Aurora: The immutable OS “on steroids” for productive use

I said in the last post that we would probably talk about backend. Sorry… but that won’t be for today. 😅

The Context

Like many beginners, I stepped into the Linux world with Ubuntu. Easy to pick up, but quickly too bloated for my taste: many packages installed by default, sometimes useless. Then I switched to Arch Linux. There, revelation: a lightweight, ultra-flexible system, a distro that really gives you the keys.

Except that eventually, maintenance caught up with me. Arch is great when you like tinkering, but when you want a stable workstation, you spend more time maintaining than producing. I needed something else.

That’s when a friend told me about immutable OSs and advised me to try Aurora.

The Problem

I wanted a system that combines:

• Stability: no bad surprises after an update
• Simplicity: no need to spend 2h configuring a broken lib
• Modernity: support for gaming, development and VMs

Aurora then intrigued me: a version “on steroids” with integrated scripts that save crazy time.

The Solution: Aurora

Aurora is an immutable OS based on Fedora Atomic, designed for productive daily use. A few points that stood out to me:

• Atomic updates and possible rollback if something breaks
• Apps managed via Flatpak (GUI) + Homebrew (CLI) + rpm-ostree (for essentials)
• Integrated scripts that automatically install painful tools (gaming, JetBrains Toolbox, etc.)
• Support for virtualization and even VFIO for turnkey PCI passthrough

In short, an experience designed to be simple without being limited.

The Weak Points

Of course, no OS is perfect. Here is what I noticed:

• Too automatic: if you want to get your hands dirty (change kernel, apply a patch like ACS Override), it quickly becomes complicated.
• Flatpak: permissions sometimes need adjustment, but honestly it’s not a real problem. With Flatseal and already well-made base configs (e.g. themes), it rolls.

For the rest (gaming, dev, VM), Aurora didn’t disappoint me: the ujust tool installs what’s needed by itself, and it works straight away.

My Feedback

Aurora is exactly what I was looking for: a stable, modern and usable immutable OS for daily use. No need to repatch every 3 days, and when I want to play or code, everything is ready.

Only downside: if you have a very specific kernel need, you will have to tinker elsewhere. But otherwise, Aurora clearly keeps its promise: a Silverblue ++ for developers, gamers and power users.

Second post in the pocket! The next one will surely be even more technical oriented… 🚀