liminalOS

This is a repository that implements liminalOS, my personal Linux distribution based on NixOS.

Traditional Linux distributions are either rolling or fixed release. liminalOS operates on a new kind of release schedule: liminal release.

lim·i·nal
2. relating to a transitional or initial stage of a process.

Users who install liminalOS may feel a sense of eeriness similar to a liminal space - the system has clearly been configured exactly according to someone's preferences and specifications, yet they stand alone in an empty OS, with the usual user nowhere to be found, and a home directory devoid of human presence. System updates are released at random times, and upon installing, it appears that someone has adjusted minute configuration details, yet no other users exist in the system.

Installation guide

TBD. May use deploy-rs or the in-house dartgun tool for easy deployment.

FAQ

This looks like a collection of NixOS configuration files and modules. What makes it a distinct distribution?

Most Linux¹ users will agree that any self-respecting distribution must include at least the following: installer, package manager, and some set of default packages. Therefore, anything that implements the aforementioned items must also be a Linux distribution.

liminalOS comes with the Nix package manager (nobody said you need a unique package manager - Ubuntu and Debian are distinct distributions yet both use apt), a custom desktop environment composed of Waybar, Hyprland, rofi, as well as various applications installed by default, and the means to generate an installer. Therefore, liminalOS is a Linux distribution. QED.²

Should I actually install this?

No.

Keybinds

Shortcut	Action
Super + W	Toggle floating
Super + J	Toggle layout
Super + E	Open Dolphin
Super + T	Open kitty
Super + F	Open librewolf
Super + R	Open pavucontrol
Super + Space	Open rofi
Super + Backspace	Open logout menu
Super + P	Screenshot region
Super + YUIO	Move around
Super + Ctrl + YO	Move workspaces
Super + Alt + Ctrl + YUIO	Move windows around workspaces
Super + Shift + Ctrl + YUIO	Move windows around
Super + S	Open Special Workspace
Super + Enter	Fullscreen Window
Super + Alt + S	Move Window to Special Workspace

---

1. also known as GNU/Linux, GNU+Linux, Freedesktop/systemd/musl/busybox Linux, Linux+friends, etc ↩︎

2. disclaimer: this is unfortunately not actually how the converse works. A => B does not necessarily imply B => A. I hope this satiates the rigor-hungry mathematicians reading. ↩︎