Switching Images
RakuOS comes as a set of images. You can switch between them at any time; your files, settings and Flatpaks come with you.
| Choice | Options |
|---|---|
| Desktop (edition) | KDE Plasma, GNOME, COSMIC, niri, Hyprland |
| Channel | Stable (RakuOS 44) or Staging (RakuOS 45, where the next release is being prepared) |
| CPU level | v2, v3 or v4 (only levels your CPU supports are offered) |
| NVIDIA | Standard (no NVIDIA driver), Nvidia (current driver) or Nvidia Legacy (580xx driver for Maxwell, Pascal and Volta cards) |
With RakuOS System
Open RakuOS System, page System, pick what you want and click Switch Image. When it says "Image switch staged — reboot to apply.", reboot.
From a terminal
The image names follow one pattern:
quay.io/rakuos/rakuos-<desktop>[-nvidia|-nvidia-legacy][-v3|-v4]:<latest|staging>
latest is stable. For example, KDE Plasma with the current NVIDIA driver, v3, on stable:
sudo bootc switch quay.io/rakuos/rakuos-kde-nvidia-v3:latest
Reboot afterwards. Undo with sudo bootc rollback.
The gamescope edition for handhelds like the Steam Deck isn't in RakuOS System yet; ask on Discord before switching to it.
What happens to your installed packages
- Same desktop and same release (for example only the CPU level or the NVIDIA option changes): your packages stay as they are.
- Different desktop, or Stable ↔ Staging (a different RakuOS release): the first boot of the new image reinstalls your packages from your list. That needs the network and takes a while: "Installing user applications…" on the boot screen.
Don't switch to images from other projects with bootc switch; RakuOS and these docs only cover RakuOS images.