Solus is an open-source Linux operating system for desktop and laptop PCs. It brings together a desktop interface, everyday applications and a curated software repository. Its rolling release model keeps an existing system current through ongoing package updates, without requiring a fresh operating system installation for each release.
Desktop editions
Solus comes in Budgie, GNOME, Plasma and Xfce editions. The choice affects how you launch programs, organize windows and adjust the desktop, as well as which file manager accompanies it.
Budgie combines a panel with applets and the Raven sidebar. Raven brings notifications, media playback and audio input and output controls into one place. Budgie Desktop Settings lets you change desktop icons and add panel applets. Adding the Workspace Switcher creates a way to move between separate groups of windows; application icons can be dragged between workspaces to reorganize them.
The other editions offer different approaches to the same desktop tasks:
| Edition | Desktop approach | File manager |
|---|---|---|
| GNOME | A streamlined interface supplied with extensions, including support for application indicators | GNOME Files |
| Plasma | A configurable desktop with a prepared set of defaults for further customization | Dolphin |
| Xfce | A lightweight desktop intended to accommodate less powerful computers | Nemo |
Budgie also uses Nemo for managing files. Its Control Center handles system preferences such as display arrangements, keyboard layouts and default applications. With multiple displays, you can arrange their positions, choose a primary screen or mirror their contents.
Office, web and email applications
Solus includes applications for working with documents. LibreOffice Writer handles text documents, Calc works with spreadsheets, and Impress creates and edits presentations. They support their respective OpenDocument formats alongside common Microsoft Office formats, including DOCX, XLSX and PPTX. Draw and Math are available separately for diagrams and mathematical expressions.
Firefox supplies web browsing, while Thunderbird handles email, newsgroups and feeds. Default application settings determine which program opens a category of file; in Budgie, an individual file type can also be associated with another installed application through the file manager.
Additional software from the Solus repository
The Solus repository extends the supplied desktop with programs for particular jobs. GIMP and Inkscape provide image and vector graphics tools, while Kdenlive and Shotcut cover video editing.
For development, Solus provides editors such as VS Code, Kate and KDevelop alongside terminal editors including Vim and Neovim. Programming languages, compilers and version control tools are available, with Docker and Podman supported for container-based development environments.
Games can come from the repository or from services and launchers. Native titles include Freeciv and OpenTTD. Steam, Proton and Heroic Games Launcher offer further routes to a game library, with compatibility depending on the particular game and the software used to run it.
Package updates
Solus distributes tested updates from its curated repository on a weekly cycle. The eopkg package manager provides controls for searching that repository, reading package information, installing software and removing it. It can upgrade the system’s packages together or target a named package, and reinstall an existing package when needed.
The same package manager keeps a history of software changes. You can inspect that history and select an earlier transaction state to reverse subsequent package changes. This rollback depends on the required package versions still being available in the repository or held as local copies, so the history alone does not guarantee that every earlier state can be restored.
