1.4.0

AnduinOS has always been built on Ubuntu, and one of our core commitments is to keep pace with Ubuntu's release cycle. Whenever a new version of Ubuntu is released, we synchronously roll out a new version of AnduinOS.

Now, just over a month after the release of Ubuntu 25.10 (Questing), this version brings a massive number of user experience improvements, such as the complete removal of X11, the new Pytxis terminal, GNOME 49, Linux 6.17, and sudo-rs, among others. These exciting changes significantly enhance the user experience, and now, they have fully landed in AnduinOS.

Therefore, we are extremely proud to announce the official release of AnduinOS 1.4. This version is built on the latest compilation of Ubuntu 25.10 and is designed to catch up with the latest upstream changes.

v1.4.0 (Forked from 1.3.7)

• Changed the base system from Plucky (Ubuntu 25.04) to Questing (Ubuntu 25.10).
• Gnome was bumped to 49.
• Kernel was bumped to 6.17.
• Added a new language support for ro_RO for Romanian users.
• Added 3 new gnome-shell extensions: to automatically switch the accent color based on gnome settings. (Thanks to @florintanasa for the help)
• Removed switcher@anduinos gnome extension.
• Added AnduinOS To Go option in the boot menu to allow users to run AnduinOS with persistent storage on a USB drive.
• gnome-startup-applications was removed. See reason here.
• Use sudo-rs to as the default sudo command.
• Removed Gnome Evince and added Gnome Papers as the default PDF viewer.
• Removed X11 support. Wayland is now the only display server. (This change was from upstream Ubuntu 25.10)
• Uses Firefox ESR to replace the regular Firefox as the default web browser. This is because the Canonical launchpad http://ppa.launchpad.net/mozillateam/ppa/ubuntu/dists/questing/ no longer provides the latest Firefox builds for Questing.
• Added new app gnome-calendar as default calendar app. Pinned to the start menu by default.
• Added system-config-printer package to the default app list to support printer configuration.
• Removed gnome-console(kgx) as the default terminal app. Added ptyxis as the default terminal app.
• Removed Openweather Refined gnome extension. Added SimpleWeather gnome extension.
• Added NO_AT_SAME to ubiquity to fix a possible crash during installation.

Important: OS Branding Changes

• The /etc/os-release branding file was changed. OS ID from ubuntu changed to anduinos.
  • Patch /usr/bin/add-apt-repository to trick the software-properties-common to think we are using Ubuntu. This is because some PPAs do not support AnduinOS.
  • Pin software-properties-common as not to be upgraded. This is to avoid breaking the above patch.
  • Patched the file /etc/legal to update the OS name information.
  • Added fastfetch package to the default app list to show system information in the terminal. Correctly show the logo based on /etc/os-release file.
  • Patched /usr/bin/add-apt-repository to fake the OS information to ubuntu when adding PPAs.
  • This is still a hack and may break in the future. Ultimately in the future, we may use our own PPAs to provide software and patches for AnduinOS.

Important Note: Regarding Support Cycle

Please note that, consistent with upstream Ubuntu 25.10, AnduinOS 1.4 is not a Long-Term Support (LTS) release.

It only has a 9-month support cycle. Therefore, we do not recommend deploying this version in production environments or on critical devices that require long-term stability.

Inplace upgrade from old versions

Since AnduinOS currently does not have its own dedicated software repository (all software packages are sourced from Ubuntu), updates to AnduinOS itself are, for now, handled by executing a bash script. In the future, we plan to integrate the update mechanism directly into the sudo apt upgrade command.

To update AnduinOS to the latest dot build version, simply run the following command: do_anduinos_upgrade. For example:

1.1.0 → 1.1.10
1.3.0 → 1.3.7

Please note that this command will not upgrade across fork versions—that is, it will not upgrade from 1.3.7 to 1.4.0.

Future of 1.3

Based on our Version Schedule:

1.3 is still under maintaiance until Jan 2026.

A lot of people are asking that is it possible to upgrade 1.3 to 1.4 directly?

A direct upgrade from 1.3 to 1.4 is currently feasible. However, given the significant differences between these two versions, we have been testing a solution that involves modifying the package source, running apt upgrade, and then applying all the new changes from 1.4.

This approach, however, carries significant risks. For instance, a crash during the upgrade process could leave the system with half new components and half old components. To eliminate these risks, we are currently developing and testing a safer upgrade strategy.

We will develop an upgrade script from 1.3 to 1.4 within the next two months (while 1.3 is still within its support window). This will allow 1.3 users to eventually transition smoothly to 1.4 without worrying about losing personal files. However, some features and settings may be reset, and some incompatible software might crash or be unable to update.

In summary, we are committed to not abandoning any 1.3 users and will ultimately help them transition to 1.4 safely and reliably. This plan is expected to be fully implemented by January 2026 at the latest.