Rolling releaseSnapshot 2026.11.07Download Zainium OS
One ISO for trying and installing. It boots into the full COSMIC desktop without touching your disk, and the installer is one click away.
x86_64 · UEFI and BIOS · live desktop and installer · 2 GB
A base root cannot touch
The system is sealed while it runs, and every base file is checked by the kernel.
No /usr at the root
The OS lives in layers, so what you install never mixes with the base.
Installs without a reboot
New software appears at once. Base upgrades apply at the next boot, and a failed one is undone.
Install in four steps
Verify the download
Check the ISO against its SHA-256 checksum:
sha256sum zainium-live-<date>.iso
It should print b96f687268a7877ba9ffa4a7d25043b0708b9c21f7d88b33fe0fdb1417004245
Write it to a USB drive
Use any image writer (Fedora Media Writer, balenaEtcher, GNOME Disks), or dd. Replace /dev/sdX with your USB drive. Everything on it is erased:
sudo dd if=zainium-live-<date>.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync
Boot the live system
Start the computer from the USB drive and choose Try or Install Zainium OS. The desktop starts without a login.
If the screen locks, the user is zainium and the password is where_is_usr_bin.
Install
Open Install Zainium OS from the applications and follow the installer. After the first boot, read Getting started.
System requirements
A rolling release
Zainium OS has no version numbers. You install it once and keep it current: elevate zex update updates your software and stages the newest base, which is applied at the next boot. ISO snapshots are only a fresh starting point, named after their date.