Install RobOS

Flash a USB drive, boot, and walk into a fully provisioned AI development desktop.

Table of contents

  1. Watch: RobOS Installer Walkthrough
  2. Option A: Install on a Laptop (Bare Metal)
    1. Step 1 — Download the RobOS Installer
    2. Step 2 — Flash the USB Drive
    3. The Manual Way: Flash with dd / Rufus
    4. Step 3 — Boot and Provision
  3. Option B: Run as a VM (QEMU/KVM)
  4. What Gets Installed

Watch: RobOS Installer Walkthrough

Option A: Install on a Laptop (Bare Metal)

The recommended way to run RobOS for daily use. Works on any x86_64 machine — ThinkPads, Dell, HP, any PC.

Step 1 — Download the RobOS Installer

Download the RobOS Installer for your current OS from the latest GitHub Release:

Your OS Download
Linux RobOS-Installer-linux.AppImage or .deb
macOS RobOS-Installer-mac.dmg
Windows RobOS-Installer-win.exe

Step 2 — Flash the USB Drive

Run the installer and follow the 3-step wizard:

RobOS Installer — select your USB drive and click Flash

  1. Select your USB drive — the installer detects all removable drives
  2. Download RobOS — automatically downloads the latest ISO with a progress bar
  3. Flash — writes the ISO to your USB drive (confirm before erasing)

This will erase the target drive. Double-check you’re writing to the USB drive, not your system disk.

The Manual Way: Flash with dd / Rufus 

# Download the ISO
wget https://github.com/nddipiazza/robos/releases/latest/download/robos-v0.0.3.iso

# Linux — flash with dd
sudo dd if=robos-v0.0.3.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress

# Or use the included CLI tool
sudo bash scripts/flash-robos.sh /dev/sdX

On macOS use balenaEtcher. On Windows use Rufus.

Step 3 — Boot and Provision

  1. Insert the USB drive and boot from it (F12 or F2 at BIOS splash for boot menu)
  2. The RobOS installer starts automatically — no interaction needed
  3. Ubuntu 24.04, GNOME, Node.js, Electron, and all 30+ RobOS apps install and configure themselves
  4. After ~15–20 minutes you’ll see the RobOS desktop

Default credentials: username robos, password robos

The installer will use the entire disk. If you need dual-boot or custom partitioning, use Option B (VM) or install Ubuntu manually first, then run robos-provision.sh from the release.

Option B: Run as a VM (QEMU/KVM)

Best for trying RobOS before committing to bare metal, or for development on the RobOS platform itself.

See the full VM setup instructions in Getting Started.

What Gets Installed

The provisioning sequence runs 7 steps automatically:

  1. System packages (build tools, Node.js 20, npm)
  2. GNOME desktop + LightDM auto-login
  3. Electron + all 30+ RobOS apps installed to /usr/local/share/robos/
  4. Dark navy/cyan theme applied
  5. Desktop shell, launchers, and .desktop entries registered
  6. SSH keys generated, zsh + oh-my-zsh configured
  7. Final reboot into the RobOS desktop

Detailed Provisioning Reference