FlickOS 3.0 alpha 1

A first look at FlickOS 3.0, on Debian 14 "forky", which Debian is still working on (its testing release). It's for trying out and reporting problems, not for a computer you rely on.

Before you install

• Install it on a spare computer or in a virtual machine. Keep using FlickOS 2.2 for your real work.
• It gets no FlickOS updates. FlickOS's own repository for 3.0 isn't online yet, so FlickOS's packages stay as they are on the ISO. Each new alpha is a new ISO and a fresh install.
• Debian's updates keep coming, from Debian testing. They can break things from one day to the next; that's part of what this alpha is for.
• There is no upgrade path, neither from 2.x to this alpha nor from this alpha to 3.0. Install 3.0 fresh when it's out.
• Nothing is counted. The anonymous weekly count (PRIVACY.md) sends nothing for a test version.

What's new

• Debian 14 underneath: Linux 7.2, labwc 0.20, waybar 0.15, PipeWire 1.6, Firefox ESR 153, LibreOffice 26.8, Calamares 3.4.
• A new look: the new FlickOS logo (an amber F with a blinking cursor) on the start button, the boot menu, the boot splash and the installer; the Light style is the default (Dark is a click away in Settings → Desktop Layout & Style); Papirus icons replace Numix.
• Papers opens PDF files; Debian 14 no longer has Evince.
• Screen recording works with Debian 14's screen sharing (it recorded nothing at first on real hardware).
• Debian's package sources are written in apt's newer format (/etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.sources), so apt update doesn't ask you to modernize them.

Known problems

• FlickOS's own apps and styles can't be installed: with FlickOS's repository not online yet, Software shows no FlickOS apps, community apps or extra styles (Seven, Aye3wm, Footprint, Elemental, Experience, Eleven).
• Nothing opens PostScript (.ps) files. Papers can't, and the other viewers don't fit FlickOS.
• The text login line says "(Debian )" without a number, until Debian 14 gets one.
• Encrypted installs: GRUB asks for the disk's passphrase in plain text before its menu and shows nothing while you type. It isn't stuck: type the passphrase and press Enter, then wait a moment.
• Your own styles from 2.x: foot, the terminal, now calls its colors section [colors-dark]. A style with [colors] gets an error from flickos-layout check that says how to fix it.
• The ISO is larger than 2.2's (1.8 GB), mostly from Debian 14's firmware.

What to try

Install it (with and without Encrypt system), log in, and use it as you would 2.2: the start menu, Quick Settings, the layouts and styles, screenshots and screen recording, Settings, Software, the phone (Settings → Phone), restore points. Tell us what breaks, with what you did and what you saw, on FlickOS's Discord.