Frequently Asked Questions About Abora OS and DENALI

What is Abora OS?

Abora OS is a Linux distribution built on top of NixOS, designed to make the first install and ongoing management experience simpler without hiding how NixOS works underneath.It ships with a guided terminal installer (the Denali installer), 22 desktop environment options selectable at install time, curated starter app bundles, Abora-branded boot and desktop assets, and a small toolchain — abora, anix, and tinypm — that wraps common NixOS operations in shorter commands.The NixOS foundation is unchanged. You still get reproducible builds, atomic upgrades, generations, rollbacks, flakes, and declarative configuration. Abora just makes the first steps less rough.

Is Abora just NixOS with a pretty face?

Not exactly. Abora is still NixOS-based and does not fork the Nix package manager or the NixOS module system. Everything underneath is standard NixOS.What Abora adds on top of that base is substantial:

A guided terminal live-image installer with config validation, disk layout, user setup, desktop selection, and app bundles
22 desktop and window manager profiles evaluated in CI before every release
Abora OS branding across the bootloader (Limine), Plymouth splash, wallpapers, Fastfetch, and desktop defaults
The ANIX v1 profile manager with snapshot, diff, test, boot, switch, and rollback workflows
TinyPM v4 with Abora, ANIX, and NixOS system bridges
Flatpak and Flathub enabled by default
abora doctor, abora recovery, and abora support-report tools
Starter app catalog with 53 apps across 6 bundles

Abora does not try to hide NixOS or replace it. The goal is a better first experience on the same foundation.

What is DENALI 3.1.4?

DENALI 3.1.4 is the current stable Abora release. It is the version where Abora became a complete operating system rather than an installer experiment.Key additions in DENALI 3.1.4:

Omarchy-inspired TUI installer with a large Abora wordmark, compact boxed fields, and numbered menus
Config validation runs before nixos-install — bad configs fail early with a clear message
Live install progress with a log panel and elapsed timer
Bootloader files verified on disk before the installer declares success
Full Abora visual identity across Limine, Plymouth, wallpapers, Fastfetch, and desktop defaults
ANIX v1 profile manager (snapshots, diff/test/boot/switch/rollback workflows)
TinyPM v4 with Abora, ANIX, and NixOS system bridges
22 desktop environments and window managers selectable at install time
COSMIC desktop support with COSMIC Greeter
Modularity game engine editor in the Developer bundle (PhysX, Vulkan, Mono)
53 apps across 6 starter bundles: Fan Favorites, Essentials, Social, Creator, Developer, Gaming

The release identifier ANIX 1.0.5 DEMO refers to the current demo-branded ANIX tooling layer shipped within DENALI 3.1.4.

What changed in v2.5 compared to DENALI 3.1.4?

v2.5 was a reliability-focused release that prepared the groundwork for DENALI:

NetworkManager integrated into the live installer
Stronger installer failure handling
Desktop profile evaluation checks added
QEMU fresh-boot and disk-boot helpers (make qemu-fresh, make qemu-disk)
make iso vs make release split so local testing does not produce a full release bundle

DENALI 3.1.4 then built on that stable base to deliver the full Abora identity, ANIX v1, TinyPM v4, COSMIC desktop support, and the complete app catalog. For most users, a fresh DENALI install is recommended over upgrading from v2.5.

How do I update Abora?

On an installed Abora system, use:

sudo nixos update

Short aliases are also available:

update
upgrade
abora-update

These commands resolve the selected Abora update channel, sync the latest project files into /etc/nixos/abora/, update the local flake, and rebuild the system.If something goes wrong after an update, roll back with:

sudo nixos rollback

or the shorter alias:

rollback

To see which channel the system is currently following, or to switch channels:

nixos channel
nixos channel list
nixos channel set stable
nixos channel set unstable

How do I build the Abora ISO?

Building the ISO requires a working Nix and flakes setup. From the root of the Abora repository:

make iso

Then boot the ISO in QEMU to test it:

make qemu-fresh

After installing inside QEMU, boot the virtual disk without the ISO attached:

make qemu-disk

For a full release bundle that includes the ISO, TinyPM package, checksums, release manifest, and release notes:

make release

Other useful targets:

make metadata         # refresh release metadata only
make tinypm-package   # build the TinyPM package by itself
make check            # run 79 script syntax and runtime checks
make check-desktops   # evaluate all 22 desktop profiles against nixpkgs

Does TinyPM v4 replace declarative NixOS configuration?

No. TinyPM is part of the Abora ecosystem and provides a friendlier app-level interface, but it does not replace the NixOS module system or configuration.nix/flake-based declarative configuration.On Abora, TinyPM prefers Nix as the install backend and can also work with Flatpak, Snap, and native package managers where supported. Its main role is making common package operations less verbose:

grab firefox          # install through the best available source
tinypm sources        # show native/Flatpak/Snap availability
tinypm system         # Abora/NixOS/ANIX bridge status
tinypm repair         # repair-focused doctor checks
tinypm anix status    # forward to ANIX
tinypm abora doctor   # forward to Abora doctor

For adding packages permanently to the system in a declarative way, use the ANIX layer (anix package add <pkg>, which writes to anix.nix) or edit abora-local.nix directly.

What are the named ANIX flake profiles?

Fresh Abora installs expose five named flake profiles that ANIX can switch between:

Profile	Purpose
`stable`	Standard Abora desktop configuration
`minimal`	Minimal system without a full desktop
`gaming`	Gaming-oriented profile
`creator`	Creator-focused profile
`developer`	Developer-focused profile

Switch between them with:

anix switch nix stable
anix switch nix minimal
anix switch nix gaming
anix switch nix creator
anix switch nix developer

ANIX will offer a snapshot of the current config before switching so you have a recovery point. You can also preview changes before committing:

anix diff nix gaming
anix test nix gaming

Is Modularity (the game engine editor) available in Abora?

Yes. Modularity is a game engine editor developed by Tareno Labs and is included in Abora through the Developer app bundle. It is backed by a custom Nix derivation with PhysX, Vulkan, and Mono support built in.To install it after setup, use TinyPM:

grab modularity

Alternatively, select the Developer bundle during the Denali installer flow to have Modularity included from the first boot. Note that it requires the Developer bundle to be selected at install time, or the grab modularity command post-install. It will not appear automatically with other bundles.

What desktop environments are supported?

DENALI 3.1.4 ships with 22 desktop environments and window managers selectable at install time, plus a console-only option:

Desktop	Type	Display Manager
GNOME	Full DE	GDM
KDE Plasma	Full DE	SDDM
COSMIC	Full DE	COSMIC Greeter
XFCE	Full DE	LightDM
Cinnamon	Full DE	LightDM
MATE	Full DE	LightDM
Budgie	Full DE	LightDM
LXQt	Lightweight DE	SDDM
Pantheon	Full DE	LightDM
Hyprland	Wayland compositor	SDDM (Wayland)
Sway	Wayland compositor	SDDM (Wayland)
Niri	Wayland compositor	SDDM (Wayland)
River	Wayland compositor	SDDM (Wayland)
MangoWM	Wayland compositor	SDDM (Wayland)
i3	Tiling WM	LightDM
AwesomeWM	Tiling WM	LightDM
Qtile	Tiling WM	LightDM
BSPWM	Tiling WM	LightDM
Herbstluftwm	Tiling WM	LightDM
Openbox	Floating WM	LightDM
Fluxbox	Floating WM	LightDM
IceWM	Floating WM	LightDM
No desktop	Console-only	TTY

All 22 graphical profiles are evaluated in CI via make check-desktops before every release to confirm they evaluate correctly against nixpkgs. COSMIC is new in DENALI 3.1.4 and uses the COSMIC Greeter display manager — GNOME auto-login settings do not apply to COSMIC sessions.

How do I roll back after a bad update?

There are several rollback paths depending on how broken the system is.From a running terminal (lightest path):

rollback

Or via ANIX:

anix generations
anix rollback nix

Via the abora recovery menu:

abora recovery

Then select option 1 (Roll back previous generation), which runs anix rollback nix --now.Direct subcommand:

abora recovery rollback

If the system does not boot: Boot from the Abora ISO, open the live shell, mount the installed root partition to /mnt, inspect /mnt/etc/nixos, and use nixos-enter to rebuild from outside the broken environment. See the Recovery page for the full live ISO procedure.

What is the difference between abora, anix, and tinypm?

The three tools form layers in the Abora management stack:

Tool	Layer	Main purpose
`abora`	OS management	Doctor checks, recovery menu, support reports, config editing, welcome flow, desktop switching
`anix`	NixOS profile management	Profile switching, generations, snapshots, diff/test/boot/switch/rollback, settings, feature flags
`tinypm`	App/package management	App installs, source status, repair, ANIX and Abora bridges

In practice: use abora when something is wrong with the Abora OS layer or you need a support report. Use anix when you want to change the system configuration, switch desktop profiles, manage generations, or take a config snapshot. Use tinypm (or its grab command) when you want to install or remove applications.All three can forward to each other:

tinypm anix status     # runs anix status
tinypm abora doctor    # runs abora doctor
abora recovery anix    # runs anix doctor
abora recovery doctor  # runs abora doctor

Can I use Flatpak on Abora?

Yes. Flatpak is enabled on every Abora install and the Flathub system remote is added automatically on first boot. No extra setup is required.If the Flathub remote goes missing or gets corrupted, repair it with:

abora recovery flathub

This re-adds the remote with:

flatpak remote-add --system --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

You can also toggle Flatpak management through ANIX:

anix enable flatpak
anix disable flatpak
anix apply

Note that Flatpak and app bundle installs from the catalog require an active network connection after first boot.

Where does local configuration live?

After installation, all machine-specific settings live in:

/etc/nixos/abora-local.nix

A typical abora-local.nix looks like:

abora.hostname = "my-pc";
abora.timezone = "America/New_York";
abora.desktop  = "gnome";

You can edit this file directly, or use abora config for common changes without opening the Nix file by hand:

abora config
abora config set hostname my-pc
abora config set timezone America/New_York
abora config set desktop hyprland
abora config apply

The ANIX layer has its own config file at /etc/nixos/anix.nix, managed through anix set, anix enable, anix disable, and anix edit. ANIX tool state (such as snapshot push behavior) is stored in /etc/nixos/.anix/config.

user and disk values in abora-local.nix are read-only through abora config for safety. Edit abora-local.nix directly only when you actually mean to change those values.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Abora OS and DENALI

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Get Started

Using Abora

Tools

Recovery & Support

Contributing

Documentation Index

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love