Kidux is a Linux distribution specifically engineered to be a child's first computer. You can install it on any 64-bit computer—new or old—transforming it into a secure, educational, and distraction-free environment tailored for young minds.
With Kidux, each child enjoys a personal digital space that genuinely feels like their own: their chosen avatar and name on the sign-in screen, their personal password, and their preferred language. At the same time, adults retain comprehensive control: children can only access authorized educational modules, and only during the daily hours or schedules set by their family.
Kidux is free software, free for everyone, at home or at school, and all its source code is on GitHub for anyone to study, change and share. Built on a proven Debian foundation, it provides bilingual English and Spanish support from day one.
What a child sees
When the computer turns on, it displays a friendly sign-in screen with an avatar for each child. The child simply selects their picture and enters their password to enter. There is no confusing desktop clutter, no access to system settings, and no way to bypass protection. The screen is a clean personal space where every available tool has been thoughtfully chosen by an adult.
Once signed in, the child's screen presents the learning modules authorized by their family, displayed as intuitive visual tiles. An adult can configure each module to run in one of two modes depending on the child's age and experience:
- Full-screen mode. The recommended starting mode for all children. Each module occupies the entire display area above a permanent bottom navigation bar. From this bar, the child can return home, switch between currently open modules, or close the active activity. Multiple modules can remain open concurrently, and the child navigates easily using the bar or simple keyboard shortcuts.
- Windowed mode. For older or more experienced children, an adult can enable a traditional windowed layout. Activities then open with title bars, borders, and familiar minimize, maximize, and close buttons. Multiple windows can be arranged, resized, and moved side by side, while the bottom bar displays the list of open applications.
When the child's allotted time for the day expires, the screen locks automatically and securely. Work in progress is never lost: open applications are frozen safely in the background while waiting for an adult to grant additional time, briefly unlock the session to save files, or sign out cleanly.
Children can also lock the screen themselves whenever they step away. Sessions lock automatically after a few minutes of inactivity, and closing the lid of a laptop triggers an immediate lock. Under all circumstances, the child can always power off or restart the computer cleanly.
Sharing the computer among siblings is effortless: one child simply signs out and the next signs in with their own password, immediately loading their personal files, daily time balance, authorized activities, and language settings.
What an adult decides
All system configuration is managed from a single central location: the adult administration panel. It is unlocked exclusively using the master adult password from either the sign-in screen or the lock screen, and cannot be accessed from anywhere else in the system.
From the panel, an adult can:
- Create child profiles, selecting an avatar, interface language, keyboard layout, and password for each.
- Choose an access policy from three distinct modes:
- Unlimited access: the child may use the computer at any time.
- Daily time allowance: assigns a specific number of minutes per day. The timer counts down only while the session is unlocked and resets each morning.
- Permission required: the child requires an adult to grant time for each session.
- Specify which days of the week computer use is permitted (for instance, reserving screen time for weekends only).
- Grant bonus minutes immediately at any time, or adjust remaining time for the day to any specific amount (including zero to pause access).
- Enable or disable windowed mode independently for each child.
- Set idle timeout thresholds for automatically locking the screen and turning off the display to save energy.
- Install and remove learning modules, and enable or disable each activity according to each child's maturity and interests.
The master adult password is never typed inside a child's session, ensuring that no software or script running under the child's account can intercept credentials or spoof the administration interface.
Learning modules
Every activity in Kidux is packaged as an independent learning module. Adults install modules and determine which ones appear on each child's screen. For each activity, the panel lists recommended age ranges and suggested preparatory modules.
The following modules are available in Kidux:
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