AerynOS, an atomic-update-based Linux distribution currently in alpha, has released its April 2026 project update and a new Alpha ISO, AerynOS 2026.05, featuring Linux kernel 7.0.
Formerly known as Serpent OS, the project has completed its new branding rollout across both the operating system and its website. The updated identity features a triquetra-based logo and a revised color palette centered on green and orange.
The visual update extends to the desktop environment as well. AerynOS now includes new wallpapers featuring photography by community member Gabriel Janich. Seven photos were selected, with two serving as default wallpapers for the GNOME and COSMIC editions. The team notes that KDE Plasma defaults still require further customization.
In addition to visual changes, the April update introduces several enhancements to the distribution’s tooling. Boulder, the package build tool, now offers new cache commands that let users and packagers check cache size and clean stored data. The boulder recipe update command has also been improved to integrate with the ent tool.
Moss, the package and system state management tool, has been improved, too. State removal is now faster and features a progress bar. Moss search now offers better result grouping, highlighted matches, and support for provider-style search syntax.
Work continues on the Versioned Repositories feature. The second phase aims to enable smoother self-upgrades for moss, allowing future repository and package format changes without leaving users on outdated tooling.
The update also delivers a comprehensive package stack refresh. Notable versions include GNOME 50.1, KDE Plasma 6.6.4, KDE Gear 26.04, KDE Frameworks 6.25, COSMIC 1.0.11, Mesa 26.0.6, PipeWire 1.6.4, QEMU 11.0, Docker 29.4.1, Firefox 150, Thunderbird 150, Rust 1.95, LLVM 22.1.4, Wine 11.7, and the Zed 1.0 code editor.
The Python stack has been upgraded from Python 3.11 to 3.14.4. The project reports that the transition required only minor fixes, aided by the small size of AerynOS’ current Python package set.
Kernel packaging has been expanded to include three options: linux-lts (based on Linux 6.18), linux-stable (based on Linux 7.0), and linux-gaming (also based on Linux 7.0, with additional patches for handheld gaming and performance). The project notes that switching from the stable kernel is not yet seamless.
For more details, see the announcement.
As before, AerynOS 2026.05 is a Live GNOME ISO designed to deliver the in-house Rust-written Lichen installer. One thing the developers have changed that caught my attention is that, during installation, the recommended desktop environment is now KDE Plasma, which is a pleasant surprise.
Installation still requires a network connection to download the latest package sets.
Finally, the project notes that Ventoy cannot currently be used to install AerynOS ISOs, and a bug report has been submitted upstream. Other methods, such as Etcher, dd, and GNOME Disks, remain supported.
The complete logo with concentric circles look pretty nice to me, with the background contrast and complementary colors around it.
But the central logo taken out and isolated (as in the about system window) I’m less of a fan, as the colors on their own just don’t work for me.
Also, the old logo looked more modern.