Release notes

Lunex OS 0.8 release notes

Lunex OS 0.8 brings optional remembered Wi-Fi, native screen locking, portable-package improvements, and the Lunex name to this experimental Linux desktop.

These notes describe version 0.8. Check the download section for the final release’s availability and verified files.

Networking that remembers when you ask

• Opt in to remembering the current Wi-Fi connection and reconnecting after an installed reboot.
• Optionally carry the current connected Wi-Fi network from the live session through the installer’s explicit review.
• The installed Wi-Fi on/off choice persists. Turning Wi-Fi off keeps remembered networks; “Disconnect & forget” removes them.
• Network diagnostics report hardware, driver, radio, and service state without including passwords, network names, or IP addresses.

Remembered credentials have root-only permissions but are not encrypted at rest. Physical adapter support remains unverified. Enterprise 802.1X and WEP networks are unsupported.

Native password-backed locking

Set a lock password in Settings, then use Super+L, Start → Lock, quick settings → Lock, or the lock command. Optional idle locking starts disabled. The native lock is a blank screen; type your password and press Enter. Blue indicates input and red indicates cleared input or an incorrect password.

The lock does not encrypt the disk or secure data against reboot, explicit physical rescue, or hostile same-user X11 software. A native locker or broker crash ends the desktop session, potentially losing unsaved work.

More room for compatible portable apps

• Inputs up to 600 MiB (629,145,600 bytes), with streaming reads, progress, cancellation, and resource checks.
• The lunex-pkg command supports inspection, installation, listing, launch, and removal. The older aster-pkg name remains supported.
• Files can copy a package up to 600 MiB.
• Expanded-content/per-member limits are 2 GiB, with at most 20,000 archive entries. Temporary snapshots and installation copies need additional space.

The importer handles compatible portable DEB, RPM, and Type-2 AppImage applications. It is not apt, dpkg, or a general Debian/Fedora compatibility layer. It rejects unsupported architectures, unresolved dependencies, maintainer scripts, and privileged system installs. Imported apps are not sandboxed, publisher signatures are not verified, and installation does not launch the application.

A new name and deliberate updates

Lunex branding, uncluttered desktop shortcuts, and a blank browser start page arrive with 0.8. Firefox retains its own first-launch legal and privacy prompts.

A manual signed-update framework is included, but the production verification key and service are not activated. The client refuses online checks until properly configured. It covers only a fixed set of desktop/integration files; kernel, firmware, browser runtime, and bootloader updates are outside this channel. There are no background checks, telemetry, or feedback feature.

Source and component information

The source archive covers Lunex’s original desktop and integration code, build recipes, and pinned dependency information. It is not the complete corresponding source for every upstream component bundled in the operating-system image. Upstream components retain their own notices and licenses.

Public ISO availability is subject to completion of the release’s source and license-distribution review as well as technical verification. See the download section for the current availability; do not treat the integration-source archive alone as a complete operating-system source release.

Before relying on this release

• Experimental x86_64 Linux / Alpine 3.22.6 system. It does not include Windows or use native Microsoft WinUI.
• VM-first testing is recommended: at least 4 GiB RAM, two CPUs, standard VGA. Large live-session packages may need 6 GiB or more.
• Physical hardware is untested; the image is unsigned and Secure Boot is unsupported.
• Single-user automatic sign-in, an unencrypted disk, and no seamless system/browser updater.
• Live-session data disappears at shutdown. Installed home files and supported settings persist.
• The installer erases the entire selected disk. An existing Aster 0.7 installation requires the separate supported offline repair rather than reinstallation if you need to preserve data.

Read the installation guide and update limits before use. A matching checksum confirms file integrity, not physical-hardware compatibility or software safety.