# veilor-os > **Hardened minimal Fedora KDE spin. Black-on-black. Locked down by default.** [![Build veilor-os ISO](https://github.com/veilor-org/veilor-os/actions/workflows/build-iso.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/veilor-org/veilor-os/actions/workflows/build-iso.yml) [![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg)](LICENSE) [![Status: pre-release](https://img.shields.io/badge/status-pre--release_v0.2.5-orange)](CHANGELOG.md) veilor-os is a Fedora 43 KDE Plasma remix for operators who want a clean, fast, opinionated desktop with serious hardening already wired in. Boot the ISO, set an admin password, work. No installer wizard. No initial-setup screen. No telemetry. No "would you like to enable X" prompts. --- ## Status **Pre-release `v0.2.5`** — first feature-complete ISO that actually applies the veilor-os overlay to the installed system. The build pipeline is green on CI; the live ISO boots to KDE on KVM and bare metal. See [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md) for the full v0.2.0 → v0.2.5 story (it is worth reading — five real bugs caught and documented). What is **done**: hardening (SELinux, sysctl, USBGuard, fail2ban, firewalld), KDE black theme, Fira Code system font, 3-mode power management, single-prompt LUKS install, first-boot admin password flow, reproducible CI build, EFI+BIOS bootable live ISO. What is **planned** (see [docs/ROADMAP.md](docs/ROADMAP.md)): Plymouth black theme, SDDM theme, signed ISOs (own MOK + GPG), AppArmor + nftables, veilor-update / veilor-doctor helpers, public docs site. --- ## Quick install ```bash # 1. Download the ISO (after public release; CI artifact for now) sha256sum -c veilor-os-43-*.iso.sha256 # 2. Flash to USB. Replace /dev/sdX with your USB device — triple-check. sudo dd if=veilor-os-43-*.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync sync # 3. Boot from USB, pick "Install veilor-os" from the menu. # 4. Set a strong LUKS passphrase — the only prompt during install. # 5. Reboot, remove USB. # 6. On first boot: TTY prompts for an admin password (≥14 chars, mixed case, # digit, symbol). Once accepted, SDDM starts. Log in as `admin`. ``` Full install + first-boot walkthrough: [docs/INSTALL.md](docs/INSTALL.md). --- ## What veilor-os ships | Layer | Hardening | |-------|-----------| | Boot | Secure Boot, `lockdown=integrity`, `slab_nomerge`, `randomize_kstack_offset=on`, `vsyscall=none`. LUKS2 (aes-xts-plain64, argon2id, mem=1GB). zram swap (no disk swap, no cold-boot leak). | | Kernel | Locked sysctls: ptrace=2, kptr_restrict=2, dmesg_restrict=1, perf_event_paranoid=3, BPF JIT hardening, full ASLR, no SUID core dumps. | | MAC | SELinux **enforcing**, targeted policy + custom `veilor-systemd` module. | | Network | firewalld zone = `drop`, ssh only inbound. systemd-resolved with DNS-over-TLS (Cloudflare/Quad9 fallback), LLMNR off. NTS-authenticated chrony time. | | SSH | password auth off, root login off, single `admin` user, X11 forwarding off, MaxAuthTries 3. | | Auth | root **locked**, single `admin` user with sudo. pwquality minlen=14, 4 character classes. First-boot password forced via `chage -d 0`. | | Audit | `auditd` rules covering passwd/shadow/sudoers/ssh/cron/sysctl/kernel modules and all privileged binaries. | | IDS | `fail2ban` with sshd + pam-generic jails, journal backend, firewalld rich-rule action. | | USB | `USBGuard` daemon, **default-block**, empty allowlist on first boot. | | Services off | `abrt*`, `cups`, `geoclue`, `avahi-daemon`, `bluetooth`, `ModemManager`, `gssproxy`, `atd`, `pcscd`, `kdeconnectd`, `PackageKit`. | | UX | KDE Plasma minimal, `BreezeBlackPure` colour scheme, Fira Code system font, `veilor-power save \| mid \| perf` with udev AC/battery auto-switch. | Full reference: [docs/HARDENING.md](docs/HARDENING.md). --- ## 60-second tour — what's different from stock Fedora KDE - **No Anaconda Initial Setup** wizard after first boot. Single LUKS passphrase prompt is the entire install interaction. Admin user is pre-created; password is set once on TTY1, then SDDM starts. - **Root is locked.** `passwd -S root` reports `L`. There is no `su -` to root, ever. Use `sudo`. - **No PackageKit, no Flatpak by default.** Updates happen with `sudo dnf upgrade` on your terms, not in the background. - **Default firewall zone is `drop`**, not `FedoraWorkstation`. The only thing your machine answers is sshd on its assigned port. - **USBGuard blocks every USB device by default.** First-boot procedure: plug in everything you trust, run `usbguard generate-policy`, done. - **Black-on-black KDE.** Wallpaper, panel, Konsole all match. No "white flash" anywhere in the session. - **`veilor-power save | mid | perf`** swaps the full tuned profile, CPU governor, EPP, battery threshold, and screen-dim policy in one command. Wired to AC/battery udev events too — laptop drops to `save` when unplugged automatically. --- ## How veilor-os compares | Feature | veilor-os | Stock Fedora KDE | Kicksecure | |---|:-:|:-:|:-:| | SELinux enforcing OOTB | yes | yes | yes | | AppArmor | planned (v0.5) | no | yes | | Secure Boot | yes (Fedora keys) | yes (Fedora keys) | configurable | | LUKS2 with argon2id | default | optional | default | | Single-prompt install (LUKS only) | yes | no | no | | Root account locked by default | yes | no | yes | | firewalld default zone = drop | yes | no | n/a (uses nftables) | | USBGuard default-block | yes | no | yes | | fail2ban + auditd OOTB | yes | no | partial | | DNS-over-TLS by default | yes | no | yes | | NTS-authenticated NTP | yes | no | yes | | `init_on_alloc/free` (post-install) | yes (planned re-enable) | no | yes | | Telemetry / phone-home | none | minimal | none | | KDE Plasma branded theme | yes (black) | Breeze | n/a (XFCE) | | Power-profile CLI | yes (3-mode) | partial | no | | Reproducible kickstart-built ISO | yes | yes | yes (from Debian) | | Base distro | Fedora 43 | Fedora 43 | Debian | veilor-os is **not** trying to compete with Whonix-style anonymity or Qubes-style isolation. It is a **hardened daily-driver desktop** — fast, clean, locked down, with no manual post-install hardening required. --- ## Repo layout ``` kickstart/ veilor-os.ks full kickstart definition build/ Containerfile + build-iso.sh reproducible ISO builder overlay/ files dropped into installed root via %post scripts/ hardening, SELinux policy, theme apply, firstboot assets/ fonts, KDE colour scheme, branding, plymouth (planned) docs/ BUILD / INSTALL / HARDENING / POWER / ROADMAP test/ boot-checklist + KVM runner .github/ CI workflows + PR template + CODEOWNERS ``` Build instructions: [docs/BUILD.md](docs/BUILD.md). Roadmap: [docs/ROADMAP.md](docs/ROADMAP.md). Contributing: [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md). Changelog: [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md). --- ## License MIT — see [LICENSE](LICENSE). Fira Code ships from Fedora's `fira-code-fonts` package under SIL OFL 1.1. Fedora packages remain under their respective licences. Kickstart, overlay, scripts, and docs in this repo are MIT.