Source edition: Galactic Mandate Linux v00 Birthday Edition. For the current v01 upgrade, use the terminal upgrade guide.
This reference was built from the complete project documentation set. Use the links below to jump to a topic.
- Getting Started
- Features
- Birthday Edition
- Release Architecture
- Themes and Alerts
- Apps and AI Tools
- Troubleshooting
- Build and Rebuild
- Budgie and Ubuntu Documentation
- Next Version Roadmap
Getting Started
Boot the live desktop, find the new controls, and get oriented without losing the normal Linux workflow underneath.
Booting The Live Desktop
- Download the Galactic Mandate Linux v00 Birthday Edition ISO.
- Write it to USB with a trusted image writer such as balenaEtcher or a compatible Ventoy release.
- Restart the computer and open the boot menu.
- Select the USB drive.
- Choose Try Galactic Mandate Linux v00 Birthday Edition.
Installing To A Computer
The published v00 ISO is a live desktop release and does not contain the graphical installer. Installation from ISO begins with v01 Birthday Edition. Updating a running v00 system to v01 updates the installed desktop, but it does not rewrite the original v00 ISO.
First Things To Look For
| Thing | Where | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| First-start tour | Opens on first login | Explains the distro differences, apps, and important controls. |
| GM launcher | Bottom panel | Opens Galactic Mandate apps and utilities. |
| Control Center | Bottom panel or GM launcher | Switch themes, manage alerts, and launch FUI tools. |
| AI Tools | Top desktop control | Opens the AI Tools folder and launch buttons. |
| BUY BOOK | Top desktop control | Opens the book page for the current theme. |
| YEL / RED | Bottom panel status area | Manually rehearse yellow or red alert. Press the active state again to return to live. |
Normal Linux Tasks
- Open files through NF Files or the file icon. It uses the active FUI theme.
- Open terminal through NF Terminal. It syncs terminal colors to the active theme.
- Open Firefox from the launcher or app menu. Firefox is shipped as a Flatpak.
- Install or update Flatpak apps through GNOME Software or the
flatpakcommand. - Use Budgie Desktop Settings for normal Budgie panel, applet, and desktop settings.
Recommended First Session Test
- Open Control Center and switch from Resolute to WHTK, Security, and Blueprint.
- Open NF Files and confirm folder icons and colors follow the selected theme.
- Open NF Terminal and confirm the prompt and terminal colors follow the selected theme.
- Click YEL, click YEL again, click RED, click RED again.
- Disable alert effects in Control Center if you prefer a quieter desktop.
- Open AI Tools and check which tools are already installed versus first-run setup.
Features
The release changes the visible desktop, default apps, theme system, live session, and rebuild process.
Core Changes
FUI Desktop Shell
HUD rails, live telemetry, clock, theme identity, book identity, AI Tools, and Buy Book controls.
Book-Cover Themes
Nine hand-authored themes coordinate wallpaper, GTK, labwc chrome, icons, terminal, panel, Raven, and custom apps.
System Alerts
Yellow and red alert modes can follow live pressure or be triggered manually. Alert effects can be disabled.
Control Center
A dedicated command room for themes, previews, alerts, shell settings, and launch shortcuts.
eDEX Cockpit
A dense terminal and telemetry workspace with host, load, process, network, filesystem, and command data.
Space File Tools
NF Files, File Map, and Space Explorer create themed file workflows beyond a stock file manager.
First-Start Tour
New users get an in-desktop introduction to the distro, apps, upgrades, and important controls.
Flatpak Payload
Firefox, Discord, Steam, ONLYOFFICE, and LM Studio path support use system Flatpak where available.
Different From Normal Budgie Desktop
Budgie Desktop is the upstream desktop environment. Galactic Mandate Linux modifies and packages it into a full themed distribution.
- New GSettings keys for FUI theme, alert state, alert enable, shell enable, and optional colorizer.
- Custom Budgie panel layout and applets.
- Modified Budgie menu, Raven, notification, dialog, and panel styling.
- labwc FUI compositor themes.
- GTK themes and live icon generation.
- Custom FUI apps and launchers.
Different From Normal Ubuntu Budgie
Ubuntu Budgie provides the general-purpose Ubuntu flavor. Galactic Mandate Linux replaces the default identity and adds a branded app and theme layer.
- Galactic Mandate branding, wallpapers, live user, hostname, and first-run tour.
- Snap removed from the distribution payload.
- Flatpak-centered app payload and live Flatpak repair service.
- NF Files and NF Terminal wrappers.
- AI Tools workspace.
- Custom ISO staging and cleanup rules.
v.3 To v00 Birthday Edition
| Area | v.3 | v00 Birthday Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Budgie-based practical distro payload | Full FUI desktop conversion plus practical payload |
| Office | AnyOffice / ONLYOFFICE direction | AnyOffice launcher backed by ONLYOFFICE Flatpak |
| Apps | Discord, Steam, Flatpak support | Discord, Steam, Firefox, ONLYOFFICE, AI Tools, custom FUI apps |
| Themes | Not a deep theme engine | Nine coordinated book-cover themes and alert themes |
| Onboarding | Website instructions | First-start tour inside the desktop |
Birthday Edition
A visual and usability refinement release for the Galactic Mandate Linux desktop.
What Changed Since 0.3
Galactic Mandate Linux 0.3 established the practical Ubuntu Budgie base. v00 Birthday Edition turns that base into a coordinated desktop experience: the shell, panel, window chrome, themed applications, book artwork, first-run guidance, and live-system details now share one visual system.
| Area | 0.3 | v00 Birthday Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop identity | Budgie-based distribution styling. | A desktop-wide Galactic Mandate FUI shell with theme-linked backgrounds and app treatment. |
| Themes | General distribution artwork. | Hand-authored theme identities, including Ojoker, Echo, Blueprint, Biochamber, WHTK, and OS13. |
| Theme switching | Conventional desktop change. | Hyperspace departure, star-streak travel, and hard-arrival transition between theme backgrounds. |
| Applications | General Linux application set. | GM Launcher, Control Center, Cockpit, Space Explorer, File Map, NF Notepad, NF Browser, Media Player, Celebration, and themed utilities. |
| Onboarding | Website documentation. | An in-desktop tour, Control Center previews, and this static documentation site. |
| Live release | Earlier ISO path. | Clean staged root filesystem, galactic live user, NetworkManager defaults, Flatpak preparation, and a BIOS/UEFI hybrid live ISO. The graphical installer begins with v01. |
Birthday Edition Highlights
- Updated hyperspace theme change with a visible departure, star-streak travel, flash, and crisp destination arrival.
- GM Launcher is pinned by default with a dedicated geometric beacon icon. It remains an ordinary Budgie launcher that users can unpin.
- OS13 receives a dedicated author-page Buy Book route and its own display language, keyboard, and widget mode.
- NF Browser has compact bookmark controls and a GML page-treatment toggle.
- NF Media Player supports folder scans and file drops; Celebration triggers short full-screen desktop effects.
- Theme integration is extended across custom apps, Files/NF Files wrappers, NF Terminal, window chrome, icons, HUD, and shell controls.
OS13 Desktop Mode
OS13 is a Birthday Edition desktop mode with a boardroom-display visual language, its own widgets, a dedicated author-page Buy Book route, and an on-screen keyboard built to work beside ordinary desktop applications.
- Physical key feedback is readable during normal typing and shows the last detected key in the keyboard header.
- OS13 keyboard keys send text to the active application rather than acting as a separate text editor.
- The keyboard can be repositioned by dragging its header and releasing to place it; PIN locks its position.
- The keyboard uses one non-focus layer surface, avoiding duplicate taskbar entries and application focus theft.
This is a real Linux desktop with an intentionally stylized surface. Standard Budgie and Ubuntu workflows remain available underneath the FUI layer. Themes change presentation, not ownership of user files or ordinary application behavior.
The final ISO checksum and boot-test record are published with the release artifact, rather than copied forward from an older image.
Release Architecture
How Galactic Mandate Linux v00 Birthday Edition was assembled, what it changed, and where it differs from its base systems.
How v00 Birthday Edition Was Made
- A Budgie Desktop source tree was used as the shell base.
- Custom FUI settings were added to Budgie panel schema and settings surfaces.
- Budgie panel, Raven, menu, notification, dialog, and OSD styling were modified.
- Nine GTK themes, matching labwc window themes, alert themes, wallpapers, and icons were added.
- Custom apps were added under
src/fui-*. - NF Files and NF Terminal wrappers were added so stock workflows can inherit the active FUI theme.
- The v.3 application payload was recreated and expanded with Flatpak, Firefox, ONLYOFFICE, Discord, Steam, and AI Tools support.
- A staged live root filesystem was built from the prepared VM state.
- The ISO builder cleaned build-user traces, created the
galacticlive user, enabled Flatpak live repair, and produced a hybrid BIOS/UEFI ISO.
Main Source Areas
| Path | Purpose |
|---|---|
src/panel | Panel layout, applets, settings, alert state classes, menu icon and behavior. |
src/raven | Raven drawer and usage-monitor FUI behavior. |
src/theme/common | Budgie theme CSS for panel, Raven, menu, notifications, dialogs, and OSD. |
src/bridges/labwc | labwc compositor window decoration themes. |
data/themes | GTK 3 and GTK 4 FUI themes. |
data/backgrounds | Book-cover wallpapers and background assets. |
data/icons | GM icon, app icons, and FUI icon assets. |
src/fui-shell | Desktop HUD rails, telemetry, AI Tools and Buy Book controls. |
src/fui-control-center | Theme and alert control room. |
src/fui-cockpit | eDEX-style terminal and telemetry cockpit. |
src/fui-space-explorer | Space Explorer and visual file navigation. |
src/fui-integrations | NF Files, NF Terminal, GTK theme sync, terminal theme sync. |
tools | Verification, app payload, build, VM install, and ISO scripts. |
Different From Upstream Budgie Desktop
Upstream Budgie Desktop is the desktop environment. Galactic Mandate Linux turns it into a branded distribution layer.
- Adds Galactic Mandate themes, wallpapers, book links, and alert states.
- Changes Budgie panel defaults and adds custom applets.
- Restyles Raven, menu, notifications, dialogs, OSD, panel, and app surfaces.
- Adds labwc FUI window decoration themes.
- Adds a HUD shell overlay and custom FUI apps.
- Adds NF Files and NF Terminal wrappers.
- Adds live ISO user, Flatpak payload, app defaults, and release cleanup.
Different From Normal Ubuntu Budgie
Ubuntu Budgie is a general-purpose Ubuntu flavor. Galactic Mandate Linux keeps the Budgie/Ubuntu foundation but changes the identity and payload.
- Uses Galactic Mandate branding instead of Ubuntu Budgie artwork and defaults.
- Replaces the normal desktop look with a coordinated space-FUI visual system.
- Uses a custom panel layout with GM launcher, Control Center, Space Explorer, and System Sentinel.
- Uses Flatpak-first app choices for Firefox, Discord, Steam, and ONLYOFFICE.
- Removes Snap from the distribution payload.
- Adds live Flatpak repair for the live environment.
- Adds AI Tools, eDEX Cockpit, Space Explorer, File Map, first-start tour, and Buy Book controls.
Different From Galactic Mandate Linux 0.3
| Area | 0.3 | v00 Birthday Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Desktop | Budgie-based distro with practical software choices. | Full FUI shell conversion on top of Budgie. |
| Office | AnyOffice replacing LibreOffice. | AnyOffice launcher backed by ONLYOFFICE Flatpak, LibreOffice removed by default. |
| Software | Discord, Steam Flatpak, Flatpak support. | Discord, Steam, Firefox, ONLYOFFICE, LM Studio path, AI Tools, custom FUI apps. |
| Themes | Not a deep desktop-wide theme engine. | Nine book-cover themes with GTK, labwc, icons, terminal, apps, shell, panel, and Raven. |
| Alerts | Not a central feature. | Yellow/red live and manual alert states with opt-out. |
| Onboarding | Website documentation. | First-start in-desktop tour plus static docs. |
| Build | Earlier ISO lineage. | Custom staged rootfs ISO builder with cleanup, live user setup, Flatpak repair, and NetworkManager defaults. |
Release Verification
The release was documented against these local checks:
tools/verify-nf-fui.ps1for static source invariants..vm/final-smoke.shfor runtime smoke checks.- QEMU boot testing for the final live ISO.
- Checksum verification of the released ISO.
Themes and Alerts
Each theme is a deliberate Galactic Mandate visual identity, not a wallpaper color scrape.
Theme Identities
| Theme | Book / Mood | GTK Theme | Window Theme |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resolute | Galactic Mandate: A Radical Cause | NF-FUI-Resolute | fui-resolute |
| WHTK | Galactic Mandate: The Scream | NF-FUI-WHTK | fui-whtk |
| Echo | Galactic Mandate: Infinite Darkness | NF-FUI-Echo | fui-echo |
| Blueprint | Galactic Mandate: Trail of Destruction | NF-FUI-Blueprint | fui-blueprint |
| Security | No More Superhumans | NF-FUI-Security | fui-security |
| Biochamber | Tales from Room 10 | NF-FUI-Biochamber | fui-biochamber |
| Agent | Involuntary Love | NF-FUI-Agent | fui-agent |
| Cape Town | Galactic Mandate: Trail of Destruction | NF-FUI-Cape-Town | fui-cape-town |
Changing Themes
- Open NF Control Center.
- Select a theme card.
- The desktop updates wallpaper, shell, GTK, icons, terminal colors, file styling, window borders, and custom app palettes.
Buy Book Links
The BUY BOOK control opens the book page mapped to the current theme. The desktop also creates a theme-linked book launcher for the active theme.
Yellow And Red Alerts
The system has live pressure monitoring and manual alert rehearsal:
- LIVE: normal telemetry-driven behavior.
- YEL: warning state. Click YEL again to return to live.
- RED: critical state. Click RED again to return to live.
- Alerts disabled: turns off dramatic alert effects for users who prefer a quieter desktop.
Settings Keys For Maintainers
com.solus-project.budgie-panel fui-theme
com.solus-project.budgie-panel fui-alert-test-state
com.solus-project.budgie-panel fui-alerts-enabled
com.solus-project.budgie-panel fui-shell-enabled
com.solus-project.budgie-panel fui-colorizer-enabled
Apps and AI Tools
The distro ships both practical Linux software and Galactic Mandate themed tools.
Galactic Mandate Apps
| App | Purpose |
|---|---|
| NF Control Center | Theme switching, alert controls, shell controls, previews, and launch shortcuts. |
| Galactic Mandate Launcher | Central launcher for custom apps and utilities. |
| NF eDEX Cockpit | Dense sci-fi terminal and telemetry workspace. |
| NF Files | Themed file-manager wrapper. |
| NF Terminal | Themed terminal wrapper and profile sync. |
| NF Space Explorer | Visual 3D-style file navigation. |
| File Map | Practical visual file map. |
| First-Start Tour | Explains what changed and where to find features. |
Small FUI Utilities
- Calculator
- Clock
- Unit Converter
- Sticky Notes
- Search
- Clipboard
- Task Manager
- Disk Usage
Flatpak Payload
The release uses Flatpak for several major desktop apps:
- Firefox:
org.mozilla.firefox - Discord:
com.discordapp.Discord - Steam:
com.valvesoftware.Steam - ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors:
org.onlyoffice.desktopeditors - LM Studio when installed or available:
ai.lmstudio.lm-studio
AI Tools
Open AI Tools from the top desktop control. The folder contains launch buttons, not a separate launcher app.
| Tool | Behavior |
|---|---|
| AI Prompt Extractor | Launches the bundled prompt extraction tool when available. |
| PBI2 Prompt Studio | Launches the bundled prompt studio when available. |
| LM Studio | Launches the Flatpak if installed; may require network or first-run setup. |
| ComfyUI | Launches the local ComfyUI source setup when prepared. |
| ComfyUI Setup | Creates the local Python environment for ComfyUI. |
Shell And Creative Extras
- Starship prompt
- zsh and common plugins
- fzf, eza, bat, btop, CAVA, fastfetch
- JetBrainsMono Nerd Font and CascadiaCode Nerd Font
- EasyEffects Galactic Mandate preset
Troubleshooting
Common checks for boot, Flatpak, networking, themes, alerts, files, terminal, and AI Tools.
ISO Does Not Boot
- Try the Safe Graphics boot entry.
- Verify the ISO checksum before writing it again.
- Use a known-good image writer. If using Ventoy, check current Ubuntu compatibility notes.
- Try another USB port or another USB drive.
- Disable Secure Boot only if your hardware requires it for this ISO.
Firefox Or Flatpak Apps Do Not Open
Run these checks in terminal:
systemctl status gmlinux-flatpak-live-fix.service --no-pager
sysctl kernel.unprivileged_userns_clone
sysctl kernel.apparmor_restrict_unprivileged_userns
flatpak list --system --app
flatpak run --system --command=true org.mozilla.firefox
If the live fix service failed, reboot the live session first. If the problem continues, check network and Flatpak metadata:
nmcli general status
flatpak repair --system --noninteractive
Network Does Not Work
nmcli general status
nmcli device
systemctl status NetworkManager --no-pager
Use the Budgie/Ubuntu network UI for Wi-Fi passwords. The distro expects NetworkManager, not systemd-networkd, for normal desktop networking.
Theme Did Not Update Everywhere
- Open Control Center and select the theme again.
- Close and reopen NF Files or NF Terminal.
- Log out and back in if an old app instance kept its previous environment.
Maintainer checks:
gsettings get com.solus-project.budgie-panel fui-theme
nfbudgie-sync-gtk-theme
nfbudgie-sync-terminal-theme
Yellow Or Red Alert Is Stuck
Click the active YEL or RED state again to return to live. You can also reset it manually:
gsettings set com.solus-project.budgie-panel fui-alert-test-state live
To disable alert effects:
gsettings set com.solus-project.budgie-panel fui-alerts-enabled false
OS13 Keyboard
The OS13 keyboard is a non-focus overlay. Click a key after focusing Terminal or another application and the text should arrive in that application. Physical key feedback remains visible briefly after each key release, and the header identifies the most recent physical key.
- Drag the OS13 TOUCH header, then release to place the keyboard without compositor artifacts.
- Use PIN to lock or unlock the current keyboard position.
- If the keyboard is not visible, start OS13 widgets from the desktop shell and select the OS13 theme.
Maintainer check:
pgrep -af nfbudgie-encom-keyboard
pgrep -af nfbudgie-keyboard-monitor
AI Tool Button Does Not Launch
- Open AI Tools from the top desktop control.
- Check whether the tool requires first-run setup or network access.
- Run ComfyUI Setup before ComfyUI.
- LM Studio may require Flatpak installation or update before first launch.
Collecting Useful Debug Info
uname -a
cat /etc/os-release
gsettings get com.solus-project.budgie-panel fui-theme
gsettings get com.solus-project.budgie-panel fui-alert-test-state
flatpak list --system --app
nmcli general status
journalctl -b --no-pager | tail -200
Build and Rebuild
How the v00 Birthday Edition ISO was built and how to rebuild it if needed.
Important Local Paths
| Path | Purpose |
|---|---|
E:\aiprojects\nfbudgie | Project root on Windows. |
tools\build-nf-fui-iso.sh | ISO builder copied into the VM as /root/build-iso.sh. |
tools\install-gmlinux-v3-apps.sh | Flatpak/app payload installer. |
tools\verify-nf-fui.ps1 | Static release invariant checker. |
.vm\final-smoke.sh | Runtime smoke checks in the VM. |
Rebuild Sequence
- Start the VM.
- Run static verification.
- Build and install the project into the VM.
- Install the 0.3-era application payload and the current FUI build.
- Prepare the live user and defaults.
- Smoke-test the running VM.
- Build the ISO.
- Transfer the ISO back to Windows.
- Verify checksums.
- Boot-test the final ISO in normal and safe graphics modes.
Commands
cd E:\aiprojects\nfbudgie
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .vm\start-vm.ps1
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File tools\verify-nf-fui.ps1
powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File tools\install-nf-fui-to-vm.ps1
wsl.exe -d Ubuntu -- bash -lc "cd /mnt/e/aiprojects/nfbudgie && .vm/vm-ssh.sh 'cd /home/codex/nfbudgie && sudo bash tools/install-gmlinux-v3-apps.sh'"
wsl.exe -d Ubuntu -- bash -lc "cd /mnt/e/aiprojects/nfbudgie && .vm/vm-ssh.sh 'bash -s' < .vm/sync/prepare-gmlinux-live.sh"
wsl.exe -d Ubuntu -- bash -lc "cd /mnt/e/aiprojects/nfbudgie && .vm/vm-ssh.sh 'bash -s' < .vm/final-smoke.sh"
wsl.exe -d Ubuntu -- bash -lc "cd /mnt/e/aiprojects/nfbudgie && .vm/vm-ssh.sh 'sudo cp /home/codex/nfbudgie/tools/build-nf-fui-iso.sh /root/build-iso.sh && sudo chmod +x /root/build-iso.sh && sudo systemd-run --unit=iso-build bash /root/build-iso.sh'"
What The ISO Builder Does
- Creates Casper live boot structure.
- Writes BIOS and UEFI boot configs.
- Stages the root filesystem with cleanup excludes.
- Removes build-user traces from the staged rootfs.
- Creates the
galacticlive user and autologin settings. - Creates AI Tools on the live desktop.
- Sets NetworkManager defaults.
- Installs the Flatpak live repair service.
- Builds squashfs with zstd compression.
- Builds a hybrid BIOS + UEFI ISO with
xorriso.
Release Checksums
sha256sum galactic-mandate-linux-v00-birthday-edition.iso
md5sum galactic-mandate-linux-v00-birthday-edition.iso
Record the resulting values with this release. Never copy a checksum from a prior ISO.
Release Acceptance
- Normal boot reaches the Galactic Mandate desktop.
- Safe graphics boot reaches the Galactic Mandate desktop.
- Flatpak Firefox launches.
- NetworkManager works.
- Snap is absent.
- GM launcher, AI Tools, Buy Book, Files, Terminal, Control Center, and alerts work.
- No visible build-user or temporary test artifacts remain.
Budgie and Ubuntu Documentation
Galactic Mandate Linux inherits real Budgie, Ubuntu, Wayland, Flatpak, and desktop behavior. Use these official docs when you need upstream detail.
Budgie Desktop
| Topic | Use For | Official Link |
|---|---|---|
| Budgie overview | Budgie Menu, Raven, panel customization, and Budgie design philosophy. | Buddies of Budgie |
| Budgie FAQ | What Budgie is, Raven basics, panel/app customization, Budgie 10 vs Budgie 11, and support channels. | Budgie FAQ |
| Budgie 10.10 build docs | Wayland-only details, labwc bridge, layer shell, supplemental tools, build dependencies, and runtime dependencies. | Building Budgie Desktop |
| Budgie source | Issues, upstream code, and reference behavior. | BuddiesOfBudgie/budgie-desktop |
Ubuntu Budgie
| Topic | Use For | Official Link |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Budgie 26.04 release notes | Wayland-only transition, labwc default compositor, applet limitations, desktop icons behavior, and Ubuntu Budgie defaults. | Ubuntu Budgie 26.04 LTS Release Notes |
| Ubuntu Budgie support forum | Ubuntu Budgie issues that are not specific to Galactic Mandate customizations. | Ubuntu Budgie Discourse |
| Ubuntu Budgie website | Flavor downloads, community, and general project information. | Ubuntu Budgie |
Ubuntu Desktop
| Topic | Use For | Official Link |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Desktop Guide | Networking, files, software, user settings, hardware, drivers, accessibility, and general desktop help. | Ubuntu Desktop Guide |
| Ubuntu Desktop documentation | Ubuntu installation, live USB, desktop usage, and current Ubuntu documentation hub. | Ubuntu Desktop Docs |
| Create a bootable USB | Official Ubuntu guidance for USB writers, including Ventoy and balenaEtcher notes. | Create a bootable USB stick |
How These Upstream Docs Map To Galactic Mandate Linux
- Use Budgie docs for panel, Raven, applets, Wayland/labwc, and source-level build concepts.
- Use Ubuntu Budgie docs for flavor-specific Wayland behavior, desktop icons, and applet availability.
- Use Ubuntu Desktop docs for networking, files, software management, hardware, drivers, accessibility, and live USB basics.
- Use Galactic Mandate docs for FUI themes, alerts, custom launchers, AI Tools, ISO rebuilds, and distro-specific behavior.
Important Upstream Notes For This Release
- Budgie 10.10 is Wayland-only and recommends labwc for the compositor path.
- Budgie panels, Raven, and popovers rely on layer-shell positioning.
- Ubuntu Budgie 26.04 is Wayland-only and uses labwc by default.
- Ubuntu Budgie 26.04 uses Wayland-era desktop icon behavior, so some older X11/Nemo desktop expectations do not apply.
- Ubuntu general desktop docs still apply for most hardware, networking, software, files, and accessibility topics.
Next Version Roadmap
The next release should focus on reproducibility, polish, performance choices, and making the strongest custom ideas feel complete.
Highest Impact
Reproducible Builder
Move from a prepared VM staged into an ISO toward a pinned, logged, one-command release builder.
Debian Packages
Package shell, themes, apps, AI tools, and live defaults so installed systems can update cleanly.
Visual QA Grid
Automatically capture every theme, Files, Terminal, Raven, menu, Control Center, Cockpit, and alerts before release.
First-Run Setup
Turn the tour into a setup assistant for theme, alert behavior, AI Tools setup, performance profile, and help links.
Visual And UX Work
- Make each theme more distinct in typography, grid density, menu feel, Raven composition, and icon coverage.
- Improve eDEX Cockpit density, animation, terminal handling, and performance.
- Rebuild Space Explorer around clearer 3D navigation, breadcrumbs, keyboard control, and a useful inspect panel.
- Keep File Map as the practical file visualization mode.
- Add low-power, balanced, full-FUI, and accessibility profiles.
Technical Work
- Pin Flatpak refs or record exact Flatpak versions in release manifests.
- Create `docs/releases/` with checksums, package manifests, screenshots, test logs, and known issues per release.
- Make Flatpak, networking, Files, Terminal, alert toggles, and AI Tools launch tests part of the release gate.
- Build a package installer for people already running Ubuntu Budgie.
- Decide whether v.100 is an ISO-only release, an installable package layer, or both.
Public Docs To Add
- Install guide with screenshots.
- Hardware compatibility notes.
- Flatpak first-run notes.
- AI Tools setup guide.
- Theme gallery.
- Known issues page.
- Release history page.
