Installer
TunaOS ships with TunaOS First Setup, a graphical installer built with GTK4 and Libadwaita. It runs automatically when you boot from a live ISO and guides you through installing TunaOS to disk, then setting up your system on first boot.
TunaOS First Setup is a fork of Vanilla OS First Setup, adapted for bootc-based installation on Enterprise Linux.
Part 1: Installing to Disk
When you boot from a live ISO, the installer launches automatically and detects the live environment via the tunaos.live=1 kernel parameter.
Step 1 — Welcome
The welcome screen shows your variant's name and emoji and gives you three options:
- Install — begin the installation wizard
- Try — close the installer and explore the live desktop before committing
- Accessibility — open GNOME accessibility settings
Step 2 — Disk Selection
Choose the disk to install to and configure partitioning options.
Filesystem
| Variant | Available filesystems | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Albacore, Skipjack | XFS, ext4 | XFS |
| Yellowfin, Bonito | XFS, Btrfs, Btrfs (subvolumes), ext4 | Btrfs (subvolumes) |
Btrfs is not available on EL-based variants (Albacore, Skipjack) due to limited kernel support.
Full Disk Encryption (FDE)
Toggle Encrypt this disk to enable LUKS full disk encryption. You will be prompted to set and confirm a passphrase.
TPM Unlock
If your system has a TPM 2.0 chip, you can enable TPM unlock to automatically decrypt the disk on boot without entering a passphrase each time. Requires FDE to be enabled.
⚠️ The entire target disk will be erased. Make sure you have backups before continuing.
Step 3 — Confirm
Review your choices (disk, filesystem, encryption) and confirm. This is the last chance to go back before data is written.
Step 4 — Installation
The installer runs bootc install to-disk with experimental unified storage enabled. Progress is shown on screen. This typically takes 5–15 minutes depending on your hardware and internet connection.
Step 5 — Done
Once complete, you are prompted to reboot. Remove the USB drive before the system restarts.
Part 2: First Boot Setup
After rebooting into your new installation, First Setup runs once to configure your system.
Language
Select your preferred language. This sets the system locale.
Keyboard Layout
Choose your keyboard layout.
Timezone & Location
Set your timezone, used for the system clock.
Hostname
Set a name for your machine on the network (e.g. james-laptop).
User Account
Create your primary user account:
- Full name
- Username
- Password
Theme
Choose between light and dark mode for the GNOME desktop.
Applications
Select additional Flatpak applications to install from Flathub. Core apps are already included in the image.
Setup Progress
Selected apps and system-level configuration are applied. This may take a few minutes.
Done
Your system is ready. First Setup will not run again on subsequent boots.
Recovery Key
If you enabled Full Disk Encryption, a recovery key is generated and shown after installation. Store this somewhere safe — it can unlock your disk if you forget your passphrase or TPM unlock fails.
Troubleshooting
Installer doesn't launch on boot
Make sure you're booting from the ISO in UEFI mode. The live environment requires UEFI; legacy BIOS boot is not supported.
No disks shown in disk selection
The installer only lists whole block devices. If you're running in a VM, ensure a virtual disk is attached. Existing partitions on a disk are not shown individually — the whole disk is selected and repartitioned.
Installation fails or stalls
- Check that you have a working internet connection — the installer pulls the container image during install
- Ensure the target disk has at least 20 GB free
- Check GitHub Issues for known problems
TPM unlock not working after install
TPM unlock binds to the current secure boot state. If you change secure boot settings after installation, re-enroll with:
sudo systemd-cryptenroll --tpm2-device=auto --wipe-slot=tpm2 /dev/your-disk
Source
The installer source is available at github.com/tuna-os/first-setup.