CalamaroOS

Gentoo for everyone
CalamaroOS

A universal distribution built on Gentoo Stage 3 + Systemd, with the Calamares graphical installer to make Gentoo accessible to everyone. Official binary packages, source compilation when needed, Flatpak integrated and four desktop environments to choose from. The power of Gentoo, without barriers.
Gentoo Stage 3 Systemd Calamares Installer Flatpak EXT4 · BTRFS · XFS · F2FS 64-bit

Features

✦ Update · 2026.05.10 ⚡ LXQt Desktop CalamaroOS 2026.05.10 New release of the LXQt edition, synchronized with the latest Gentoo updates as of 2026/05/10. The lightest and most responsive edition in the CalamaroOS family: combines the Qt framework's efficiency with a clean, modern interface, using minimal CPU and RAM. This ISO includes the OS Prober fix and the new permanent /boot partition scheme at 1 GB. Ideal for older hardware, virtual machines, or anyone seeking an ultra-fast system. Synced with Gentoo to 2026/05/10 OS Prober fixed — detects other OSes in GRUB /boot permanently mounted · 1 GB · initramfs & kernel-bin fix Ultra-lightweight Qt desktop environment Flatpak · EXT4 / BTRFS / XFS / F2FS · Calamares
✦ Update· 2026.05.08 🌿 MATE Desktop CalamaroOS 2026.05.08 New release of the MATE edition, synchronized with the latest Gentoo updates as of 2026/05/08. The classic environment par excellence, born as a GNOME 2 fork: intuitive, lightweight and productive. This ISO includes the OS Prober fix, which will be applied to all CalamaroOS editions going forward — other operating systems on the disk are correctly detected and shown in the GRUB menu. Also adopts the new permanent /boot partition scheme at 1 GB. Synced with Gentoo to 2026/05/08 OS Prober fixed — detects other OSes in GRUB /boot permanently mounted · 1 GB · initramfs & kernel-bin fix GNOME 2 desktop — classic and stable Flatpak · EXT4 / BTRFS / XFS / F2FS · Calamares
✦ Update · 2026.05.03 🖥️ KDE Plasma CalamaroOS 2026.05.03 New release of the Plasma edition, synchronized with the latest Gentoo updates. Introduces an important change to /boot partition management, applied starting from this ISO and coming to all editions: the partition is now permanently mounted and its size has been increased to 1 GB (unless manual partitioning is chosen). The change was necessary to resolve space issues caused by initramfs.img and to avoid warnings related to linux-firmware and the failure to install gentoo-kernel-bin, which previously required manually mounting /boot first.
✦ Update · 2026.05.05 🪟 XFCE Desktop CalamaroOS 2026.05.05 New release of the XFCE edition, synchronized with the latest Gentoo updates as of 2026/05/05. The perfect balance between lightness and functionality: GTK3-based, fast to boot and responsive in daily use. Like the Plasma edition, this ISO adopts the new /boot partition scheme — permanently mounted and sized at 1 GB — to resolve space issues caused by initramfs.img and avoid warnings related to linux-firmware and gentoo-kernel-bin installation. Synced with Gentoo to 2026/05/05 /boot permanently mounted · 1 GB · initramfs & kernel-bin fix GTK3 desktop — fast and customizable Flatpak · EXT4 / BTRFS / XFS / F2FS Calamares graphical installer
260514 - Hello everyone, for the next calamaroos release, we'll start with plasma. Disk encryption and manual partitioning with legacy BIOS (mbr) have been fixed. This may still be a false alarm, but we're working on it, and the guru community repository has been added by default. End users can always disable it, just like they can with calamaroos and anything else, just like they would with Gentoo. We are also working on gnome and cinnamon, they are ready but we are looking for a solution to boot in nomodeset, and eventually we will release an lxde version.

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humrand Posted 2026-05-05

hello, i really like this distro but, could you add support for open rc instead of systemd? if not i understand it but i would love to have open rc lol

Reply from CalamaroOS

Posted 2026-05-05

I understand your request; it's a time constraint. I'm working to improve and stabilize the project; lxde, gnome and cinnamon are still missing. I'll see what I can do later. Thanks for the review.
mago Edited 2026-05-07

I couldn't get the Nvidia driver to work, I followed the guide on the Gentoo wiki. I might be being stupid, but an ISO with this configured could be a good addition. No matter what I did, it only uses llvmpipe as the graphics driver. edit: Thanks for the guide, I managed to install it now and it's working perfectly.

Reply from CalamaroOS

Edited 2026-05-06

Uploaded guide file along with the iso. 1) # nano /etc/portage/make.conf ACCEPT_LICENSE="*" VIDEO_CARDS="nvidia" 2) Beware of the nvidia-drivers for my gtx1070 I had to mask the 595 because it doesn't work on my portage card it was clear. # echo ">x11-drivers/nvidia-drivers-580.126.18" >> /etc/portage/package.mask/nvidia-drivers and set the dist-kernel flag in /etc/portage/package.use, then when you update the kernel the Nvidia drivers will automatically reinstall. # echo "x11-drivers/nvidia-drivers dist-kernel" >> /etc/portage/package.use/nvidia-drivers 3) emerge -DNuag @world (install the nvidia-drivers) 4) Configure Xorg # nvidia-xconfig 5) # nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf blacklist nouveau options nouveau modeset=0 6)nano /etc/dracut.conf.d/nouveau.conf # Force nouveau and drm in the initramfs for NVIDIA cards (Kepler and later) #force_drivers+=" nouveau drm drm_kms_helper " #Disable Nouveau completely in the initramfs omit_dracutmodules+=" nouveau " install_optional_items+=" /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf " # Optional but recommended hostonly="yes" 7) Add parameters to the kernel. Open /etc/default/grub and in GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="rw quiet splash nouveau.modeset=0 rd.driver.blacklist=nouveau nvidia-drm.modeset=1" 8) generate everything: # dracut -f # grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg #reboot
pcr1reg Edited 2026-05-09

Tried this once Mate worked greatReally wanted .Cinnamon ,decided to try plasma.Will hook to internet right away ,reboot no internet or sound.Tried mate again same thing.Really like this suspect minor bug.Cinnamon comes out and works will be a favoite in the herd.Thanks for your time and effort.
marc41 Edited 2026-05-16

I tried to install using the full encryption option after the installation finish. When I reboot it couldn’t find the encrypted drive. The installer works without the encryption option. Update review 5/16/2026. Thanks for the update since I’m trying to install this distribution on my laptop with encryption.

Reply from CalamaroOS

Edited 2026-05-14

Hi, we've solved the disk encryption issue. The next plasma ISO and all the others will have working disk encryption. Thanks again for the report, and have a great day.
trando Edited 2026-04-10

nvidia driver not installing,21 stcentury

Reply from CalamaroOS

Edited 2026-05-06

Uploaded guide file along with the iso. 1) # nano /etc/portage/make.conf ACCEPT_LICENSE="*" VIDEO_CARDS="nvidia" 2) Beware of the nvidia-drivers for my gtx1070 I had to mask the 595 because it doesn't work on my portage card it was clear. # echo ">x11-drivers/nvidia-drivers-580.126.18" >> /etc/portage/package.mask/nvidia-drivers and set the dist-kernel flag in /etc/portage/package.use, then when you update the kernel the Nvidia drivers will automatically reinstall. # echo "x11-drivers/nvidia-drivers dist-kernel" >> /etc/portage/package.use/nvidia-drivers 3) emerge -DNuag @world (install the nvidia-drivers) 4) Configure Xorg # nvidia-xconfig 5) # nano /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf blacklist nouveau options nouveau modeset=0 6)nano /etc/dracut.conf.d/nouveau.conf # Force nouveau and drm in the initramfs for NVIDIA cards (Kepler and later) #force_drivers+=" nouveau drm drm_kms_helper " #Disable Nouveau completely in the initramfs omit_dracutmodules+=" nouveau " install_optional_items+=" /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist-nouveau.conf " # Optional but recommended hostonly="yes" 7) Add parameters to the kernel. Open /etc/default/grub and in GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT: GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="rw quiet splash nouveau.modeset=0 rd.driver.blacklist=nouveau nvidia-drm.modeset=1" 8) generate everything: # dracut -f # grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg #reboot