UmbraOS is a NixOS-based distribution aimed at people learning and experimenting with cybersecurity.
Rather than simply bundling a large collection of security tools, the project focuses on reproducible lab environments and guided learning. Its configuration is built around Nix flakes, with the main package set following the NixOS release branch while selected packages can be drawn from nixpkgs unstable.
Key Features
- Reproducible cybersecurity lab environments built with Nix.
- Hyprland graphical environment.
- Custom Nix flake-based installer.
- Supports whole-disk installation.
- Provides manual and dual-boot installation paths.
- MicroVM host and isolated guest foundations for sandboxed experimentation.
- Declarative, schema-validated catalogue of lab images.
- Optional AI assistance with local GGUF models, Ollama or GroqCloud.
- Can operate without AI assistance.
- No mandatory telemetry.
- Provides a guarded migration mechanism for existing NixOS installations.
- Uses pinned Nix inputs to improve reproducibility.

| Working state: | Active |
| Desktop: | Hyprland |
| Init Software: | systemd |
| Package Management: | Nix |
| Release Model: | Fixed |
| Platforms: | x86_64 |
| Home Page: | sourceforge.net/projects/umbraos/ |
| Developer: | UmbraOS project |
This entry was written with the assistance of a visitor who completed the distro form.
| This article is part of our Big List of Active Linux Distributions and Open Source Operating Systems. |
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