news
Manjaro Summit public Alpha now available
It has been some time since we shared an experimental version of Manjaro Immutable, since then we have been busy working on improving the technology and implementing some commonly requested features.
Manjaro Immutable is now called Manjaro Summit, and we are excited to release it in public Alpha!
What is Manjaro Summit?
Manjaro Summit is a semi-immutable (We’re calling it that for now because the term immutable is technically incorrect and controversial) distro with an atomic update system. Updates are done by downloading pre-made disk images, the root partition is read-only and only parts of the filesystem are migrated upon update.
The benefit of such a system is that everyone is running a near identical system configuration, this makes it easier to reproduce bugs and issues. Images can also be tested before being published. And should an update prove to be bad, you can simply roll back to an older unaffected version.
The immutability makes the system more resistant to user and software error, it also provides some limited protection against malware.
We are still unsure what Summit will eventually become, a stable rolling workstation distro, or an always moving distro chasing the latest and greatest in software.
The technology powering summit is purpose build to be as simple as possible, it is encouraged for people to start building and sharing images and configurations which fit their usecase or that of a wider community.
More in GOL: "There's still quite a lot missing and to be done on it, since it's a public Alpha testing release."
How-To Geek:
-
Manjaro Has a New 'Semi-Immutable' Edition You Can Test Right Now
If you like trying new and experimental Linux distributions, you should be happy to know Manjaro Linux is officially jumping on the immutable Linux distribution bandwagon with the announcement of Manjaro Summit, in an alpha phase.
Having been in development earlier as "Manjaro Immutable," first announced in August 2024, Summit appears to be sort of an experiment for the Manjaro development team. They're now calling it a "semi-immutable" distribution, though, and did not share details on exactly what that means. Summit differs from traditional Manjaro Linux builds in that its updates are "atomic" instead of being based on the package update system you find your typical Arch-based Linux distribution like Manjaro.
Summit's announcement includes a publicly available ISO you can download and test yourself like I did. Since it's in alpha, you can expect a buggy and limited experience not suitable for daily driving. Only GNOME is tested to work on Summit, which annoyed me a little, having been a fan of GNOME.
WebProNews:
-
Manjaro Releases Alpha of Manjaro Summit
The Manjaro Linux developers have released an alpha of their next project, Manjaro Summit, a “semi-immutable” version of the popular distro.
Immutable distros, also known as atomic distros, are taking the Linux world by storm. These distros borrow a page from Android and iOS, keeping the root partition read-only and updating via atomic updates that only take effect when the update fully completes, ensuring a partial update doesn’t wreck the system.
Manjaro, already a popular Arch-based distro, has been experimenting with what they call “a semi-immutable” version of the distro, with it reaching alpha status. Dennis ten Hoove, Manjaro platform engineer, discussed the alpha in a forum post.