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Review: Origami Linux 2026.03
Quoting: DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD. —
I went into my trial with Origami being not only aware that I wouldn't appreciate aspects of the distribution, but with a curiosity about what sort of experience I would have using a distribution which makes every design choice in direct contradiction to what I want. Origami uses an immutable base, I prefer writable filesystems; Origami is Wayland-only, I prefer X11 for performance; this distro uses a new and inefficient desktop environment, I like something battle tested and snappy; Origami relies heavily on containers and Flatpaks while I prefer to use traditional packages; and so on...
While I expected to have an unpleasant experience, I was unprepared for how frustrating using the distribution would be at points. Origami doesn't offer a live desktop, making it harder to test hardware compatibility; the distribution uses an old and painfully slow system installer; common command line tools redirect to other tools and don't use a consistent method of redirection, making it more work to disable this behaviour. The desktop is sluggish, there is no notification of software updates (despite there being three separate sources of software), and the welcome window is all over the place - duplicating questions from the installer, vaguely mentioning some features without explanation, and at other times being quite useful in customizing the desktop.
Using this distribution was like sandpapering my skin and underlines how important it is to have multiple distributions in the world. Not only because I very much want to use an operating system which is the polar opposite of Origami Linux, but also because I'm aware there are probably lots of people in the world who will be delighted to have a bleeding-edge, Flatpak-focused, Wayland-powered, immutable, build-optimized distribution. People should have the freedom to choose what they want, whether I like it or not. Just as I would like to have options which match my workflow and preferences.
I will say one thing in Origami's favour, and it may be the sole thing which I appreciated about the distribution. I liked that the distribution included an all-in-one "update" command which works for everything - Flatpak bundles, containers, and the core system. Very few distributions include an all-in-one meta package manager and the rare time I encounter one, I really appreciate it. I don't like to run separate update commands for every source of software and this was a welcome feature in a sea of irritations.