Ya we were saying it: immutability is sexy – in the sense of interesting -. There are several independent projects releasing Linux-based but immutable operating systems, with Vanilla OS and BlendOS leading the way. Already under the umbrella of something greater there are Fedora Atomic Desktop and Canonical's shy flirtation with Ubuntu Core Desktop. Now, as long as it took me to write this article, Manjaro has presented its own immutable version.
En this link from your forum there is more detailed information and a link to download its ISO image immutable. We are going to include in this article all the information that is of interest to us, as well as screenshots. Let's go with it.
Manjaro Immutable Installation Process
Initially, there is only one Manjaro Immutable ISO image, and it is the one with the GNOME desktop. If anyone wants to try it, the link in their forum has information on how to do it in QEMU, but I can confirm that it also works in GNOME Boxes if you choose UEFI when creating the box. In the following gallery we see screenshots of the installation process, but it can be summarized that it is a simple installer in which we just have to accept what we see.
A look at the operating system
When starting the system for the first time, we will have to finish its configuration. I could add more screenshots, but this is basically what pure GNOME shows. The most important thing here is that in two steps you have to create the username and password. Once the configuration is finished, what we will see will be a fairly pure GNOME, the header image without the Manjaro logo and the text.
Immutable it is, but... in its own way. If we write sudo pacman -Syu To update the packages or the system, what we see is the following:
What are we watching? A message that, indeed, it is an immutable system, but allows us to disable read-only mode. Is it something I would recommend? Well… Manjaro already offers traditional Linux versions. I would leave things as they are.
To update via terminal, you must write this command:
sudo arkdep deploy
If we want to use the KDE version, we will write the following in the terminal.
sudo arkdep deploy test-manjaro-kde
For more information, better visit the official forum thread.
Also in KDE when entering a command
The above command is like something magical. Once finished, we will have started using the KDE version. How is it possible? Due to the atomic nature of this type of operating systems.
When you update an immutable system like this one from Manjaro, what you do is basically download another image with everything new, delete the old one, use the new one and leave the user folder untouched. With the previous command we are telling the operating system "hey: download the KDE version and give it to me so I can use it", and that is basically what it will do.
Although this was where my testing of Manjaro Immutable ended: upon trying to reboot, it failed to re-enter the operating system; the image was broken. It is something that does not have to happen in the future, and this leads us to the next point.
Caution: Manjaro immutable is only for testing or virtual machines
The immutable version of Manjaro has been announced, but is in the testing phase and its use on production equipment is not recommended. In this sense it is similar to what Ubuntu offers right now, but perhaps at a more advanced point.
Manjaro will also soon offer another immutable version, but this one will be intended for the Gaming. The first device to use it will be the Orange Pi Neo, a console that aims to compete with the Steam Deck with its pros and cons.
What is clear is that immutability is in fashion, and can help further increase the Linux market share. If it is easy to use and cannot be broken...