Installing DevelOS

Prepare Install Media

Build or download a DevelOS ISO, then write it to a USB drive with your preferred tool. Examples include dd, cp, gnome-disks, or another image writer. Double-check the target device before writing because this will overwrite it.

Boot the target machine from the USB drive.

Graphical Install

From the live dwm session, launch dmenu with:

Mod-p

Search for and run:

develos-install-gui

That script starts the Calamares graphical installer with pkexec. You can also launch it from a terminal with develos-install-guior run Calamares directly:

pkexec /usr/bin/calamares

Follow the prompts to choose language, location, keyboard settings, target disk, partitioning method, user account, and final install summary.

CLI Install

If Calamares is unavailable or you want the simpler scripted path, run:

sudo develos-install

The CLI installer asks for the target disk, hostname, username, timezone, and final confirmation. It partitions the disk, installs the base system, configures DevelOS defaults, installs GRUB, and asks you to set root and user passwords.

After Install

Reboot into the installed system. GRUB should boot DevelOS, Ly should start on tty1, the configured user should be able to log in, and the dwm session should launch from Ly.

If Ly does not start, check:

systemctl status ly@tty1.service
systemctl is-enabled ly@tty1.service

If the system boots to a GRUB shell, check whether the EFI partition contains the fallback loader:

ls /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI

VM Install Testing

For a full QEMU install test:

./scripts/run-qemu-install.sh output/<iso-name>.iso vm/develos.qcow2

This boots the installer ISO first. After you finish the install and shut down or reboot the guest, the script boots the installed disk.