GeezerVison

A fast, focused Fedora X11 desktop built for keyboard-driven work.

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KinetixOS is a complete, lightweight desktop for Fedora Linux. Windows arrange themselves automatically, everything is one keystroke away, and the panel, Control Center and Settings cover the daily tasks without editing files.

It is built on a patched dwm window manager and a Quickshell shell, and runs on X11. Fedora Linux (currently Fedora 44, x86_64) is the only supported platform.

Full details: Installation Guide.

1. From the latest release, download kinetixos.iso (any graphics card) or kinetixos-nvidia.iso (NVIDIA cards, proprietary driver), plus SHA256SUMS.

2. Check the download. In the download folder run sha256sum --ignore-missing -c SHA256SUMS; your ISO must say OK.

3. Write the ISO to a USB drive of 8 GB or more with an image writer (this erases the drive), and boot from it.

4. Before the graphical installer opens, a text screen asks a few questions. Press Enter to keep a default:

   Question	Default
   Install the gaming packages (Steam, Gamescope, GameMode, MangoHud)?	no
   Font size	12
   Modifier key (super or alt)	super
   Master area ratio	0.55
   Number of master windows	1

5. In the Fedora installer, pick the language, disk and time zone, and create your user with administrator rights. Then start the installation.

6. Reboot and log in. The installer sets up LightDM and the dwm session.

The ISO downloads packages during installation, so the computer needs an internet connection. It also needs a screen and keyboard; a virtual machine console such as Proxmox VE works.

git clone https://github.com/Dexmodzz/KinetixOS.git
cd KinetixOS
./install.sh --dry-run --non-interactive --profile recommended   # preview, changes nothing
./install.sh --profile recommended

The installer works only on Fedora, shows the package plan before it changes anything, and keeps your existing configuration. Choose a profile:

If an NVIDIA card is detected, the installer offers the proprietary driver (default no). If your system boots to a text console, it offers to start the graphical login at boot. Run ./install.sh --help for every option.

Select the dwm session at the login screen, or run startx from a text console. Super is the Windows key.

• Settings (Control Center -> Settings, or dwm-settings open) covers displays, keyboard and mouse, appearance, default apps and system tasks.
• Hotkeys, themes and window rules live in ~/.config/kinetixos/ (hotkeys.toml, themes.toml, window-rules.toml). Save the file and the change applies immediately.
• Build-time options such as font size and modifier key live in config.h in the source folder. The installer and updates keep your copy.

See the Configuration and Theming guides for examples.

Open Settings -> System -> Desktop updates to check for and install new KinetixOS versions; Fedora package updates are in the same section. For source checkouts, see Source updates and recovery.

• Run dwm-diagnostics for a report of what works and what is missing.
• Open Control Center -> System Health for the same overview on screen.
• If the session does not start, log in on a text console and run startx to see the error.
• The Troubleshooting Guide covers session, panel, display, theme and NVIDIA problems.

Still stuck? Open an issue and attach the dwm-diagnostics output after removing any private information.

How it fits together

• dwm core (dwm.c, C99): compile-time defaults in config.def.h, your local copy in config.h. At runtime dwm reads hotkeys.toml, themes.toml and window-rules.toml (user copy first, shipped defaults in config/) and reloads them through inotify. It publishes its state through EWMH and custom root-window atoms.
• Quickshell shell (config/quickshell/, QML): panel, launcher, Control Center, Settings and notifications. The QML stays unprivileged and gets its data from the dwm-quickshell-* and dwm-settings-* helper commands.
• Privileged actions go through small root-owned helpers in libexec/kinetixos/ behind polkit, each limited to an allowlist.
• Packages: scripts/dwm-packages.sh is the single Fedora package map used by install.sh, diagnostics and the Kickstart profiles.
• Installer ISOs: dwm-fedora.ks and dwm-fedora-nvidia.ks on top of the Fedora Server netinst ISO; %post runs install.sh --profile recommended.

Build, test, make your own ISO

make                              # build dwm (creates config.h if missing)
scripts/dev-sync-install.sh       # build and sync this checkout into your session
scripts/run-tests                 # full test gate in a temporary workspace

To build the installer ISOs yourself, follow RELEASING.md. How KinetixOS Works explains the dwm patches; SPEC.md defines the scope and ROADMAP.md the plan.

• Installation
• Getting Started
• Keybindings
• Configuration
• Theming
• Control Center
• Settings
• How KinetixOS Works
• Troubleshooting

Contributions are welcome. Read CONTRIBUTING.md for the workflow and the checks each change needs, and report security issues as described in SECURITY.md.