SlyOS – lightweight Arch-based distribution

Built on Arch Linux, SlyOS provides a preconfigured desktop operating system designed to make the Arch foundation more approachable without removing its flexibility. The distribution follows the KISS principle and places an emphasis on a lightweight environment, straightforward configuration, performance, and sensible defaults.

The project takes a fairly opinionated approach to the desktop. Rather than trying to offer every possible component, it assembles a focused environment and selects applications that fit the developer’s vision of a practical everyday system. SlyOS is intended both for people who want an easier route into an Arch-based environment and users who prefer a system that arrives substantially configured.

Key Features

• Uses Niri, a scrollable tiling Wayland compositor, as its main desktop environment.
• Uses OpenRC as its init system rather than systemd.
• Employs ReGreet, a GTK-based graphical greeter, together with greetd for login management.
• Ships with the linux-cachyos-lts kernel.
• Uses Plymouth to provide a graphical display during system startup and shutdown.
• Includes Thymbr, a dedicated control centre providing a central interface for configuring numerous aspects of the system.
• Available as Minimal and Complete Niri-based images, allowing users to choose between a leaner starting point and a more fully equipped desktop.
• Uses Calamares to provide a graphical installation process.
• Curates a selection of applications rather than simply reproducing a conventional Arch desktop setup, including a number of lesser-known projects.
• Avoids Qt applications where practical in favour of software that better fits the project’s preferred desktop stack.
• Designed with privacy in mind and seeks to minimise unnecessary tracking and dependence on online accounts.
• Built using Arch’s archiso tools, with the distribution configuration maintained separately from upstream Arch Linux.