Updated
Updated · ZDNet · Jun 9
RakuOS Adds DNF Support to Immutable Linux, Preserving Packages Across Updates
Updated
Updated · ZDNet · Jun 9

RakuOS Adds DNF Support to Immutable Linux, Preserving Packages Across Updates

1 articles · Updated · ZDNet · Jun 9

Summary

  • RakuOS lets users install native apps with DNF, DNF5 or its Software Center even though the distro keeps an immutable base system.
  • The hybrid design uses a persistent overlay mounted on /usr, allowing packages to survive updates while leaving the core OS pristine and rollback-ready.
  • In hands-on testing, the distro handled regular apps and an Ollama workload smoothly, helped by a performance-focused CachyOS kernel.
  • A reset attempt by deleting /usr broke booting, but the proper rpm-ostree reset command restored a clean system, underscoring how RakuOS manages changes.
  • RakuOS is available free in KDE Plasma, GNOME and COSMIC editions, and Fedora Atomic users can rebase directly to it.

Insights

How does RakuOS's hybrid model avoid the dependency issues that immutable systems were designed to prevent?
Can RakuOS’s software optimizations deliver superior speed when hardware is the ultimate performance bottleneck?
Is RakuOS's traditional feel a key innovation, or a step back from a truly modern, container-native desktop?