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Solus RSS Feed DistroWatch.com: Solus

Solus


Last Update: 2026-02-08 01:17 UTC


Solus is a Linux distribution built from scratch. It uses a forked version of the PiSi package manager, maintained as "eopkg" within Solus, and its flagship edition uses the Budgie desktop environment. Budgie was originally developed-in-house, but is now maintained as a separate project by the Buddies of Budgie team. Solus is available in GNOME, KDE Plasma and Xfce editions.

Popularity (hits per day): 12 months: 37 (302), 6 months: 43 (301), 3 months: 56 (252), 4 weeks: 65 (235), 1 week: 78 (224)

Average visitor rating: 7.7/10 from 245 review(s).


Solus Summary
Distribution Solus
Home Page https://getsol.us/
Mailing Lists --
User Forums https://discuss.getsol.us/
Alternative User Forums
Documentation https://help.getsol.us/
Screenshots DistroWatch Gallery
Screencasts
Download Mirrors https://getsol.us/download/DistroWatch Torrent Archive
Bug Tracker https://dev.getsol.us/maniphest/
Related Websites GitHub
Reviews 4.8: FOSS Force
4.7: DistroWatch
4.5: DistroWatch
4.4: DistroWatchMichlFranken (German)
4.x: DistroWatchDistroWatchLinuxzasve (Croatian) • DistroWatchOrdinatechnicDedoimedoAverage Linux UserCMS CriticHeise (German) • DedoimedoDistroWatch
3: OrdinatechnicDistroWatchCMS CriticLinux.comPro-Linux (German)
2017.x: DedoimedoDarkDuckDistroWatch
1.x: DedoimedoDistroWatchFreedom PenguinLWN
Where To Donate, Buy or Try Open Collective

Recent Related News and Releases
  Releases announcements with download links and checksums:
 • 2025-11-29: Distribution Release: Solus 4.8
 • 2025-01-26: Distribution Release: Solus 4.7
 • 2024-10-15: Distribution Release: Solus 4.6
 • 2024-01-09: Distribution Release: Solus 4.5
 • 2023-07-08: Distribution Release: Solus 4.4
 • 2021-07-11: Distribution Release: Solus 4.3
 • 2021-02-03: Distribution Release: Solus 4.2
 • 2020-01-25: Distribution Release: Solus 4.1
 • 2019-03-18: Distribution Release: Solus 4.0
 • 2017-08-15: Distribution Release: Solus 3
 • 2017-04-18: Distribution Release: Solus 2017.04.18.0
 • 2017-01-02: Distribution Release: Solus 2017.01.01.0
 • More Solus releases...

  Headlines:
 • 2026-01-10 New release of Budgie switches from X11 to Wayland
 • 2025-10-11 Solus approaches a new epoch
 • 2024-07-15 Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap support
 • 2023-04-18 Solus team planning a come-back
 • 2023-02-13 Solus project status updates
 • 2021-09-14 Solus to replace GTK in Budgie desktop
 • 2019-10-03 Solus updates supported desktops
 • 2019-03-21 Budgie 10.5 shipped with Solus 4.0
 • 2019-01-15 Solus roadmap for 2019
 • 2018-11-02 Solus team regaining account access
 • More Solus headlines...

Table Notes and Explanations

(Please refer to the table below.)
  • To compare the software in this project to the software available in other distributions, please see our Compare Packages page.
  • Notes: In case where multiple versions of a package are shipped with a distribution, only the default version appears in the table. For indication about the GNOME version, please check the "nautilus" and "gnome-shell" packages. The Apache web server is listed as "httpd" and the Linux kernel is listed as "linux". The KDE desktop is represented by the "plasma-desktop" package and the Xfce desktop by the "xfdesktop" package.
  • Colour scheme: green text = latest stable version, red text = development or beta version. The function determining beta versions is not 100% reliable due to a wide variety of versioning schemes.
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Feature 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.4 4.3 4.1 4.0 3.9999 3 2017.04.18.0 1.2.1 Feature
Release Date 2025-11-29 2025-01-26 2024-10-15 2023-07-08 2021-07-11 2020-01-25 2019-03-17 2018-09-20 2017-08-15 2017-04-18 2016-10-19 Release Date
End Of Life                       End Of Life
Price (US$) Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Price (US$)
Image Size (MB) 3300-3900 3000-3300 2400-2900 2200-2600 1800-2100 1600-1900 1400-1500 1400-1500 1100-1200     Image Size (MB)
Free Download ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO Free Download
Installation Calamares Calamares Calamares Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Installation
Default Desktop Budgie, GNOME, KDE Plasma, Xfce Budgie, GNOME, KDE Plasma Budgie, GNOME, KDE Plasma Budgie, GNOME, KDE Plasma, MATE Budgie, GNOME, KDE Plasma, MATE Budgie, GNOME, KDE Plasma, MATE Budgie, GNOME, MATE Budgie, GNOME, MATE Budgie, GNOME, MATE Budgie, GNOME, MATE Budgie, MATE Default Desktop
Default Browser                       Default Browser
Package Format flatpak, eopkg flatpak, eopkg flatpak, eopkg flatpak, eopkg, snapd flatpak, eopkg, snapd flatpak, eopkg, snapd flatpak, eopkg, snapd flatpak, eopkg, snapd flatpak, eopkg, snapd flatpak, eopkg eopkg Package Format
Package Management                       Package Management
Release Model Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Release Model
Office Suite LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice LibreOffice -- Office Suite
Processor Architecture x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 Processor Architecture
Init Software systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd Init Software
Journaled File Systems Btrfs, ext4, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext4, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext4, ReiserFS, XFS ext4 ext4 ext4 Btrfs, ext4, ReiserFS, XFS ext4, ReiserFS ext4, ReiserFS ext4, ReiserFS ext4, ReiserFS Journaled File Systems
Multilingual Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes         Multilingual
Full Package List 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.4 4.3 4.1 4.0 3.9999 3 2017.04.18.0 1.2.1 Full Package List
Package 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.4 4.3 4.1 4.0 3.9999 3 2017.04.18.0 1.2.1 Package
alsa-lib (1.2.15.3) 1.2.14 1.2.13 1.2.12 1.2.9 1.2.4 1.1.9 1.1.5 1.1.5 1.1.4.1 1.1.3 1.1.1 alsa-lib (1.2.15.3)
amdgpu (25.0.0) 23.0.0 23.0.0 23.0.0 23.0.0 19.1.0 19.1.0 19.0.0 18.0.1 -- -- -- amdgpu (25.0.0)
apparmor (4.1.7) -- -- -- 3.1.3 3.0.1 2.13.3 2.11.0 2.11.0 2.11.0 -- -- apparmor (4.1.7)
apt (3.1.16) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- apt (3.1.16)
bash (5.3) 5.3 5.2.37 5.2.32 5.1.16 5.1 5.0 4.4 4.4 4.3 4.3 4.3 bash (5.3)
bind (9.20.21) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- bind (9.20.21)
chromium (146.0.7680.177) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- chromium (146.0.7680.177)
cinnamon (6.6.7) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- cinnamon (6.6.7)
cups (2.4.16) 2.4.15 2.4.11 2.4.11 2.2.13 2.2.13 2.2.8 2.2.8 2.2.8 2.2.3 2.2.3 2.1.0 cups (2.4.16)
e2fsprogs (1.47.4) 1.47.3 1.47.1 1.47.1 1.47.0 1.45.6 1.44.6 1.44.6 1.44.4 1.43.4 1.43.4 1.42.13 e2fsprogs (1.47.4)
ffmpeg (8.1) 7.1.1 7.1 4.4.5 4.4.4 4.4 4.2.2 4.1.1 3.4.4 3.3.3 2.2.4 2.8.6 ffmpeg (8.1)
firefox (149.0) 145.0.1 134.0.2 131.0.3 114.0.1 89.0.2 72.0.2 65.0.1 62.0 55.0.1 52.0.2 49.0.1 firefox (149.0)
flatpak (1.16.3) 1.16.0 1.14.10 1.14.10 1.14.4 1.10.2 1.0.9 -- -- -- -- -- flatpak (1.16.3)
freetype (2.14.3) 2.13.3 2.13.3 2.13.2 2.13.0 2.10.4 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.7 2.6.1 freetype (2.14.3)
gcc (15.2.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gcc (15.2.0)
gimp (3.2.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gimp (3.2.2)
git (2.53.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- git (2.53.0)
glibc (2.43) 2.42 2.40 2.40 2.36 2.33 2.29 2.29 2.27 2.25 2.25 2.24 glibc (2.43)
gnome-shell (50.0) 49.1 47.3 46.5 43.5 40.2 3.34.3 3.28.3 3.28.3 3.24.3 3.24.1 -- gnome-shell (50.0)
grub (2.14) 2.12 2.12 2.12 2.04 2.04 2.04 2.02 2.02 2.02beta2 2.02beta2 2.00beta2 grub (2.14)
gtk (4.22.2) 4.20.2 4.16.12 4.14.5 4.10.4 3.24.29 3.24.13 3.22.30 3.22.30 3.22.18 3.22.12 3.18.9 gtk (4.22.2)
httpd (2.4.66) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- httpd (2.4.66)
inkscape (1.4.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- inkscape (1.4.3)
kmod (34.2) 33 33 33 30 25 25 25 25 24 17 17 kmod (34.2)
krita (6.0.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3.1.0 -- krita (6.0.1)
LibreOffice (26.2.2) 25.2.6 24.8.4 24.2.5 7.5.3 7.1.4 6.3.4 6.2.1 6.1.0 5.4.0 5.3.2 -- LibreOffice (26.2.2)
Package 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.4 4.3 4.1 4.0 3.9999 3 2017.04.18.0 1.2.1 Package
libselinux (3.10) 3.8.1 3.7 3.3 3.3 git git git git git -- -- libselinux (3.10)
linux (6.19.10) 6.17.8 6.12.9 6.10.13 6.3.8 5.13.1 5.4.12 4.20.16 4.18.5 4.12.7 4.9.22 4.8.2 linux (6.19.10)
mariadb (12.2.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mariadb (12.2.2)
mate-desktop (1.28.2) -- -- -- 1.27.1 1.24.2 1.22.2 1.20.4 1.20.3 1.18.0 1.18.0 -- mate-desktop (1.28.2)
mesa (26.0.3) 25.2.6 24.3.3 24.2.3 23.0.3 21.1.3 19.3.2 19.0.0 18.1.6 17.1.6 17.0.4 12.1.0 mesa (26.0.3)
mysql (9.6.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mysql (9.6.0)
nautilus (50.0) 49.1 47.1 46.2 43.4 40.2 3.26.4 3.26.4 3.26.4 3.24.2 3.24.0 3.20.3 nautilus (50.0)
NVIDIA (595.58.03) -- 565.77 560.35.03 535.54.03 465.31 440.82 418.43 390.87 384.59 375.39 370.28 NVIDIA (595.58.03)
openjdk (26) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- openjdk (26)
openssh (10.2p1) 10.2p1 9.9p1 9.9p1 9.3p1 8.6p1 8.1p1 7.7p1 7.7p1 7.5p1 7.5p1 7.3p1 openssh (10.2p1)
openssl (3.6.1) 3.3.5 3.3.2 3.3.2 1.1.1u 1.1.1k 1.0.2u 1.0.2r 1.0.2p 1.0.2l 1.0.2k 1.0.2j openssl (3.6.1)
perl (5.42.2) 5.38.4 5.38.2 5.38.2 5.36.0 5.32.1 5.30.1 5.28.1 5.26.2 5.24.1 5.24.1 5.22.1 perl (5.42.2)
php (8.5.4) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- php (8.5.4)
plasma-desktop (6.6.3) 6.5.3 6.2.5 6.1.5 5.27.5 5.22.2 5.17.5 -- -- -- -- -- plasma-desktop (6.6.3)
postfix (3.11.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- postfix (3.11.1)
postgresql (18.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 10.5 -- -- -- postgresql (18.3)
Python (3.14.3) 3.12.11 3.11.11 3.11.10 3.10.11 3.7.11 3.7.6 2.7.16 2.7.15 2.7.13 2.7.13 2.7.12 Python (3.14.3)
qt (6.11.0) 6.9.3 6.8.1 6.7.3 6.3.0 5.15.3 5.13.2 5.12.1 5.11.1 5.9.1 5.6.2 5.6.1 qt (6.11.0)
samba (4.24.0) 4.22.5 4.19.9 4.19.6 4.16.10 4.13.9 4.10.11 4.8.8 4.7.9 4.6.6 4.3.13 4.3.11 samba (4.24.0)
systemd (260.1) 257.10 254.23 254.18 251.15 247.7 244 239 239 218 218 218 systemd (260.1)
thunderbird (149.0.1) 140.5.0 128.6.0 128.3.1 102.12.0 78.11.0 68.4.1 60.5.2 60.0 52.2.1 52.0.1 45.4.0 thunderbird (149.0.1)
vim (9.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- vim (9.2)
vlc (3.0.23) -- -- -- 3.0.18 3.0.16 3.0.8 3.0.6 3.0.3 2.2.6 2.2.4 2.2.4 vlc (3.0.23)
wayland (1.25.0) 1.24.0 1.23.1 1.23.0 1.22.0 1.19.0 1.16.0 1.16.0 1.14.0 1.12.0 1.12.0 1.10.0 wayland (1.25.0)
xfdesktop (4.20.2) 4.20.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- xfdesktop (4.20.2)
xorg-server (21.1.21) 21.1.21 21.1.15 21.1.13 1.20.14 1.20.12 1.20.6 1.20.3 1.19.6 1.18.4 1.18.4 1.18.4 xorg-server (21.1.21)

Reader Ratings
Reader supplied reviews for Solus

Average rating
7.7
from 245 review(s)



Version: 4.8
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-03-22
Country: United States
Votes: 10


Alright, I've been using Solus for a while, on and off in the past, and I've now been using it for the past few months with 4.8, so I thought I would share my experiences here.
Solus has been pretty great! I've found that though its a bit of a smaller distribution, its still got enough resources and help to be just fine. Eopkg has worked quite well and has everything that I need and plenty of other things as well, with flatpak filling in the few gaps that exist for certain packages, and the little missing is mostly just very obscure things (Such as a few App Launchers for WM's) but the typical user generally won't have any problems there. The weekly package updates (as opposed to a heavy rolling release like Arch or long waiting times of Debian) gives a perfect balance, giving you still new packages whilst working out the bugs. If you want to try the new version of Plasma or somethin without all the bugs, Solus is the place to go!

As for the actual setup itself, it is generally quite customizable! I've tried the Budgie and Plasma Variants, and they both are customizable and work just fine. Nice selection of default applications, enough for both a beginner or a long-time user to get straight to what they need to do.

I highly recommend Solus, its got well up to date packages, barely any bugs at all, and is quite friendly to beginners!


Version: 4.8
Rating: 9
Date: 2026-03-17
Country: Mexico
Votes: 6


I've been using this distro for a few months now.

I had back luck hopping into it in early January when they were doing some maintenance jobs to their update servers, so it gave me a few scary errors when updating. Hope they fix the error messages because it sometimes said I ran out of disk space when the issue was a connection one.

The distro keeps current updates and has great default. VirtManager works flawlessly. Boot/reboot is fast with no default bootlogs.

It updates on Fridays, but I don't like that even a mere browser update requires a reboot. It's a eopkg thing that will be solved when they migrate to moss at an indeterminate date.

The website have good guides for setup and command info so you keep your system clean and smooth. I find myself using eopkg check every now and then, especially when I have a blackout and the system shuts inadequately.

Relies on Flatpak for most packages. eopkg has a decent selection of software.

The community is welcoming and active, albeit small.

The distro deserves much more attention and love from the Linux community.


Version: 4.8
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-02-21
Country: Argentina
Votes: 6


Funciona todo lo que quería en Solus: rápido, estable y sin complicaciones. La instalación fue simple, el sistema arranca en segundos y el consumo de recursos es bajo, ideal para trabajar, navegar y jugar sin tirones. El escritorio se siente ágil, todo responde al instante y no tuve que pelearme con configuraciones raras. Incluso los juegos me rinden mejor que en otras distros que probé, con mayor estabilidad y menos uso de CPU y RAM. Hasta ahora, cero problemas y una experiencia muy fluida en el día a día. Totalmente recomendable para quien quiera algo sólido y liviano.




See all 245 reader reviews of Solus...



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