Release 0.12.0

Download WolOS

One ISO for every 64-bit PC with UEFI. Start it from a USB stick or a virtual machine, try WolOS without installing, and install when you are ready.

Download ISO.sha256 release.json release.json.sig

wolos-2026.11.03-x86_64.iso · 1.98 GiB · Arch snapshot 2026-10-31 · WolKernel 1.0+7.3-6

This is a test ISO, not a stable release.

WolOS is far from stable. Install it in a virtual machine or on a spare disk, keep a backup of anything on that computer, and expect things to break between releases. Please report what you hit on GitHub.

Check the download

The checksum proves the file arrived exactly as it was built. Compare it before you write the stick.

SHA-256 of wolos-2026.11.03-x86_64.iso

0847e23229cc1cca743d8bef96f45e860471c331a90bb27a945f76c2d67dab11

Linux: download the ISO and its checksum, then check. It prints wolos-2026.11.03-x86_64.iso: OK.

curl -LO https://cdn.wolos.org/v0.12.0/wolos-2026.11.03-x86_64.iso
curl -LO https://cdn.wolos.org/v0.12.0/wolos-2026.11.03-x86_64.iso.sha256
sha256sum -c wolos-2026.11.03-x86_64.iso.sha256

Or compare against the checksum on this page

echo "0847e23229cc1cca743d8bef96f45e860471c331a90bb27a945f76c2d67dab11 wolos-2026.11.03-x86_64.iso" | sha256sum -c

macOS: the line it prints starts with the checksum above

shasum -a 256 wolos-2026.11.03-x86_64.iso

Windows (PowerShell): the Hash it prints is the checksum above, in capitals

Get-FileHash .\wolos-2026.11.03-x86_64.iso -Algorithm SHA256

release.json names the image and carries the same checksum; release.json.sig is its Ed25519 signature, which an installed WolOS checks with its package keys before it offers an update.

Mirror: the same files are on GitHub for now. If a checksum there ever differs, do not use the image, and tell us.

Try it without installing

Nothing on your disk changes until you choose Install.

Start from the stick and pick Try WolOS. It runs from memory: the desktop, the Store and Settings are all there, and when you restart without choosing Install, the computer is exactly as you left it. Nothing is written to the disk you use.

Or open the ISO in a virtual machine first (VirtualBox settings below). Try WolOS is also the safest way to find out whether your Wi-Fi, graphics and sound work, and the hardware page shows what WolOS picks for each part.

Start it

Try WolOS runs from memory and changes nothing on the disk. Install asks before it writes anything.

1
Write a USB stick
Use a stick of 4 GB or more; its contents are replaced. balenaEtcher, Fedora Media Writer or Rufus (DD mode) all work. On Linux: sudo dd if=wolos-2026.11.03-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync, with your stick as sdX.
2
Start from the stick
Restart and open the boot menu, usually with F12, F11, F8 or Esc right after power-on. Pick the stick's UEFI entry. If Secure Boot is on, the stick asks once to trust its key (below).
3
Try or install
The menu offers Install WolOS and Try WolOS. The installer can erase a disk, install next to Windows or Linux, or follow your own partitions, and shows a summary before it writes. Installing WolOS has every step, and Installing next to Windows says what to do first (shut Windows down fully, check BitLocker).

Secure Boot: a key screen, once

The live stick is signed, and WolOS makes this computer's own boot keys at install. Secure Boot is your choice; with it on, the firmware asks you to trust a key.

What: A blue screen from your computer's firmware. It waits for you, the mouse does not work there, and it appears once for the stick and once after the install, if you turn Secure Boot on.
Why: No WolOS key is shared between computers, and the stick has its own key, so the firmware has never seen either. You confirm each once.
Or: Turn Secure Boot off in the firmware and none of this appears. The installer's Secure Boot page is optional and off unless you turn it on.

The stick, at its first start

If a screen says Verification failed, press Enter.
At Press any key, press one within 10 seconds.
Choose Enroll key from disk, the volume of your stick (often the last one; if you see EFI\Microsoft, press Esc and try the next), then ENROL_THIS_KEY_FOR_WOLOS.cer.
Choose Continue, then Yes, then Reboot.

Missed the 10 seconds? Start from the stick again. The stick also carries EFI/wolos/README.txt with these steps.

The installed system, at its first start (only if you turned Secure Boot on)

Press a key.
Choose Enroll MOK, then Continue, then Yes.
When it asks for a password, type boot. Nothing shows while you type.
Choose Reboot. You will not see this screen again.

Missed it? Run wol boot enroll in a terminal and restart. Computers in Setup Mode skip the screen: their keys are enrolled directly. Next to Windows with BitLocker, Windows asks once for its recovery key after a Secure Boot change; the installer warns you first.

Secure Boot in the manual Installing next to Windows Recovery

VirtualBox

WolOS runs in a VirtualBox machine with EFI. These settings match the one we test with.

Type	Linux, Arch Linux (64-bit)
System	Enable EFI. Secure Boot can stay off, or be on if you enrol the stick's key (above); after the install you can turn it on and follow the key screen.
TPM	TPM 2.0, if you want to try disk unlock with the TPM chip
Memory and processors	6 GB and 4 CPUs on the test machine
Display	VMSVGA, 128 MB or more of video memory
Disk	32 GB, dynamically allocated
Storage	Attach the ISO to the optical drive

If the desktop stays black after installing under VMSVGA on an older image, use a current one; the changelog lists what changed. For a stuck install or boot, see Recovery.

What is new

Read WolOS 0.12 for the short version and the changelog for all of it. The manual covers install, dual boot, Settings, the Store and recovery.

Other releases

Every release lists each image with its date, size, checksum and notes, all on the download host. The image is built from published sources only: wolos-iso holds the recipe.

Pages

Manual