After several months of sustained progress, Arrives AerynOS 2025.08 as a new ISO snapshot of this independent distribution formerly known as Serpent OS and led by Ikey Doherty, former head of Solus.
The project maintains a technical and practical approach for demanding users: there are improvements in virtualization, tweaks to the installer and an updated desktop repertoire, all in an ISO that is still alpha quality and is the third release of the year.
Key new features in AerynOS 2025.08
Among the most visible changes are the reinforcement of the hardware and virtual machine enablement (HWE), the use of the default scx_flash scheduler, and a console-only installation option for those who prefer minimal configuration.
A package bundle model is also adopted, simplifying software selection during installation (minimal, standard, or full profiles depending on the desktop), in addition to CDN support for both the repository and ISO downloads, which should result in more stable and faster downloads.
Desktops and installation options
The live image continues to bet on GNOME 48.4 as the default desktop, but the installer allows you to choose alternatives such as KDE Plasma 6.4.4, the emerging COSMIC Alpha 7 from System76 or the session with sway 1.11, so that each user can adjust their environment from the beginning.
The lichen installer adds practical improvements: it now downloads the latest packages directly from the repository, is more resilient to network outages and offers more useful outputs for diagnosing faults. As of today, however, it requires preformat the disk, which may hold back beginners, although the team plans to simplify it in future iterations.
Updated packages and components in AerynOS 2025.08
At the heart of the system is used Linux 6.15.11 (belonging to a series marked EOL on kernel.org), accompanied by the graphics stack Table 25.2.1The distribution also includes a wide selection of recent releases and some notable additions.
- LLVM 20.1.8
- ffmpeg 7.1.1
- uutils-coreutils 0.1.0
- sudo-rs 0.2.8
- Fastfetch 2.51.1 (with AerynOS logo support)
- Waydroid 1.5.4
- Open VPN 2.6.14
- Protontricks 1.13.0
- Winetricks 20250102
Along with previous versions, AerynOS adds packages like Waydroid, OpenVPN, Protontricks and Winetricks, expanding the distribution's reach for desktop, gaming, and Android app testing scenarios.
Project status and roadmap
The distribution continues its transition from an experimental stage to a more mature system, focused on scalability, reproducibility and advanced toolsIts developers insist that the target audience is power users and developers.
They are already working on automating package updates, simplify rollbacks, manage disk with Rust, enable fractional scaling by default and revamp the installer with full wipe and dynamic partitioning, among other changes.
Download and availability
The ISOs of AerynOS 2025.08 are now available in the Official siteAlthough the page may initially list the GNOME edition, the installer will display the remaining options throughout the process. It's worth remembering that this is in alpha status, so it's not recommended for production environments.
This release combines a recent core and graphics stack with clear improvements in installation experience, current desktop options and an up-to-date package base, paving the way for the next steps on the roadmap.
