Endless OS – A Beautifully Unique Linux Distribution for Your Family

Endless OS is a free Linux-based Operating System that makes computers fun to use. It features a beautiful UI, a somewhat locked-down app manager, and tons of educational software.

Endless OS is mostly used to teach computing all over the world so the company has made it simulate a smartphone experience. In place of an app drawer, it uses shortcuts arranged in a grid view on the desktop. Sort of like an iPhone. You can add/delete apps from view as well as create folders for organizing them.

EndlessOS Desktop Icon Grid View
EndlessOS Desktop Icon Grid View

Right above the apps is a search bar through which you can search for files and apps. At the top of the screen is a minimized applet that displays informative reads like Masterpiece of the day, Quote of the day, and word of the day.

EndlessOS Search Tool
EndlessOS Search Tool

Endless OS Default Applications

Endless OS has a long app list and it is you who decides the length of your default app list by choosing either a Basic or Full installation.

The basic installation contains the core apps like Google Chrome, WhatsApp, VLC, LibreOffice, etc while the Full version contains the full suite of educational software curated for Endless OS users.

EndlessOS Default Apps
EndlessOS Default Apps

Google Chrome comes preinstalled with a custom homepage created using a plugin, explorer. It also comes with Adblock preinstalled.

EndlessOS Desktop Environment

Endless OS uses what I assume can be referred to as “Endless Desktop” – a customized fork from GNOME 3 and it offers only a few customizations. The DE is actually beautiful and it is easy to work with it.

Endless Desktop
Endless Desktop

Some may think of not having the ability to view all your installed apps in one place at once as a let-down, it’s not on my list of necessary functions if I can get my work done and feel good while doing so.

The Endless OS icon at the extreme left of the taskbar doesn’t invoke an app drawer. It toggles between viewing the desktop and the “last used app“. The only way to see all your installed apps at once is by going to the app store.

In any case, the app collection is amazing and you can always easily add/remove any of them from the app store.

Endless OS App Store

Endless OS uses a read-only root file system with application bundles overlaid on top. This means that the app store is good for managing only the applications available through it.

The file system that Endless OS uses supports only Flatpak apps and it is managed by OSTree.

EndlessOS App Store
EndlessOS App Store

Endless OS Installation

Endless OS is free to download and use and installing it is as easy as a,b,c. You can try out Endless OS in a LIVE disk or install it on your hard drive.

EndlessOS Installation
EndlessOS Installation

You should remember, however, that running Endless OS from a LIVE CD will negatively affect its performance.

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I’ve just added Endless OS to my list of top distros. It is not open-source, though, but it builds on the tons of work put in by the free and open-source community and the company is an active part of the same community.

What about you? Check out the OS and let us know what you think about it in the comments section below.

Divine Okoi is a cybersecurity postgrad with a passion for the open-source community. With 700+ articles covering different topics in IT, you can always trust him to inform you about the coolest tech.

Each tutorial at GeeksMint is created by a team of experienced writers so that it meets our high-quality writing standards.

1 thought on “Endless OS – A Beautifully Unique Linux Distribution for Your Family”

  1. I was not prepared for how large of a download Endless OS was. I agree with you on every point about the OS itself. It has a beautiful UI to match those wonderfiul icons. I am a fan of uniformity. I found Endless OS is ideal for touch screen-capable hardware and I am entertaining the idea of trying to install it on a tablet. This would be a perfect OS to install on a computer with little, or no, internet access. Though, suitable for any age group, children would really benefit. Endless OS comes with an amazing range of applications. I found it kind of fun. Thanks for the heads-up and another great article.

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