Installation

How to download, verify and install lensOS.

Nightly builds only. lensOS has no stable release yet. Nightlies install and update, but expect rough edges and keep backups.

1. Download

Get the ISO from the download page, served from dl.lensos.org. Nightly images are named by date, for example lensos-openbox-2026.10.07-x86_64.iso; stable releases will add a codename (the first is Aperture).

2. Verify

Every ISO comes with a SHA-256 checksum and a GPG signature. Check both before writing the ISO to a USB drive:

sha256sum -c lensos-*.iso.sha256
curl -O https://get.lensos.org/lensos.gpg
gpg --import lensos.gpg
gpg --verify lensos-*.iso.sig lensos-*.iso

gpg should say Good signature from “lensOS Package Signing <packages@lensos.org>”, and the key’s fingerprint must be:

A032 731D 2BED 4613 94A9  3F30 2BD0 03F3 E9E3 D973

The same key signs every package in the lensOS repository; the lensos-keyring package installs it into pacman’s keyring, so installed systems check it on every update.

3. Write it to a USB drive

Use a drive of 8 GB or more (everything on it is erased). Any of these works:

  • Linux / macOS: dd (double-check the device name, because it overwrites the whole drive)
  • any OS: balenaEtcher, Ventoy or Rufus (Windows, use DD mode)
sudo dd if=lensos-openbox-*.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync

4. Boot and install

Boot from the USB drive. You land in a live session where you can try lensOS before installing. Start Install lensOS (the button on the bar), and the installer asks:

  1. region & keyboard: timezone, keyboard layout and language
  2. disk: pick a disk, then how lensOS should use it:
    • install alongside Windows: shrinks the Windows partition and adds Windows to the boot menu. Shut Windows down fully first (turn off fast startup), and keep a backup.
    • use the free space: if the disk already has unpartitioned space
    • erase the disk: lensOS gets the whole disk
    • choose partitions yourself: make partitions in the partition editor the installer opens (GParted), then say which is which: / (20 GB or more), /boot (FAT32, 500 MB or more; an EFI partition that big works), and optionally /home and swap. Tick Format only on the ones to wipe; on a disk shared with Windows, give Windows’ EFI partition the role /efi and lensOS adds itself to it without changing anything else.
  3. the filesystem (Btrfs is preselected for snapshots) and optional encryption
  4. your account: name, username, computer name and password
  5. drivers & extras: download fresh packages or copy the live system (works offline), the NVIDIA driver if you have a supported card (on the ISO, so it works offline too), and an optional gaming bundle
  6. a summary of exactly what will happen to your disk. Nothing changes until you confirm.

A typical install takes 5 to 15 minutes. Restart, remove the USB drive, and lensOS starts from your disk.

Wi-Fi: you don’t need to leave the installer to get online: Connect to Wi-Fi in its sidebar (or the offline chip on the first page) lists nearby networks. An online install gets the newest packages; only the gaming bundle always needs internet.

Drivers

The ISO carries drivers for as much hardware as lensOS can find them for, and every install keeps them up to date with lens update:

  • firmware for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, graphics and network cards from every vendor Linux supports (all of linux-firmware), and for laptop sound chips
  • graphics: AMD, Intel and NVIDIA (the open nouveau driver, or NVIDIA’s own driver, which the installer offers for GeForce GTX 16 / RTX 20 and newer), with hardware video decoding
  • Broadcom Wi-Fi cards that need Broadcom’s own driver (older MacBooks and some laptops): the live ISO switches to it by itself, and the installer keeps it on computers that need it
  • printers and scanners: most network and USB printers and scanners work without a driver download (IPP Everywhere, AirPrint, eSCL), plus Gutenprint, HP (hplip) and Foomatic drivers
  • drawing tablets, screen rotation on 2-in-1 laptops, Android phones and iPhones over USB, smart-card readers, Thunderbolt docks, and firmware updates for your hardware (fwupd)

Macs with the T2 chip

Intel Macs from 2018 to 2020 (MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini, iMac, iMac Pro, Mac Pro) have Apple’s T2 chip. lensOS supports them with t2linux’s drivers: the keyboard, trackpad, Touch Bar, sound, fan control and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth work, on the live ISO and after installing.

  1. In macOS Recovery, open Startup Security Utility: set Secure Boot to No Security and allow booting from external media.
  2. Hold Option while the Mac starts and pick EFI Boot, then lensOS live, Mac with the T2 chip in the lensOS menu.
  3. The installer recognises the Mac and adds what it needs.

Wi-Fi firmware: Apple doesn’t allow sharing the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth firmware, so lensOS copies it from macOS on the same Mac when it starts, and copies it to your install. Keep macOS (install next to it), or at least start the lensOS ISO once before erasing it. Without macOS, see t2linux’s guide for other ways to get it, and use Ethernet or USB tethering from a phone meanwhile.

BitLocker: if windows is encrypted with BitLocker, shrink its partition from windows’ Disk Management first, then choose “use the free space”.

System requirements

Plan for 20 GB of disk at minimum, 64 GB+ with snapshots and apps. See the download page for everything else.

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