Hardware and status

Devario has a bootable Community image, an Aqueous and Pearl desktop, Calamares installation, and Shelly package management. Hardware coverage and release validation are ongoing; the source configuration does not guarantee that every published image contains the latest changes.

Hardware and installation

Area	Current setup
CPU	x86-64-v3 target for the Devario kernel and image
Firmware	BIOS or UEFI for live boot; 64-bit UEFI required for installation
Secure Boot	Not configured by the image
Intel and AMD graphics	Mesa and Vulkan drivers are included; check your hardware with the live desktop
NVIDIA graphics	Open kernel modules for supported Turing-and-newer GPUs; Calamares checks the packaged driver’s PCI support list before partitioning
Older NVIDIA GPUs	Support depends on the image and driver branch; the current installer source includes a 580 path for supported Maxwell/Pascal/Volta GPUs. Nouveau is blacklisted
External GPUs	Bolt authorization tools and GPU hotplug handling are included; physical hotplug, display, and suspend/resume validation remain necessary

For per-application GPU selection, Steam launch options and hybrid-laptop checks, see NVIDIA and laptop GPUs. Driver support must match your actual image; the latest source policy does not certify an older ISO.

Software and release boundaries

• The base installation is offline. Repository downloads and updates need access to the configured software sources.
• Shelly’s native RLPM backend is the Devario package engine. The optional AUR build toolchain is absent from the default desktop.
• Development images and public release images have different repository trust requirements. Public release builds require signed inputs.
• Calamares currently remains installed on the target system.
• Boot splash handoff, encrypted-root unlock, and hardware-specific behavior still need image-level acceptance testing.

The OS README tracks development limitations, and the test suite covers image, installer, package, desktop, and boot behavior.

Trying a live image or virtual machine

Try input, displays and networking in the live desktop before partitioning. Then check the installer and a fresh boot separately.

Devario is designed for bare metal, which is the current development priority. VM support has a lower priority, so it may or may not work with your setup.

Zoey reported a successful QEMU installation on October 27, 2026. This is a reported success, not a guarantee for every host, hypervisor or later image.

Her October 19 VM troubleshooting advice was 8 GB RAM and four virtual CPUs. Treat this as dated guidance, not a measured universal minimum. Passing the installer’s resource checks does not establish usable VM sizing or performance.

Installation still needs 64-bit UEFI, the image’s CPU target and a Vulkan-capable graphics path. For QEMU with Virtio/Venus, Zoey’s October 7 notes specify venus=true, blob=true, nonzero hostmem and shared memfd RAM. A generic 3D acceleration checkbox alone is insufficient; neither enabling nor disabling it is a universal fix. If vulkaninfo is available in the guest, her suggested Venus check was vulkaninfo --summary showing DRIVER_ID_MESA_VENUS. These are dated configuration notes, not a current-image launch recipe or proof of a working installation.

An October 28 discussion records a VM greeter regression after an update. A workaround was suggested and a fix queued for build, but that discussion did not confirm the rebuilt package fixed the VM. Do not apply historical launch scripts or greeter overrides unchanged to a newer image.

Record the ISO checksum, hypervisor and package versions, UEFI mode, guest CPU, RAM/vCPU allocation and graphics backend when reporting results. The cited discussions do not confirm successful VMware or VirtualBox installations, and VM validation of the current image remains necessary. See the installation guide’s VM section for the installation workflow.

If both the desktop and installer disappear, collect crash diagnostics rather than assuming you were logged out.

Symptom	Next check
Live desktop works but installation will not start	Firmware mode, CPU target and the installer log/error; preserve the image checksum.
Repository or upgrade check fails	Network/time and Shelly diagnostics; do not change repository families to bypass an error.
No shell after login	Package/session selection and the matching managed unit.
Wrong layout or failed login	Greeter recovery; check the layout again after an upgrade.
Freeze, game stall or logout hard-lock	Desktop failure collection, including the previous boot if available. No general logout hard-lock fix is established.

Diagnostics

Open Devario Report from the application menu, or collect a local report in a terminal:

devario-report.sh --no-upload

The report includes hardware, scheduler information, kernel messages, boot warnings, and Shelly’s package inventory. The command saves devario-report.log in the current directory; the menu launcher saves reports under ~/.local/state/devario/reports/ by default.

Reports redact common personal details, but review the saved file before sharing it. The interactive tool can offer a public upload; --no-upload keeps collection local. See the report implementation for the collected fields and upload behavior.