edpearOS — The Modern Student Desktop

An Arch Linux distribution built for academic productivity. Pre-configured with a student-focused workflow, focus mode, and everything you need to succeed in school.

Features

• Dual Desktop: KDE Plasma (familiar) + Hyprland (tiling power-user mode) — choose at login
• Focus Mode: One-click toggle that silences notifications, blocks distracting websites, and enables a blue light filter
• Student Stack: Pre-installed Obsidian, Zotero, LibreOffice, VS Code, Firefox, LaTeX
• Welcome App: "What are you studying today?" — launches the right workspace for your subject
• Smart Shortcuts: Super+N = Notes, Super+C = Calculator, Super+F = Focus Mode, etc.
• Calamares Installer: Graphical installer with a "Student Setup" page to choose your major and install relevant tools
• Blue Light Filter: Active by default in the evenings for late-night study sessions
• Timeshift Snapshots: Automatic system backups so you never lose your setup
• Tokyo Night Theme: High-contrast dark theme optimized for reading

Screenshots

Coming soon — build the ISO and try it!

System Requirements

Component	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	2-core 64-bit	4-core 64-bit
RAM	4 GB	8 GB
Storage	20 GB	50 GB
Boot	UEFI or BIOS	UEFI

Quick Start

Download (Releases)

Download the latest ISO from GitHub Releases, flash to USB, and boot.

Windows Build (Recommended for Development)

Prerequisites:

• Windows 10/11 with Administrator privileges
• WSL2 with ArchWSL
• Inside ArchWSL: pacman -Syu archiso

# Run PowerShell as Administrator
.\build_and_flash.ps1

Flags:

• -SkipFlash — Build ISO only, don't launch Rufus
• -SkipBuild — Use existing ISO, just flash
• -CleanBuild — Wipe work directory and rebuild from scratch

Linux Build (Native Arch)

Prerequisites:

• Arch Linux host (or Arch-based distro like EndeavourOS)
• archiso package: sudo pacman -S archiso
• ~15GB free disk space

sudo ./scripts/build-iso.sh

The ISO will be in out/edpearOS-YYYY.MM.DD-x86_64.iso.

Flash to USB

Windows: Use Rufus in DD Image mode
Linux: sudo dd if=out/edpearOS-*.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync
Cross-platform: Ventoy (just copy the ISO to the Ventoy USB)

Repository Structure

edpearOS/
├── .github/workflows/          # GitHub Actions CI (auto-builds ISO)
│   └── build-iso.yml
├── archiso-profile/            # The archiso profile (heart of the distro)
│   ├── profiledef.sh           # Archiso profile definition
│   ├── packages.x86_64         # All packages to include
│   ├── pacman.conf             # Pacman config (with Chaotic-AUR)
│   ├── airootfs/               # Root filesystem overlay
│   │   ├── etc/
│   │   │   ├── skel/           # User template (themes, configs, shortcuts)
│   │   │   ├── calamares/      # Calamares installer configuration
│   │   │   ├── edpearos/       # Focus mode blocklist, config
│   │   │   └── sddm.conf.d/   # Display manager config
│   │   └── usr/
│   │       ├── local/bin/      # edpear-focus, edpear-welcome, edpear-setup
│   │       └── share/          # Desktop entries, wallpapers, sessions
│   ├── grub/                   # GRUB bootloader config
│   ├── syslinux/               # Syslinux bootloader config (BIOS)
│   └── efiboot/                # EFI boot config
├── scripts/
│   └── build-iso.sh            # Main build script
├── build_and_flash.ps1         # Windows build + Rufus flash
├── LICENSE                     # MIT License
└── README.md

Customization

Adding/Removing Packages

Edit archiso-profile/packages.x86_64. One package per line. Use pacman -Ss <name> to search for packages.

Changing the Desktop Theme

KDE Plasma config lives in archiso-profile/airootfs/etc/skel/.config/. Modify kdeglobals, kwinrc, plasma-org.kde.plasma.desktop-appletsrc, etc.

Hyprland config: archiso-profile/airootfs/etc/skel/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf

Customizing the Focus Mode Blocklist

Edit archiso-profile/airootfs/etc/edpearos/focus-blocklist.txt. One domain per line.

Changing the Wallpaper

Replace archiso-profile/airootfs/usr/share/edpearos/wallpapers/default.png with your image (1920x1080 recommended).

Branding the Installer

Edit archiso-profile/airootfs/etc/calamares/branding/edpearos/branding.desc for names, colors, and URLs. Replace logo.png and welcome.png.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Super + N	Open Obsidian (Notes)
Super + C	Open Calculator
Super + T	Open Terminal
Super + E	Open File Manager
Super + F	Toggle Focus Mode
Super + B	Open Firefox (Browser)
Super + W	Study Workspace Launcher
Super + Space	App Launcher
Super + Q	Close Window (Hyprland)
Super + 1-5	Switch Workspace

How It Works

1. archiso (official Arch tool) builds a bootable live ISO from the profile
2. The airootfs/ directory is overlaid onto the root filesystem — everything in there becomes part of the live system
3. /etc/skel/ is the template for every new user's home directory — this is where the "rice" lives
4. Calamares provides a graphical installer that copies the live system to disk
5. On first boot, the Welcome App runs and asks what you're studying, launching the right tools
6. Focus Mode uses /etc/hosts blocking + KDE/Hyprland DND to eliminate distractions

CI/CD

Every push to main triggers a GitHub Actions build that:

1. Spins up an Arch Linux container
2. Installs archiso and dependencies
3. Runs mkarchiso to build the ISO
4. Uploads the ISO as a build artifact

Tagging a release (git tag v2026.1 && git push --tags) creates a GitHub Release with the ISO attached.

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/my-feature)
3. Make your changes
4. Test: sudo ./scripts/build-iso.sh --clean
5. Push and open a Pull Request

License

MIT License — see LICENSE for details.

Credits

Built with:

• Arch Linux
• archiso
• Calamares
• KDE Plasma
• Hyprland
• Chaotic-AUR