Nitrux, a Debian-Based Linux Distro With Modern Apps
Nitrux is a Linux distribution that you probably haven’t heard of — which is a shame, because it’s an outstanding operating system with some unique features.
Developed by Uri Herrera and based on Debian, Nitrux was originally released in 2015 as a fork of ChromiumOS (the open source version of Google’s Chrome OS), but eventually evolved into becoming its own thing.
The key features of Nitrux include:
- It’s lightweight, which means it’s suitable for older (and newer) hardware. However, pay close attention to the Performance section of this review.
- Security by default, thanks to the addition of SELinux, a robust firewall and an immutable file system.
- It’s highly customizable.
- Protects users’ privacy with strict policies to ensure user data is kept private and secure.
Nitrux also includes several interesting applications that set it apart from its competition, such as three different gaming stores (Steam, Heroic Games Launcher and Itch.io), Bottles (container app), Fiery web browser, Clip movie viewer, Vvave audio player, Nota text editor and the Maui applications.
What Are Maui Applications?
There are Maui applications that are built on MauiKit, which is a toolkit for building desktop apps on the Nitrux distribution. MauiKit was designed to simplify the creation of custom apps, themes and extensions using modern web technology.
There are several Maui applications available, which can be viewed on the official Maui apps site. The key features of MauiKit include:
- MauiKit uses React-based UI components, allowing developers to build modern, web-like interfaces for desktop applications.
- MauiKit integrates various web technologies like HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript into the Nitrux ecosystem.
- With MauiKit, it’s possible to create custom themes using Maui’s built-in theme editor or write your own using our theme API.
Most of the Maui applications come preinstalled on Nitrux, but what about non-Maui applications? Fortunately, there’s Bauh (Figure 1), which is the GUI application used for finding and installing applications. Although Bauh isn’t as modern-looking as some app stores, it is very easy to use.
Figure 1: Find the app you want to add and click Install.
You’ll also find a few icons in the desktop menu that are listed as “Install X” (where X is the name of an app). For instance, there’s the Install Steam icon in the Utilities category. Click that icon and Steam will be installed in the background (without the need for your input).
Once the installation is completed, Steam will be automatically updated. Once that completes, you’ll be presented with the login window (Figure 2).
Figure 2: The Steam login window.
There’s also the handy Documentation folder on the desktop. Click on that and you’ll see documentation for desktop management, software management, system installation, system management and tutorials.
How Does Nitrux Perform?
Nitrux is powered by the KDE Plasma desktop environment, which means you can customize it to look and feel how you want or need. Out of the box, Nitrux offers a very user-friendly layout, so you probably won’t feel the need to dive right into the customizations.
There is one app that should catch your attention right away. In the top bar, you’ll find a combo NVIDIA/AMD icon. If you click on this, you’ll see the Optimus GPU Switcher. From the drop-down, you can toggle the mode between Integrated, NVIDIA or Hybrid. By default, a Nitrux virtual machine running on Pop!_OS with an AMG GPU defaults to hybrid mode, and everything runs fine.
Speaking of which, there is one thing to keep in mind: Nitrux is a bit more resource-demanding than many other Linux distributions. I first deployed Nitrux as a VM with 3GB of RAM and two CPU cores. That wasn’t enough to even allow the installation. I bumped the RAM up to 5GB and the cores to 4GB, and the installation went off without a hitch. However, after logging in, I quickly realized that 5GB of RAM wasn’t enough, so I shut it down, bumped it up to 6GB and that did the trick.
Keep that in mind when considering where to install Nitrux. Although it does claim to be a lightweight distribution, my experience is somewhat opposite of that, and I wouldn’t install the distribution on any system that didn’t have a minimum of 6GB of RAM.
There is one little nit to pick with the default desktop configuration. Out of the box, you won’t find window titlebars with buttons. What do you do? If you right-click a window, you’ll be presented with a menu (Figure 3) that allows you to maximize, minimize and close, as well as other functionality.
Figure 3
You can, however, open Settings and go to Appearance > Window Decorations and select a different option. Once you’ve done that, click on the Titlebar Buttons tab and drag the buttons you want to the space that says “Titlebar” (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Changing the Nitrux Window Decorations option.
Window Snapping
Nitrux also includes window snapping, so you can more easily place your windows on the display. That’s become fairly standard, so why bring this up? If you grab a window by the titlebar, you’ll see a quick reference overview that shows you where to drag the window and what each position does. For example, drag the window up and an overlay appears where you can actually select the spot where you want the window to be placed (Figure 5).
Figure 5: This is one of the best window-snapping features I’ve ever used on a desktop OS.
Who Is Nitrux For?
At first, I was hesitant to recommend Nitrux for those new to Linux because the distribution shuns several typical traditions. For example, although Nitrux is based on Debian, you won’t find the APT package manager installed. But that doesn’t mean it should be avoided by those who aren’t as familiar with Linux. But because Nitrux is immutable (using Overlayroot and OverlayFS to achieve a read-only layer for the core system files and a writable layer for the user space), it’s far more challenging to break (and is more secure). That feature alone makes it a great option for new users.
And with the ability to easily install apps like Steam, Nitrux provides a pretty solid argument that it is a good option for all types of Linux users.
In the end, the most important thing for you to do is to spin up a virtual machine for Nitrux and see if it’s the right distribution for you.
Nitrux is fun, has plenty of interesting features and configurations, and (most importantly) it’s Linux. If I’ve piqued your interest, download an ISO file from the official site and spin it up. Enjoy!
