Introducing Kilne OS

Kilne OS is a simple, open-source desktop operating system.

It starts from Debian 13, so the foundations are familiar and the packages you know are one command away. On top of that sits a desktop written in Rust: a top bar, a dock, a launcher, a login screen, and a handful of apps. That is the whole surface.

Why build another desktop?

Because small systems are easier to understand, and understanding is what makes a system yours. Kilne keeps the surface area deliberately short, so you can read how it fits together and change what you want to change.

Three ideas run through everything:

• A desktop that stays out of your way. It starts empty. Press Super + Space and the launcher is there.
• Apps are web apps. If you can build for the web, you can build for Kilne. Package it, install it with kilne install, and it appears in the launcher in its own window.
• Permissions in plain English. Before an app installs, Kilne tells you what it asks to do, and stops the install if the app asks for more than it showed.

What is in 0.1.0

• A live ISO with Install and Try boot choices, and a branded installer
• A graphical login screen
• Files, Terminal, Text Edit, Viewer and Settings
• The Kilne Store and the kilne command
• Dark and light themes, with five accent colours
• Chromium as the browser

What is open source

The shell, the installer and the tools are open source. The Kilne runtime, the engine that runs your web apps, is proprietary and free to use under its license, which you accept when you install. We would rather tell you that up front.

Try it and build with us

Kilne 0.1.0 is an early release. It is the start of a project, not the end of one, and the people who join now get to shape it. Read the docs, look at how apps are packaged, and try it in a virtual machine.