GNOME’s official download page lists GNOME OS Preview images for x64 systems with Intel or AMD processors, and for ARM. Choose Preview for the stable-GNOME-based channel; Nightly is a separate build for GNOME developers. You can also try Preview in GNOME Boxes, provided you use the Flathub version.
Choose the Preview image
The download page lists Preview and Nightly separately. The ARM Preview image’s filename uses aarch64; the x64 image is labeled for Intel and AMD.
| Channel | Build basis | Intended audience | Listed architectures |
| Preview | Latest GNOME 51 release; Adrian Vovk identified GNOME 51.1 at the October 16, 2026 announcement | Early adopters, according to Vovk | x64 (Intel and AMD), ARM (aarch64 filename) |
| Nightly | Latest commits for GNOME components | GNOME developers | x64 (Intel and AMD), ARM |
GNOME’s page recommends Preview for most people. At the October 16 announcement, GNOME OS contributor Adrian Vovk described it as an early-adopter option and said it had received only a few weeks of real-world testing. That limited testing and the project’s upgrade caveats are worth weighing before you make it your everyday operating system.
Try Preview in GNOME Boxes
GNOME’s page describes a virtual-machine option: in Boxes, choose GNOME OS in the virtual-machine creation dialog. The integration works only with the Flathub version of Boxes. This lets you try Preview without writing its image to a USB drive or installing it directly on a computer.
Before installing from USB
Restoring the ISO erases all data on the selected USB drive. Back up anything you need before using GNOME Disks.
- Download the Preview image that matches the architecture label for your system from the GNOME OS page.
- Open GNOME Disks, select the USB drive, and choose Restore Disk Image… from its menu. Select the ISO and start restoring it. This overwrites the USB drive.
- For USB boot, GNOME’s installation guide requires UEFI to be enabled and Secure Boot to be disabled.
GNOME does not recommend or officially support dual boot. Its guide also directs users to erase a destination disk that contains data before installation; doing so removes that disk’s contents. Keep the USB drive and the computer’s destination disk distinct when checking what will be erased.
Apps, updates and the path to Stable
GNOME OS has no traditional package manager. GNOME’s user guide says graphical applications are available through Flatpak and can be installed with GNOME Software. Podman, toolbox and distrobox are also available. Snap can be used after enabling it and rebooting.
System updates use systemd-sysupdate; GNOME Software can handle them, or you can run updatectl update in a terminal. GNOME’s download page warns that forward compatibility is not guaranteed and that a future reinstall may be necessary. Vovk gave no target date for Stable: GNOME says it will wait to use that designation until it can commit to a clear long-term upgrade path for existing installations.
