Immutable Linux distro Nitrux 5.0 drops KDE Plasma for Hyprland & brings Linux 6.17 kernel

Nitrux 5.0, a systemd-free and immutable Linux distribution, has landed with the Linux 6.17.7 kernel. While previous versions featured the KDE Plasma desktop, this release marks a transition to Hyprland as the default environment, impacting how users interact with the system day to day.

Building on its vision of reliability, Nitrux 5.0 enforces an immutable root filesystem using NX Overlayroot. This structure is complemented by the new Nitrux Update Tool System, aimed at making system updates more straightforward without sacrificing stability. Alongside these architectural moves, the distribution introduces NX AppHub and AppBoxes. These additions enable user-centric, rootless application management, and are accompanied by Flatpak and Distrobox support.

Following the user environment shift, the workspace centers on Hyprland, enhanced by Waybar in a familiar layout and integrated with Crystal Dock. OpenRC is now fully adopted, and legacy implementations have been removed for a streamlined backend. Users also benefit from an updated software package set, such as Pipewire 1.4.8, OpenRC 0.63, NetworkManager 1.52.1, and several others. Routine enhancements, bug fixes, code removals, and some deprecations further round out this release.