Zainium Dynamics builds Zainium OS, an independent, enterprise-grade Linux operating system, built from scratch and immutable by design. It is not based on any other distribution, and it is a rolling release: install it once and keep it current.
- The base and the software you install live in separate layers under /overlayer and are joined at boot. Nothing you install is written into the base, and the base always boots on its own.
- Even root cannot change a single byte of the base: on an installed system every base file is sealed with fs-verity. Kernel lockdown, AppArmor, Landlock, Yama and IPE are on from the first boot.
- Base upgrades are staged while you work and applied at the next boot, journaled and reversible. The kernel rolls the same way.
- musl is the core C library; glibc can be installed next to it for prebuilt software.
- zex resolves every package and library before it installs anything.
The filesystem layout of Zainium OS is published as an open specification, the Dualayer Hierarchy Standard (DHS): one layer per owner under /overlayer, and a directory of its own for each C library, so musl and glibc run side by side. Any distribution can implement it.
/overlayer/
├── syshub/ the base, changed only by atomic upgrades
├── userland/ software the user installs, on top with OverlayFS
├── ignition/ kernels, initramfs and boot loader
└── agents/ instructions for AI agents
Zainium OS is the reference implementation; its layers are called syshub, zexlib and zaisys.
ZainiumOS the system's documentation and layout
kernel-recipes the kernel, its modules and headers
quantra_ramfs the initramfs: joins the layers, applies upgrades
zainium_installer the installer
syshub-recipes recipes for the base
userland-recipes recipes for installable software
cosmic-zainium the COSMIC desktop for Zainium
sys_resolver runs software that expects /usr, /etc and /bin
elevate, elevate-pam sudo and PAM, rewritten in Rust
userutiles core utilities in Rust
dualayer-hierarchy-standard the DHS specification
Website https://zainiumdynamics.tech
Docs https://zainiumdynamics.tech/docs
DHS https://zainiumdynamics.tech/dhs
News https://zainiumdynamics.tech/news
X https://x.com/zainiumdynamics
Zainium OS is free software under the GPL-3.0. Created by Ali Zain.
Zainium Dynamics is a community member of the Open Invention Network, the patent non-aggression community around Linux and open source.
