Although several hundred Linux distributions already exist, new technologies and purposes are constantly spurring the creation of more. One of the most ambitious new efforts to emerge recently is blendOS [1], which uses container technology to allow packages from different distributions, as well as Android, to coexist in a single desktop environment (Figure 1). The result is ideal both for developers who package for different distributions and for everyday users who want the latest releases.

Figure 1: blendOS's appropriately themed default desktop.

As I write, blendOS is little more than a year old, with the latest version released in May 2023. Based on Arch Linux, blendOS currently supports Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux, Kali Linux, AlmaLinux, and Rocky Linux, with the potential to support even more distributions. blendOS also features a minimalist install (Figure 2), graphical tools to create containers and connect to Android stores, and clear and comprehensive online documentation [2].

Figure 2: blendOS's minimalist installer.

blendOS was created by Rudra Saraswat (Figure 3), a 13-year-old developer who is also involved in the continued development of Unity, the desktop discontinued by Ubuntu, as well as its port to Arch Linux, plus Gamebuntu, Ubuntu Web, Ubuntu Remixes, UbuntuEd, an alternative Snap store called lol, and una, a version of Arch's AUR for Ubuntu and Debian. In many ways, blendOS can be seen as a natural development of Saraswat's other efforts at cross-distribution development. Fortunately, Saraswat was finishing exams when contacted, so he had time to briefly answer questions.

Figure 3: At 13, Saraswat is already a veteran contributor to Linux.

Linux Magazine (LM): Tell us about your involvement with free software and your experiences as a young contributor.

Rudra Saraswat (RS): I have been quite active in the free software community since about 2019 when I was nine, working on a bunch of tools/shell scripts and posting them on the Ubuntu Community Discourse. I did work on a few tiny operating system kernels prior to that back in 2017/2018 and made them public on GitHub, but as expected, they didn't gain much traction, so I wouldn't term that as my debut. Ubuntu Unity, which I released when I was 10, was my first project of that sort that got popular, and it's now an official Ubuntu flavor.

It was quite challenging initially, with yours truly getting kicked off quite a few Linux communities (including some local Linux user groups) due to concerns related to my young age, but I eventually found a safe haven in the official Ubuntu communities.

LM: How do you make decisions within the blendOS project? How popular is blendOS?

RS: Decisions are usually based off of the general consensus of the blendOS community. Speaking of which, blendOS has exploded in popularity and is growing at a rapid pace.

LM: What is blendOS's main goal?

RS: blendOS aims to ship a stable, up-to-date base system that allows you to mix-and-match applications from different package repositories and distributions, without the usual risks of dependency hell that come with it, thanks to their containerization. Any applications you install in a container (from a shell inside it) instantly appear on the host (binaries with a suffix consisting of a dot and the name of the container) (Figure 4), with Android apps being supported as well through Waydroid (Figure 5).

Figure 4: blendOS's graphical tool for making containers, including one for each distribution from which packages are taken.

Figure 5: blendOS shows two sites for free software Android apps, but others can be added, even proprietary ones.

LM: What are the technical and structural challenges in supporting so many distributions?

RS: There aren't many challenges supporting this many distributions, since quite a few share package managers and similar package names. I plan to make it possible for one to use any distribution outside of the supported ones with a little bit of tweaking if one has the know-how.

A container allows you to install regular packages from any of the Linux distributions and use them on the host as though they were native packages, allowing for a seamless experience.

There isn't any difference in memory consumption or CPU utilization, since containers are essentially equivalent to jailed (namespaced) chroots. As a result, they're identical in this regard.

LM: What is the relation of blendOS to Arch Linux?

RS: Indeed, blendOS ships Arch as the base underneath, images of which are rolled out as updates once we ensure they're perfectly stable and won't result in system breakage, thus eliminating the greatest disadvantage of rolling release distributions: stability.

LM: How is blendOS structured?

RS: On blendOS, a base system with a particular desktop environment is called a track, and you can therefore switch between desktop environments simply by switching your system track with the command sudo system track (Figure 6).

Figure 6: blendOS's tool for switching desktops without logging out.

Cadres help with migrating or reproducing blendOS container setups on multiple systems and thus eliminate the effort required to set up all of your containers once again.

LM: blendOS installs with two Android sites that carry free software. Tell us more about blendOS's Android support.

RS: You can install any Android Package Kit (APK) file (not to be confused with Alpine Linux's package format) simply by double-clicking on it, therefore allowing you to install any store on blendOS – even the Google Play Store with a couple of hoops, though we personally wouldn't recommend it, since the Aurora Store ships all of the apps available through the Play Store while respecting your privacy.

An example of a useful Android app is WhatsApp, with which you can simply link with your mobile (as the Android app subsystem on blendOS is detected as a tablet). The overall experience is much better than that of WhatsApp Web.

Thanks to the advent of the Waydroid project back in 2020, I do expect this to be the case. One of my earlier projects from back then, Ubuntu Web, also used WayDroid for Android app support, but it's probably going to be a gradual shift due to the influence of desktop power users.

LM: What are your future plans for blendOS?

RS: I'm planning to add some major new features and editions for the next major release of blendOS (rolled out as an update to version 3) as well. For now, all I'd like to state is that we're still accepting feedback from the community and will continue to do so. We'll continually strive to make blendOS even better in the coming releases.

Conclusion

In case anyone doubts the ambition behind the project, BlendOS's web page advertises itself as "The only operating system you'll ever need." That is possibly an exaggeration, especially when you consider the amount of time that might be needed to keep multiple distributions private and secure. Still, blendOS remains an impressive effort, especially in its innovative use of existing technology. There is no doubt that the interest exists; currently, blendOS is at number 32 on the DistroWatch's list of top page hits, despite its brief history. Without a doubt, blendOS is a distribution to watch.