer: We do not develop Steam or the Steam Flatpak. To report issues about the Steam Flatpak, create an issue at their bug tracker. Also, we do not develop Bottles, Heroic Games Launcher, or Lutris. Please create an issue at their respective bug trackers to report problems with these applications.

  • Nitrux includes a desktop launcher to install the itch.io Store application, which will download and run the official Linux installer; we do not include it by default.
    • 🔰 Information: For more information about running the itch.io Store application in Nitrux, see itch.io Store.

Disclaimer: We do not host, maintain, or create the content at the itch.io Store, nor develop the itch.io client Store application. Please file bug reports at their bug report website here.

Using Kernel Boot to swap Kernels

  • The Kernel Boot (kboot) utility provides a solution to make it friendlier to load other Linux kernels on the fly. 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:
    1. Reads the settings in the specified configuration file.
    2. Then, it uses kexec to load the selected kernel using the parameters from the configuration file.
  • In kernel-related topics, to manually build kernel modules using dkms, see our tutorial about Building dkms Drivers in Nitrux.

Using VMetal in Nitrux

  • 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.

Disclaimer: Due to the magnitude of possible hardware combinations and UEFI firmware versions, we cannot 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.

Installing Hypervisors in Nitrux

Misc. Information

  • We have discontinued minimal ISO releases of the distribution.
  • We have discontinued OVA releases of the distribution.
  • Nitrux is exclusively a 64-bit Linux distribution; we do not use, include, or provide support for 32-bit software.
  • Nitrux includes a simple text file called installed_pkgs_end.txt in the root directory that, as its name suggests, lists all installed packages by default in the distribution. Users can use it to compare more extensive changes from release to release, like package updates.
    • To view the list of packages, use Nota or the command cat. When using cat to look for a specific package, use grep, i.e., search for Mauikit.
cat /installed_pkgs_end.txt
cat /installed_pkgs_end.txt | grep mauikit
  • Nitrux has various command-line utilities, including a file manager, text editor, web browser, remote desktop, system monitor, and a single game. Below is a list of these command-line utilities.
    • ftp, hdparm, htop, links2, mc, micro, ncdu, tmate, tree, and nsnake.
  • We recommend users who wish to run prelink manually do it after using overlayroot-chroot; see XFS Features and Root Immutability in Nitrux. To run prelink manually, run the following command.
prelink -amR
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