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Fellow open-source enthusiasts,
We all have that mental backlog of promising projects — those distros, tools, and systems we keep tabs on but haven't yet deployed. Perhaps you're waiting for that mythical free weekend, lacking a spare/compatible device or just holding out until that one killer feature drops.
FWIW, my 'someday' list includes:
Operating Systems/Distros:
- Gentoo – Source-based meta-distribution driven by Portage and USE-flags for near-granular control; binary packages also available if you'd rather skip marathon compile sessions.
- Guix System – GNU's functional, declarative distro built with Guile Scheme.
- MocaccinoOS – Image-based, container-built distro that originated from Gentoo/Sabayon but now uses the Luet package manager and OTA-like updates.
- NixOS – Declarative Linux distribution using the Nix package language.
- Qubes OS – Security-focused OS that uses Xen virtualization to compartmentalize your digital life into isolated environments with a unified desktop.
- Spectrum – In-development security-oriented OS built on Nixpkgs using KVM-based microVMs for compartmentalization.
Desktop Environments/Window Managers:
- COSMIC - System76's comprehensive Wayland-native desktop environment written in Rust.
- Hyprland – Dynamic tiling Wayland compositor with scriptable layouts and impressive animations.
System Security/Firmware:
- coreboot – Open source alternative to proprietary BIOS/UEFI firmware (though recent x86 still needs vendor blobs such as FSP/AGESA).
- Heads – coreboot + Linux payload providing TPM-measured, tamper-evident boot for select laptops.
- nix-mineral - NixOS module for convenient system hardening.
- TrenchBoot – Framework for dynamic root-of-trust (DRTM) launches via Intel TXT, AMD SKINIT, or SEV-ES.
Applications/Tools:
- Android Translation Layer - Run Android apps natively on Linux (still in early development).
- Emacs – The self-extensible Lisp machine masquerading as a text editor; someday I'll embrace the config rabbit hole.
- Olive – FOSS non-linear video editor in alpha.
- systemd-sysext – Overlay read-only
/usrand/opt(or/etcvia confext) with extra images; extensions auto-activate at boot or can be merged/unmerged/refreshed live with a single command. Handy for immutable distros, though it’s additive-only and not a full package manager.
What open-source projects are you admiring from afar? Time to compare notes!
To clarify, this is just my list that I shared in the hope that others would follow suit 😅. (Which hasn't been successful so far...) Consider posting yours 😉!