NoctraOS is an Ubuntu-based AI development workstation OS. Local AI and coding
assistants are one click from the Start button, a short welcome helps you settle
in, and the desktop is dark with a little amber along the way.
What you get
- One shortcut: Super + Space. Find apps, files, clipboard history, and
the web on the GNOME flavour. Browser history is available if you opt in.
The published 0.5.0 KDE Plasma preview does not include this search yet.
- AI on your computer, if you want it. Local models run through Ollama, set
up with one optional command and LLMFIT to find one that fits your hardware.
No model is downloaded until you pick one, and Ollama starts with your
computer only if you turn that on. VS Code and Continue are set up to use
them.
- A Control Panel. Updates, your apps, Git and GitHub setup, AI models,
your graphics card, a health check, and your privacy choices in one window,
with no terminal needed.
- Assistants within reach. Hermes Desktop, Codex, Claude Code, OpenCode,
Grok, Gemini CLI, and Qwen Code have a place in the Start panel. Signing in
to the coding agents is yours to do. Hermes, Ollama and the agents follow
their publishers' newest releases, and the Control Panel shows which version
you have.
- The everyday tools, too. A browser, office apps, media tools, a task
manager, and support for Flatpaks and AppImages.
| The Start panel | Super + Space search |
|---|
| |
| The Control Panel | Privacy choices |
|---|
| |
Real screenshots from a running NoctraOS GNOME VM. Click any image for the full view.
A note on AI: Ollama runs locally. Hermes' free tier uses the Nous cloud,
so prompts leave your computer; a local-only option is available. Other coding
assistants use their own providers and may need accounts.
Try it
Download the installer or a VM disk →
The download page has ISO, QCOW2, and VMDK images, checksums, and instructions.
Aim for 8 GB RAM minimum (16 GB recommended) and 25 GB free disk for setup.
First login needs internet and roughly 25–40 minutes to set up the AI tools.
The VM disks are trial appliances: they sign in as noctraos (password
noctraos) with passwordless sudo.
NoctraOS ships in two flavours: zorin on Zorin OS 18.1 with GNOME, and
Plasma (id kubuntu) on Kubuntu 26.04 with KDE Plasma, labelled preview from 0.5.0.
The GNOME flavour remains the recommended download and the Proxmox installer's
only flavour.
As of 2026-10-14, the working code adds Super+Space search on Plasma through
KRunner, called Meta+Space in KDE settings. It uses the shared backend for files,
CopyQ clipboard history, opt-in browser history and web search, while stock
KRunner provides application results. In a local Plasma VM, testing confirmed
key activation, fixture results, Enter opening a file in Kate, shortcut
persistence after reboot and an idempotent setup rerun. This is not in the
published 0.5.0 images. The AI-first Kickoff Start categories are not implemented,
and broad theme acceptance and real hardware remain untested. An interactive
Calamares install of the 0.5.0 Plasma ISO works, but its first-boot setup does not
start on its own (fixed on main, ships in the next ISO; see
flavour status). See flavour status and
updates for the future optional signed-update path for existing
Plasma systems. That update is on the Plasma nightly channel (2026-10-24) and has not been promoted to stable.
On Proxmox VE (8 or 9), run this on the host as root. It asks for RAM, cores and
storage, checks the download against SHA256SUMS, and creates a UEFI VM from the
ready-made disk or the installer ISO:
bash <(curl -sSfL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dazeb/noctraos/main/proxmox-install.sh)
More options are in the setup guide.
This is an early release, tested in VMs; a full interactive install and real
hardware testing are still on the to-do list. Back up before installing.
For an existing compatible system or your own ISO build, see the
setup guide.
Come build with us
First contribution or fiftieth, you're welcome here. Try it on your laptop,
report something confusing, fix a typo, improve a screenshot, suggest a design,
or write some code. Useful feedback counts as a contribution, too.
We're making a desktop we'd like to use, and having some fun along the way.
You don't need to be a Linux wizard to help. See how to contribute
or open an issue and say hello.
Questions, press, or a security report: [email protected].
Documentation
| Looking for… | Start here |
|---|
| Setup, configuration, GPU support, maintenance, or troubleshooting | Setup guide |
| What NoctraOS sets up, and what it leaves to you | What we do |
| The project's direction and principles | Objectives |
| Near-term priorities and completion evidence | Public roadmap |
| The welcome, dock, Start panel, and search experience | Onboarding · Desktop layout |
| The Control Panel: updates, apps, accounts, models, hardware, health, privacy | Control Panel |
| How an installed system gets new features: signed, staged rolling updates | Updates |
| Themes and the included app set | Theme design · App comparison |
| Testing and your first change | Contributing |
| Release progress and remaining validation | |
Credits and license
Built on Zorin OS 18.1 / Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and Kubuntu 26.04, with thanks to their communities,
and inspired by Omarchy and Omakub.
NoctraOS is independent and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by those projects.
NoctraOS is released under the MIT License. Third-party components
keep their own licenses: Zorin OS and Ubuntu packages, the bundled fonts
(SIL OFL, see assets/) and the vendored agent skills in .agents/. Agent
names and logos belong to their respective projects.
