Tell your computer what it’s for.

A normal desktop, with the hard parts done for you.

Everything below works in this Preview and was tested on real laptops, not only in a virtual machine.

Pick what the machine is for.

Each add-on does one job and nothing “just in case”. Add more later with nexus setup <name> --apply.

Coming in the first big update

Installed machines get these through a normal update (nexus update). No reinstall.

Don’t just read about Nexus. Touch it.

This page now carries a tiny simulated Nexus installation. Pick a purpose, ask nexus options, break an update on purpose, and roll back to a known-good image.

Choose what this machine is for.

A profile changes the software Nexus would prepare and explains the cost first. The status panel is a visual simulation; the Apply button only animates this page.

Break it, then watch Nexus recover.

The healthy state is the default. Choose a failure and Nexus will explain what it knows, what stayed safe, and how rollback fits together.

Ask for a thing, not a package name.

The same explain-first idea as the real command: show the source, size, isolation, dependencies and the reason before anything is applied.

Keep the known-good image. Use it when it matters.

Install a sample update, keep the previous system beside it, then choose the old image from the boot menu. This is the rollback model, made visible.

Give Nexus a problem and watch its answer.

These are not FAQ accordions. Each scenario changes the simulated Nexus state and can take you to the control that demonstrates the response.

Try the Nexus commands.

This terminal is controlled by local sample data. It demonstrates the shape of Nexus answers without access to a real system.

A package tool that explains itself.

You ask for a web browser, not for firefox. Nexus shows every way to get one — from Fedora, from Flatpak, from a container — with what each costs, checks the plan with the real package manager, and only then hands it over.

$ nexus options video-editor

kdenlive          21.12.3   [installed]  654 components, already here
org.kde.kdenlive  26.08.0   (flatpak)    107 MB to fetch
kdenlive          26.08.0-1 (container)  414 components, 1.9 GB on disk

# The same program, three ways, with the price
# of each. A container is a whole distribution,
# so it costs more. Nexus says so first.

Every command only reads, unless you add --apply. Tested by 625 automated tests, and checked against rpm, dnf and dpkg directly.

Get the Preview.

Free. Two editions, the same Nexus underneath. Read the known limits first — this is a preview, made by one person, tested on a handful of machines.

Preview: what’s new.

What is in it.

• Install next to your Linux — the installer finds the other system, takes only the free space (30 GB or more), gives Nexus its own boot partitions, and starts Nexus first afterwards. Tested next to Linux Mint, Secure Boot on
• nexus dualboot — lists the other systems on the disk. sudo nexus dualboot add --apply puts them in the boot menu; sudo nexus dualboot 1 --apply restarts straight into one, once — the next restart is Nexus again
• Nexus Shop — apps from Flathub, Fedora and RPM Fusion side by side, with what Nexus suggests and why. Flathub apps install and remove with one click, “Update everything” asks for the password once, and every change is in the history
• Updates you can watch — progress shows in the terminal and the Shop, and the history marks an update “applied” once you’ve restarted into it
• A disk with something on it is never erased without asking — only an empty disk is used whole
• The clock stays right — set from the network and kept right automatically
• nexus gamecheck --identifiers — what a game’s anti-cheat can read about your machine, and what only root can see
• First start, fixed — typing works at the add-on question; if nobody answers, the login screen comes and it asks again next time
• Minimal edition: brightness keys with an on-screen bar
• Also still here: graphical installer, encryption on by default, signed images, updates only when you say so, the previous version in the boot menu

What doesn’t work yet.

Said up front, so you can decide before you install.

• It’s a previewTested on a few laptops and virtual machines. Expect rough edges, and keep a backup of anything that matters.
• Dual boot: Linux onlyNexus installs next to another Linux — tested with Linux Mint on one laptop. It needs UEFI, a GPT disk and 30 GB free in one piece. Not next to Windows. An empty disk is used whole.
• Next to another Linux: don’t open Installation DestinationNexus has already planned the disk. Pressing Done on that screen replaces the plan, and the installer then stops with an error instead of installing. If that happens, start the installer again and go straight to Begin Installation.
• NVIDIA: open driver onlyNVIDIA cards run on the open-source driver. It works for the desktop, but games run slower than with NVIDIA’s own driver, which comes later.
• The first update is bigThe first update after installing downloads the whole system once (about 2.3 GB). Later ones are smaller.
• The disk-password keyboardThe password at boot is typed on the keyboard layout picked in the installer. Choose a password you can type on it.
• Nexus speaks EnglishThe installer and desktop are translated; Nexus’s own messages are English only for now.
• No automatic rollback yetIf an update ever fails to start, pick the previous version in the boot menu by hand. Doing that automatically is planned.
• H.264 video in Firefox: one commandMost sites use other formats, and VLC plays everything. For the few that need H.264 in the browser, run sudo rpm-ostree override remove noopenh264 --install openh264 --install mozilla-openh264 and restart.
• Two editionsKDE Plasma and Minimal (LXQt). The minimal edition has no gaming add-on: Steam needs more memory than its machines have. Tiling and server editions come later.