NickelOS Alpha

Project Crowbar · built on the latest ChromiumOS

ChromiumOS, pried open.

NickelOS is a fork of ChromiumOS, built on the ChromeOS you know from Chromebooks, that pries open the Linux underneath it, revealing Gentoo. Every Linux app just works, because it's just Linux! No need for Crostini or any sort of virtual machine.

NickelOS is in alpha, so there's no download yet. See what works today

The NickelOS desktop: Bazaar, the Flatpak app store, on the left, showing Firefox, Discord, Steam and VLC; a terminal on the right listing the installed Flatpak apps; the shelf at the bottom.

The Bazaar app store and a terminal on the NickelOS desktop.

What changes

NickelOS is based on ChromeOS, with added fixes, features and enhancements that give you the same tools and features as any other Linux distro!

Native Linux apps

Linux apps talk straight to Exo, ChromeOS's own Wayland server, the same one Chrome's windows use. X11 apps go through Xwayland with full GPU acceleration. They show up in the launcher and on the shelf like any other app. No Crostini, no container, no VM.

Portage and Gentoo

ChromiumOS is built with Gentoo's tools, and NickelOS hands them to you. emerge installs from Gentoo's full package tree through Gentoo Prefix, from binary packages when there are some and from source when there aren't. Flatpak and AppImage work too, and none of it gets wiped by an OS update.

Gaming

Steam and Wine run like on any other distro. NVIDIA cards use NVIDIA's own driver, AMD and Intel use Mesa, and X11 games get the GPU too. Mouse-look works (ChromeOS normally blocks pointer lock for Linux apps), controllers work, and Discord's push-to-talk works while you play.

Still ChromeOS

Verified boot, a read-only system, A/B system partitions and encrypted homes, all straight from ChromiumOS. The shelf, launcher, Settings and Files work the same, now with desktop icons, and Files opens on your Linux home folder.

Apps

Linux apps that act like they belong here

When a Linux app asks the desktop for something, ChromeOS answers with its own dialogs. NickelOS connects the two through xdg-desktop-portal-nickel, the same portals GNOME and KDE provide.

The ChromeOS launcher listing Slack, RuneLite, Amberol, GNOME Web, Image Viewer and Video Player next to Files, Camera and Settings.
The launcher, with Linux apps next to ChromeOS's own.
Files showing the Home folder with Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures and Videos, each with its own icon.
Files opens at your home folder: the same one the terminal and every app see.
GNOME Papers, a Flatpak PDF viewer, on the left; ChromeOS's print preview over the document on the right, with Save as PDF selected.
GNOME Papers, a Flatpak, printing through ChromeOS's print preview.
Files
ChromeOS's own picker, to open and to save.
Camera
ChromeOS asks before an app can use the camera, and remembers your answer.
Screen sharing
ChromeOS's picker, with its sharing your screen notice and a Stop button.
Notifications
ChromeOS notifications, with the app's name, icon and buttons.
Shortcuts
Push-to-talk and other global shortcuts, after asking. Tray icons live on the shelf.
Printing
ChromeOS's print preview, with your printers and Save as PDF.
Staying awake
Videos, games and downloads keep the screen on or the machine awake while they need it.
Passwords
Apps keep saved passwords in a keyring that unlocks when you sign in.
Typing
Chinese, Korean and Japanese input in Linux apps, old X11 ones included.

De-Googled by default

No Google account. No Google services.

Your account
Setup makes a local account, and it works offline. It's a real Linux user with its own encrypted home. The first account is the admin and gets sudo.
Google services
No Google Drive, no Google AI features, no content recommendations. Search suggestions are off unless you turn them on.
Cloud storage
Add OneDrive, Dropbox, Proton Drive, Nextcloud and more in Settings, and they show up in Files.

Installing apps

Install apps like on any Linux distro

Flatpak from Flathub, with the Bazaar store pinned to the shelf. AppImages. Portage, with Gentoo's whole package tree. Admins get sudo in a real terminal.

What you install lives beside the system, so OS updates leave it alone.

# once, to set up Gentoo Prefix:
you@nickelos ~ $ sudo nickel-prefix setup
you@nickelos ~ $ emerge --ask app-editors/gnome-text-editor
you@nickelos ~ $ flatpak install flathub com.valvesoftware.Steam
you@nickelos ~ $

Graphics

NVIDIA, AMD and Intel GPUs supported

NVIDIA cards run on NVIDIA's own driver. AMD and Intel run on Mesa. Linux apps and games get the GPU, X11 apps included, and Steam and Wine work like on any other distro.

Under the hood

What it's made of

  1. Chrome's desktop (Ash)The shelf, launcher, windows, Settings and FilesChromiumOS, patched
  2. ExoChromeOS's Wayland server, which Linux apps draw onChromiumOS, patched
  3. sommelier and XwaylandX11 appsChromiumOS, patched
  4. xdg-desktop-portal-nickelLinux apps get ChromeOS's own dialogsNickelOS
  5. PipeWire and WirePlumberSound, cameras, screen sharingUpstream
  6. Flatpak, AppImage, PortageApps, with Gentoo Prefix for the full Gentoo treeUpstream
  7. Mesa and nvidia-openGPU driversUpstream
  8. ChromiumOS baseVerified boot, read-only system, A/B updates, encrypted homesChromiumOS
  9. Linux kernelChromiumOS's kernelChromiumOS

Status · updated 11 October 2026

Where it stands

Works today

  • Wayland and X11 Linux apps on the desktop
  • Local accounts, no Google account
  • Terminal with sudo
  • Flatpak, AppImage, Portage, Gentoo Prefix
  • NVIDIA, AMD and Intel graphics
  • File picker, camera, screen sharing, notifications, shortcuts, printing and saved passwords for Linux apps
  • Desktop icons
  • Cloud storage in Files
  • Chinese, Korean and Japanese input
  • An installer that lets you pick the disk

Being built

  • Screenshots, colour picker and background apps for Linux apps
  • Removing Crostini's leftovers from Settings
  • The browser's remaining Google defaults
  • Phones through KDE Connect

Not yet

  • A public release and a download
  • OS updates from NickelOS's own server
  • Android apps through Waydroid
  • Snap

Why NickelOS

ChromeOS is a great desktop sitting on top of a Linux system you're not allowed to touch. Google's answer is Crostini, a Debian virtual machine, on a computer that's already running Linux. NickelOS just opens it up.

When Google stops updating ChromeOS, around 2034, NickelOS plans to keep going, with security fixes and new kernels from Gentoo.

  • Non-commercial
  • Open source
  • No Google account, ever
  • Community project