ShaniOS 2026.01.18 Released (GNOME & Plasma Gaming Edition)

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:loudspeaker: ShaniOS 2026.01.18 Released (GNOME & Plasma)

ShaniOS 2026.01.18 is now available with updated GNOME and KDE Plasma editions, continuing the focus on a reliable immutable blue/green architecture, OEM-ready first boot, and modern desktop workflows.

Editions

  • GNOME Edition – clean, Wayland-first desktop with GNOME Initial Setup for first-boot user creation

  • Plasma Edition (Gaming Edition) – KDE Plasma 6.5.5, tuned for desktop and gaming use

:brick: Immutable Blue/Green Design

  • Dual immutable roots with atomic updates and rollback

  • Persistent user data, Flatpak apps, containers, VMs, logs, and network state

  • OverlayFS-backed /etc so configuration survives updates

  • Efficient deduplication allows installs on systems with ~28 GB storage

:factory: OEM & First-Boot Experience

  • GNOME: GNOME Initial Setup runs automatically when no users exist

  • Plasma: plasma-setup provides professional OEM-style first-boot user creation

  • Suitable for preinstalled systems and system integrators

:video_game: Plasma Gaming Edition

The Plasma ISO now ships as a Gaming Edition, with popular gaming tools preinstalled as Flatpaks:

Steam · Bottles · Heroic · RetroArch
MangoHud · vkBasalt · Gamescope
GOverlay · Oversteer · AntiMicroX
Piper · OpenRGB

:mobile_phone: Waydroid Included

  • Waydroid enabled by default

  • Run Android applications seamlessly alongside the desktop

:gear: Core Stack

  • Kernel: 6.18.5

  • KDE Plasma: 6.5.5 (Qt 6.10)

  • GNOME: 49

  • Mesa: 25.3.3

  • systemd: 259

  • PipeWire: 1.4.9

  • NVIDIA Drivers: 590.48.01

  • Podman: 5.7.x (persistent containers)

:inbox_tray: Downloads & Info

Signed ISOs available at:
:link: https://shani.dev

join community : https://t.me/shani8dev

Feedback and testing are welcome.

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There is only one Arch based distro at best…and you just posted on their forums. :enos_flag: :rocketa_purple:

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Just use Garuda or EndeavourOS bruh

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Good luck on the solo project. “The Immutable Operating System That Never Breaks” - that’s a bold assumption, let’s see if it holds up :wink:

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Been waiting for the KDE Plasma version to test out for my roommates machine to save me some headaches on upkeep for him.

One question with the use of Flatpaks and other containers is Wine going to be an issue? I ask cause the only real game either of us plays is SolSuite which is only available for Windows. Have yet to find a better Solitaire program.

Yea they don’t know my roommate.

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