Abora uses a two-layer approach to app management. At install time the guided installer offers six curated starter bundles — you pick one (or none) and those apps land on the system before you ever log in. After install, theDocumentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/AnimatedGTVR/abora-os/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
abora apps command lets you browse, search, add, and remove apps from a catalog of 53 titles across 6 categories, with each change backed by a proper nixos-rebuild switch so your system stays reproducible.
Starter Bundles
The installer presents these bundles as opt-in choices. Each bundle maps to a named group in the app catalog, except Fan Favorites which pulls apps marked as favorites across all categories. A hidden System bundle is always available but not offered as a standalone choice at install time.Fan Favorites
The most popular picks across all categories — a good general-purpose starting point.
Essentials
Browser, media player, office suite, email client, and password manager.
Social
Telegram, Signal, Discord, Element, Slack, and Zoom.
Creator
OBS Studio, GIMP, Krita, Inkscape, Kdenlive, Audacity, Blender, and more.
Developer
Git, GitHub CLI, VSCodium, Neovim, tmux, Docker, Lazygit, and Modularity.
Gaming
Steam, Lutris, Heroic Games Launcher, Bottles, MangoHud, and GameMode.
Modularity — a game engine editor with PhysX, Vulkan, and Mono support by Tareno Labs — is included in the Developer bundle. You can also install it post-install with
grab modularity or abora apps add modularity.The App Catalog
The full catalog contains 53 apps across 6 categories: Essentials, Social, Creator, Developer, Gaming, and System. Browse it any time with:abora apps Subcommands
All app management after install goes through abora apps. The table below covers every subcommand.
abora apps catalog — browse the full catalog
abora apps catalog — browse the full catalog
Prints all 53 apps grouped by category, with each app’s ID, name, and description. Apps marked as Fan Favorites are shown with a ★.
abora apps search — find apps by keyword
abora apps search — find apps by keyword
Searches app IDs, names, and descriptions. Case-insensitive.Example:
abora apps info — show details for one app
abora apps info — show details for one app
Prints the app’s ID, full name, category, Nix package expression, and whether it is currently installed.Example:
abora apps installed — list what is installed
abora apps installed — list what is installed
Shows every app currently managed by Abora on this system, including the ID, name, category, and description.
abora apps add — install one or more apps
abora apps add — install one or more apps
Adds one or more apps by ID, writes them to the app list, and triggers a rebuild.Examples:
abora apps remove — uninstall apps
abora apps remove — uninstall apps
Removes one or more apps by ID and triggers a rebuild.Example:
abora apps set — replace the full app list
abora apps set — replace the full app list
Replaces the entire managed app list with the specified app IDs. Any previously installed apps not included in the new list are removed. Pass no IDs to clear the list entirely. Triggers a rebuild unless Examples:
--no-rebuild is given.abora apps bundle — install a curated bundle
abora apps bundle — install a curated bundle
Adds every app in a named bundle to the current app list and rebuilds.Valid bundle names:
favorites, essentials, social, creator, developer, gaming, system.Example:abora apps rebuild — apply the list without changing it
abora apps rebuild — apply the list without changing it
Re-renders the Nix module from the current app list and runs
nixos-rebuild switch. Use this to force a rebuild after manually editing the app list file.Flags
Bothabora apps add and abora apps remove accept two optional flags:
| Flag | Effect |
|---|---|
--no-rebuild | Write the updated app list but skip the nixos-rebuild switch. Useful when batching several changes. |
--dry-run | Print what would change without touching anything. Implies --no-rebuild. |
abora apps add (and remove, bundle) triggers nixos-rebuild switch automatically after writing the app list. Pass --no-rebuild if you want to queue multiple changes and rebuild only once at the end with abora apps rebuild.TinyPM Quick-Install with grab
For one-off installs without going through the full abora apps flow, TinyPM’s grab command finds the best available source (Nix, Flatpak, Snap) and installs it:
grab is the fastest path for apps that are not in the Abora catalog, or when you just want something installed without caring about the source layer.
App Catalog Reference
- Essentials
- Creator
- Developer
- Gaming
- System
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
firefox | Firefox | Fast web browser for everyday browsing ★ |
chromium | Chromium | Open-source web browser without Google extras |
vlc | VLC | Video and audio player that handles almost anything ★ |
mpv | MPV | Lightweight media player for video and audio ★ |
libreoffice | LibreOffice | Office suite for documents, sheets, and slides ★ |
thunderbird | Thunderbird | Email and calendar client ★ |
keepassxc | KeePassXC | Offline password manager with browser integration ★ |
bitwarden | Bitwarden | Cloud password manager with cross-device sync |
qbittorrent | qBittorrent | BitTorrent client with a clean interface |
calibre | Calibre | E-book library manager and reader |