nmemmertandClaude Sonnet 4.6
d19aca2333
Ghosting root cause: all X11 drawing (XFillRectangle, XDrawLine, XDrawArc, XDrawRectangle) and XRender Xft text rendering were going directly to the window. XRender composites text on top of pixels without clearing underneath, so previous log lines bled through on every update. Fix: - Added Pixmap buf to Ins struct (created at WIN_W × WIN_H after window init) - Redirected all drawing calls (fill_rect, draw_line, XDrawRectangle, XDrawArc, XFillArc) from s->win to s->buf - XftDrawCreate in redraw() now targets s->buf - At end of redraw(): XCopyArea(buf → win) blits the complete frame at once - Also fixed xft_text baseline: was y + ext.height - ext.y (glyph-specific, varied per string); now y + f->ascent (consistent font metric) Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
OrionOS
A BeOS-inspired Linux desktop built from scratch in C. Custom window manager, panel, app launcher, settings panel, package manager, and graphical installer — all running on Arch Linux, shipped as a bootable ISO.
What it is
OrionOS is a complete desktop environment built on X11/Xlib with a dark navy aesthetic. It ships as a bootable ISO you can try live or install to disk. Every shell component is written in native C with no toolkit dependency — just Xlib and Xft.
Components
| Binary | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
orionwm |
OrionWM | Stacking window manager — titlebars, 3-button decorations, snap-to-edge, Alt+Tab switcher |
oriondeskbar |
OrionDeskbar | Sidebar panel — clock, task list, workspace switcher, XEMBED system tray, CPU/RAM status |
orionlauncher |
OrionLauncher | App launcher — reads .desktop files, category tabs, live search |
nebula |
Nebula | Settings panel — Display, Appearance, Input, and About tabs |
orionpkg |
OrionPkg | Package manager — lists available updates, runs pacman -Syu with live log |
orioninstall-gui |
Installer | Graphical installer wizard — disk, timezone, keyboard, user, progress |
orionwallpaper |
Wallpaper | Sets or restores the desktop wallpaper |
Building the ISO
Requirements: Docker Desktop (Mac/Windows/Linux)
./build-iso.sh
Output: dist/orionos-YYYYMMDD.iso
The build runs entirely inside a Docker container — no Arch Linux install required on the host. First build downloads ~700 MB of packages and takes 10–20 minutes. Subsequent builds are faster thanks to Docker layer caching.
What the build does
- Starts from
archlinux:latest - Installs
archisoand all build tools - Compiles all OrionOS binaries inside the container
- Assembles an archiso profile with the full package set
- Bakes in the Plymouth boot splash (dark navy + accent blue)
- Produces a hybrid ISO bootable on UEFI and legacy BIOS hardware
Flashing to USB
Balena Etcher (recommended): https://etcher.balena.io — drag the ISO, pick the USB, flash.
Command line:
# Find your USB drive
diskutil list # macOS
lsblk # Linux
# Flash (replace diskN / sdX)
sudo dd if=dist/orionos-*.iso of=/dev/diskN bs=4m # macOS
sudo dd if=dist/orionos-*.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M # Linux
Booting
Boot from the USB. OrionOS starts the live desktop automatically.
- Live user:
orion/ Password:orionos - Intel Mac: Hold
Optionat startup to select the USB boot device - WiFi:
broadcom-wldriver loads automatically - Trackpad: tap-to-click and two-finger natural scroll enabled by default
- Audio: PipeWire + SOF firmware for Intel HDA
Installing to disk
Right-click the desktop → App Launcher → find Install OrionOS, or run sudo orioninstall-gui from a terminal.
The wizard walks through:
- Disk selection — lists all disks ≥ 4 GB with model and size
- Timezone & Keyboard — searchable timezone list (37 zones), 20 keyboard layouts
- User account — hostname, username, password
- Review — erase warning before anything is written
- Installing — live progress bar and log output
- Done — reboot prompt
The installer auto-detects UEFI vs legacy BIOS and sets up systemd-boot or GRUB accordingly.
Desktop usage
Right-click menu
Right-click anywhere on the desktop:
| Item | Action |
|---|---|
| App Launcher | Open the application grid |
| Terminal | Launch Alacritty |
| File Manager | Open Thunar |
| Text Editor | Open Mousepad |
| Web Browser | Open Firefox |
| System Monitor | htop in a terminal |
| Volume Control | pavucontrol |
| System Settings | Open Nebula |
| Software Updates | Open OrionPkg |
| Display Settings | arandr |
| Change Wallpaper | Reset to default wallpaper |
| Restart OrionWM | Restart the window manager |
| Quit OrionOS | End the session |
Keyboard shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Alt + F1 |
Open app launcher |
Alt + F4 |
Close focused window |
Alt + F9 |
Minimize focused window |
Alt + F10 |
Toggle maximize |
Alt + Tab |
Visual window switcher |
Super + ← |
Snap window left half |
Super + → |
Snap window right half |
Super + ↑ |
Maximize window |
Super + ↓ |
Restore window |
Super + S |
Open Nebula (System Settings) |
PrintScreen |
Full screenshot → ~/Pictures |
Shift + PrintScreen |
Region screenshot → ~/Pictures |
XF86MonBrightness↑↓ |
Screen brightness |
XF86AudioMute |
Toggle mute |
XF86AudioLowerVolume |
Volume down |
XF86AudioRaiseVolume |
Volume up |
Settings (Nebula)
Open with Super+S, right-click → System Settings, or nebula &.
| Tab | Controls |
|---|---|
| Display | Resolution (cycles via xrandr), DPI (96/144), Brightness |
| Appearance | Reset wallpaper, open ~/Pictures, shows active theme info |
| Input | Key repeat delay + rate, tap-to-click, natural scrolling |
| About | Version, component list, platform info |
Changes are staged and applied when you click Apply (or press Enter).
Software Updates (OrionPkg)
Open with right-click → Software Updates or orionpkg &.
- Runs
checkupdateson launch to list available upgrades - Shows package name, current version, and new version
- Update All runs
pkexec pacman -Syuwith a live log and progress bar - Refresh re-checks without restarting the app
Included software
| Category | Application |
|---|---|
| Browser | Firefox |
| Office | OnlyOffice |
| Files | Thunar |
| Terminal | Alacritty |
| Video | mpv |
| Images | Viewnior |
| Evince | |
| Text editor | Mousepad |
| Audio | PipeWire, pavucontrol |
| Network | NetworkManager, nm-applet |
| Bluetooth | bluez, blueman |
| Compositor | picom |
| Notifications | dunst |
| Clipboard | parcellite (tray icon + history) |
| Screenshots | scrot |
| Icons | Papirus Dark |
Building from source
Requires an Arch Linux system (or container) with libx11, libxft, and fontconfig development headers.
make # build all components
make install # install to /usr/local (run as root)
Individual components:
make -C wm # orionwm
make -C deskbar # oriondeskbar
make -C launcher # orionlauncher
make -C nebula # nebula
make -C orionpkg # orionpkg
make -C installer # orioninstall-gui + orioninstall
Project layout
OS/
├── wm/ orionwm — window manager (C/Xlib)
├── deskbar/ oriondeskbar — panel (C/Xlib/Xft)
├── launcher/ orionlauncher — app grid (C/Xlib/Xft)
├── nebula/ nebula — settings panel (C/Xlib/Xft)
├── orionpkg/ orionpkg — package manager GUI (C/Xlib/Xft)
├── installer/
│ ├── orioninstall-gui.c graphical installer wizard
│ └── orioninstall backend install script
├── themes/
│ ├── OrionOS/ GTK 2/3 theme
│ ├── picom.conf compositor config
│ └── orionwallpaper wallpaper setter script
├── iso/
│ └── docker/
│ ├── Dockerfile Arch Linux-based ISO builder image
│ └── entrypoint.sh full build pipeline
├── build-iso.sh one-command ISO build
└── Makefile
Component naming
OrionOS components are named after stars in the Orion constellation.
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| OrionWM | Window manager |
| OrionDeskbar | The panel (three icons like Orion's belt) |
| Nebula | Settings panel |
| Rigel (planned) | Native file manager |
Release names follow Orion's belt stars: v1 Mintaka, v2 Alnitak, v3 Alnilam.
License
MIT