Documentation
UrsaOS Documentation
Complete guide for installing, configuring, and using the UrsaOS Linux distribution.
System Requirements
Processor
x86_64 processor
Firmware
UEFI firmware (Secure Boot disabled, GPT partitioning)
Memory
At least 2 GiB RAM (4 GiB+ recommended)
Storage
At least 12 GiB free disk space (20 GiB+ recommended)
Graphics
Wayland-compatible graphics hardware (Intel, AMD, or NVIDIA)
Legacy BIOS / CSM and MBR installations are intentionally unsupported in current development images (UEFI-only).
Live System & Boot
- Boot the ISO and select your language in GRUB: 'UrsaOS starten — Deutsch' or 'Start UrsaOS — English'.
- The ephemeral live user ursa starts automatically into the Plasma Wayland session.
- Networking is managed by NetworkManager.
- Recovery: 'Advanced options → Safe console' (boot parameter ursaos_console=1) boots directly into a root console.
Guided Calamares Installation
Guided installation is launched via 'Install UrsaOS' in the app launcher or by running 'ursaos-install' in the terminal. Calamares copies the tested live squashfs offline directly to your drive.
Standard-Konfiguration (Defaults)
| Bereich | UrsaOS Standard |
|---|---|
| Desktop | The running UrsaOS Plasma live payload |
| Bootloader | UEFI + GPT + native text GRUB |
| Filesystem | Btrfs with subvolumes @, @home, @cache, @log (compress=zstd:3, noatime) |
| Kernel | linux kernel (recommended optional: linux-lts) |
| Snapshots | Snapper (default), Timeshift, or none |
| Login Greeter | SDDM with UrsaOS Aurora greeter |
| Shell | Fish shell for created user accounts |
| Software | BearHub (recommended, removable), Flatpak, repo.ursaos.dev |
| AUR | Disabled by default; optional paru + base-devel |
Btrfs Snapshot Choices
Snapper (Recommended)
Root configuration, user access, timeline timers, grub-btrfsd, and Btrfs Assistant GUI.
Timeshift
Snapper integration is removed; Timeshift and cronie remain for periodic backups.
No Snapshots
Both snapshot managers and their bootloader integrations are completely removed.
Essential Keyboard Shortcuts (Plasma)
Super + E
Open Kitty Terminal (with Fish, Starship & Fastfetch)
Super + Q
Close active window
Meta
Open Application Launcher
Super + ,
Open System Settings
Building from Source
sudo pacman -Syu --needed archiso git base-devel pacman-contrib \
extra-cmake-modules libglvnd ninja python qt6-tools qt6-translations \
kcoreaddons kcrash kpmcore libpwquality qt6-declarative qt6-svg yaml-cpp
./scripts/build-package.sh all
sudo ./scripts/build-iso.sh