Soplos Welcome Application

First things first: The Soplos Welcome application should launch automatically on your first login. This is your starting point!

The Soplos Welcome application is designed to guide you through the essential first steps after installation.

Software

Manage all your app stores from one place: Synaptic, Flatpak, Snap, Bazaar, Soplos AppImage Manager and WebApp Manager.

Drivers

Scan your hardware and install the right driver: NVIDIA (610 to Nouveau), AMD with LACT, Wi-Fi repair and VM tools.

Kernels

Build a custom Soplos kernel from source with profiles for Gaming, Audio/Video, Minimal and more. Also install Liquorix or XanMod, manage CPU microcode and clean old kernels.

Security

Configure the firewall, set up Timeshift backups, install Keepass and enable other privacy tools.

Recommended

Browse curated apps organized by category: browsers, communications, office, multimedia, development, graphics and gaming.

Customization

Switch desktop themes, configure cursors and icon packs, and manage GRUB and Plymouth appearance.

Gaming

Hidden tab — unlock it from the Welcome screen. Enables GameMode, MangoHud, GPU performance mode, disk I/O schedulers and more.

System Updates

Keeping your system updated is crucial for security, stability, and getting the latest features.

Via Soplos Welcome

  1. Open Soplos Welcome from the applications menu
  2. Click on "Check for Updates"
  3. Review available updates with descriptions
  4. Click "Install Updates" and enter your password

Via Terminal (Advanced Users)

Update Commands

# Update package list
sudo apt update

# Upgrade all packages
sudo apt upgrade

# Full system upgrade
sudo apt full-upgrade
Important: Always reboot after kernel updates to ensure all changes take effect.

Software Centers

Software Tab: Soplos Welcome includes a dedicated Software management section for installing package managers and software centers.

The Software tab in Soplos Welcome allows you to install and manage various software centers and package managers:

Available Software Centers

  • Synaptic: Advanced APT package manager with GUI — search, install, remove and manage repositories
  • Gdebi: Install local .deb packages with automatic dependency resolution
  • GNOME Software: User-friendly software store with Flatpak and Snap support (default in Boro)
  • Snap Store: Official Snap application store
  • Flatpak: Universal package system with Plasma Discover or GNOME Software integration
  • Snap: Ubuntu universal packages with Plasma Discover or GNOME Software integration
  • Bazaar: Modern Flatpak-based app store with a curated selection
  • Soplos Repo Selector: Graphical tool to manage and switch APT repositories
  • Soplos AppImage Manager: Manage AppImage applications — install, remove and update portable apps without system-wide installation
  • Soplos WebApp Manager: Convert websites into desktop applications with their own window, icon and launcher entry

System Maintenance

  • Update Repositories: Refresh package lists from all configured sources
  • Upgrade System: Install all available package updates
  • Clean System: Remove unnecessary packages and cached files

Repository Management

  • Soplos Repo Selector: Graphical tool to manage and optimize APT repositories
  • Add Flathub: Enable the main Flatpak repository
  • Snap Menu Integration: Integrate Snap applications into the system menu
One-Click Installation: All software centers can be installed with a single click, including their dependencies and integration packages.

Basic Settings Configuration

Language & Region

Location: Settings → Language & Region

  • Set your language and locale
  • Configure date and time format
  • Set your timezone
  • Configure keyboard layout

Network Settings

Location: Settings → Network

  • Connect to Wi-Fi networks
  • Configure ethernet settings
  • Set up VPN connections
  • Manage network profiles

User Account

Location: Settings → Users

  • Add profile picture
  • Change account details
  • Set up additional users
  • Configure user permissions

Audio Configuration

Location: Settings → Sound

  • Configure audio devices
  • Adjust volume levels
  • Set default input/output
  • Test audio functionality

Essential Applications

Soplos Welcome: Your system includes Soplos Welcome, which provides easy one-click installation of recommended applications. Access it from the applications menu or by running soplos-welcome in terminal.

Using Soplos Welcome

Soplos Welcome includes a comprehensive "Recommended" tab with curated software organized into categories:

Web Browsers

Firefox, Chrome, Chromium, Brave, LibreWolf, Vivaldi, Opera, Zen Browser

Communications

Thunderbird, Discord, Telegram, Signal, Element, WhatsApp, Slack, Zoom

Office Suite

LibreOffice, OnlyOffice, WPS Office, Collabora Office, Calligra

Multimedia

VLC, MPV, Kodi, Audacity, LMMS, Mixxx, OBS Studio, OpenShot, Kdenlive, Spotify, DaVinci Resolve

Development

VS Code, VSCodium, Sublime Text, Cursor, Pulsar, Geany, Bluefish, FileZilla, Postman

Graphics & Design

GIMP, Inkscape, Krita, Blender, darktable, RapidRAW, RawTherapee, Hugin, Affinity Suite

Gaming

Steam, Lutris, Bottles, Heroic Games Launcher, RetroArch, ES-DE, PPSSPP

Flatpak Support: Many applications in Soplos Welcome are available as Flatpak packages. If Flatpak is not installed on your system, you must install it manually before those apps become available.

How to Install Applications

  1. Open Soplos Welcome from the applications menu or run soplos-welcome in a terminal
  2. Go to the "Recommended" tab — apps are grouped by category (Browsers, Communications, Office, Multimedia, Graphics, Developer, Gaming, Utilities)
  3. Each app shows its name, description and current install status. A search bar at the top filters across all categories in real time
  4. Click "Install" on any app. The tab handles APT packages, Flatpak and AppImage installations automatically — no terminal needed
  5. Use "Install All" to batch-install everything in the current category with one click
  6. Already installed apps show an "Uninstall" button instead. DaVinci Resolve shows a file picker to select the installer you downloaded from Blackmagic Design's site

Hardware Drivers

Scan Hardware: Use the "Scan Hardware" button in the Drivers tab of Soplos Welcome to automatically detect your GPU, Wi-Fi, audio and other hardware and get a direct recommendation for which driver to install.

NVIDIA Drivers

  • 610 (Latest): Blackwell and later — RTX 50/60 series
  • 590 (Stable): Turing and later — GTX 1650/1660, RTX 20/30/40/50 series
  • 580 (Production — RC1 default: 580.159.04): Universal Maxwell to Blackwell — GTX 900 through RTX 5000
  • 550 (Repo): Maxwell to Ada Lovelace — GTX 900/10xx/16xx, RTX 20/30/40
  • 470 (Legacy): Kepler to Ampere — GTX 600/700/900/10xx, RTX 20/30 (requires Sid)
  • 390 (Legacy): Fermi and Kepler — GTX 400/500/600/700 (requires Sid)
  • 340 (Legacy): Tesla — GeForce 8/9/100/200/300 series (requires Sid)
  • Nouveau (Open Source): Free open source NVIDIA driver
  • Uninstall NVIDIA Drivers: Removes all NVIDIA packages cleanly before switching to a different driver version

Hybrid Graphics (Laptops)

  • PRIME Render Offload: Uses NVIDIA on demand while the integrated GPU handles the display. Recommended — saves battery. Creates prime-run to launch specific apps with the dedicated GPU
  • NVIDIA Primary: Forces NVIDIA as the primary GPU at all times. Maximum performance, requires restart
  • Detect Hybrid Setup: Detects whether the system has hybrid graphics

NVIDIA Extras

  • DaVinci Resolve Extras: OpenCL and CUDA support — libcuda1, nvidia-opencl-icd, libnvidia-encode1
  • Blender CUDA Toolkit: nvidia-cuda-toolkit for GPU rendering

AMD Graphics

  • AMD Radeon (Open Source): firmware-amd-graphics + Mesa + Vulkan drivers for RX 400+ series and APUs
  • LACT — GPU Control Center: Flatpak tool for overclocking, fan control and GPU monitoring for AMD and NVIDIA
  • nvtop: Terminal GPU monitor pre-installed in all three Soplos distributions — shows real-time usage, VRAM, temperatures and processes for NVIDIA, AMD and Intel GPUs

Wi-Fi Drivers

  • Intel Wi-Fi: firmware-iwlwifi for Intel AC/AX series and legacy chips
  • Realtek Wi-Fi: firmware-realtek for Realtek USB and PCIe adapters
  • Broadcom Wi-Fi: firmware-b43-installer for BCM43xx chips
  • Repair Wi-Fi: Reloads the kernel module and restarts NetworkManager — use this if Wi-Fi stopped working after a reboot

Other Drivers

  • Printers: printer-driver-all for HP, Canon, Epson, Brother and major brands
  • Bluetooth: bluetooth + bluez + bluez-tools + blueman for universal Bluetooth support

Virtual Machine Tools

  • VMware Tools: open-vm-tools-desktop for VMware Workstation/Player integration
  • QEMU/KVM Tools: qemu-guest-agent + spice-vdagent + spice-webdavd for QEMU/KVM virtual machines
  • VirtualBox Guest Additions: VBoxLinuxAdditions for shared folders, clipboard and display resize
Scan Hardware: Use the "Scan Hardware" button first. It detects your GPU, Wi-Fi and other hardware and takes you directly to the recommended driver.

Kernel Management

Kernels Tab: Install and manage kernels directly from the Kernels tab in Soplos Welcome. Launch Soplos Kernel Installer to build a custom Soplos kernel compiled from source, or quickly install pre-built Soplos, Liquorix or XanMod kernels. Also manage CPU microcode and clean old kernels.

Available Kernels

Soplos Kernel Installer

The flagship kernel tool. Compiles a custom Soplos kernel from source with a profile chosen for your use case. Each profile sets the right config flags and suggested patches so you get a kernel tuned specifically for your machine — no guesswork. Launched from the Kernels tab in Soplos Welcome.

  • Gaming: HZ=1000, performance CPU governor, Huge Pages — suggested patches: BORE scheduler, NTSync
  • Audio / Video: HZ=1000, low-latency settings for DAWs and video editing — suggested patch: RT (Real-Time)
  • Minimal / Office: HZ=250, powersave governor, stripped of unused modules — ideal for older or low-power hardware
  • Automatic: Detects your GPU, storage and VM hardware and enables only the needed drivers and optimizations
  • Soplos Stock: Generic Soplos kernel with no profile modifications — compatible with all three distributions
  • Custom: Full control — choose any combination of config options and patches yourself

Soplos Pre-built Kernels

The Soplos Kernel Installer also provides a second tab with pre-compiled kernels directly from the Soplos repository. No compilation required — install with one click and reboot.

  • Stock: Vanilla Soplos kernel with no patches — the safe default
  • BORE: BORE scheduler patch — improves desktop responsiveness and reduces stutter
  • Bore + NTSync: BORE scheduler combined with NTSync — recommended for gaming with Windows games via Proton
  • NTSync: NTSync patch only — synchronization primitives for Proton/Wine compatibility
  • RT (Real-Time): Real-time preemption patch — low-latency kernel for professional audio (DAWs, JACK)
  • ZEN: ZEN kernel patches — general-purpose optimizations for interactive use

Liquorix Kernel

A drop-in replacement for the default Debian kernel, built for interactive desktops and gaming. It uses a low-latency preemption model and scheduler tweaks that reduce input lag and stutter under load. If the system feels sluggish during heavy tasks or gaming, Liquorix is the first quick-install kernel to try. Compatible with all CPU architectures and NVIDIA drivers.

XanMod Kernel

A high-performance kernel focused on throughput and raw speed. Available in two variants: x64v3 (recommended — for Intel Haswell 2013+ and AMD Zen+, uses AVX2 optimizations) and x64v4 (for Intel 12th gen+ and AMD Zen 4+, adds AVX-512 support). Ideal for workstations, compiling, rendering and demanding tasks where maximum throughput matters more than latency.

CPU Microcode

  • Intel Microcode: intel-microcode — apply the latest Intel CPU firmware updates for security and stability fixes
  • AMD Microcode: amd64-microcode — apply the latest AMD CPU firmware updates for security and stability fixes

System Maintenance

  • Clean Old Kernels: Remove old kernels and free up disk space
  • Update GRUB: Update GRUB configuration after kernel changes
  • Current Kernel Info: Display details about the kernel in use
NVIDIA Compatibility: Alternative kernels may require NVIDIA driver reinstallation after updates.

Desktop Customization

Tyron (XFCE)

  • Right-click on desktop → Settings → Appearance
  • Use Soplos Theme Manager for easy theme switching, dock customization and icon management
  • Use Soplos GRUB Editor to change the GRUB theme, timeout, and default boot entry
  • Use Soplos Plymouth Manager to change the boot splash screen

Tyson (Plasma)

  • Right-click on desktop → Configure Desktop
  • System Settings → Appearance → Global Theme
  • Use Soplos GRUB Editor to change the GRUB theme, timeout and default boot entry
  • Use Soplos Plymouth Manager to change the boot splash screen

Boro (GNOME)

  • Settings → Appearance
  • Use GNOME Tweaks (pre-installed) for advanced customization
  • Use Extension Manager (pre-installed) to manage extensions
  • Use Soplos GRUB Editor to change the GRUB theme, timeout and default boot entry
  • Use Soplos Plymouth Manager to change the boot splash screen

Multimedia Support

Pre-configured: Soplos Linux comes with all multimedia codecs already installed and configured. You can play most media formats out of the box without additional setup.

What's Already Included

  • Audio Codecs: MP3, AAC, FLAC, OGG, Opus, and more
  • Video Codecs: H.264, H.265, VP9, AV1, and proprietary formats
  • Container Formats: MP4, MKV, AVI, WebM, MOV, and others
  • Streaming Support: Ready for Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, and other services
  • Hardware Video Acceleration: VA-API and VDPAU support pre-configured for NVIDIA, AMD and Intel GPUs — video decoding and encoding offloaded to the GPU
  • DRM Widevine: Pre-installed in Chromium-based browsers for protected streaming (Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video)

Media Players & Tools

VLC & MPV

Universal video players. VLC for convenience and format support; MPV for power users — minimal, GPU-accelerated, scriptable.

Audacity & LMMS

Audacity for audio recording and editing. LMMS for music production with MIDI support, synthesizers and effects.

OBS Studio

Professional screen recording and live streaming with full Wayland support via the PipeWire screen capture backend.

Kdenlive, OpenShot & DaVinci Resolve

Non-linear video editors. Kdenlive for professional multi-track editing with effects; OpenShot for quick and simple workflows; DaVinci Resolve for Hollywood-grade color grading and audio post-production.

PipeWire Audio: Soplos Linux uses PipeWire for optimal audio performance, low latency, and advanced routing capabilities out of the box. Compatible with PulseAudio and JACK applications simultaneously.

Security & Privacy

System Backups

Timeshift

  • Creates automatic snapshots of the system — not personal files
  • Install from the Security tab in Soplos Welcome before making major changes
  • Restore from GRUB if the system fails to boot (requires grub-btrfs on BTRFS)

grub-btrfs

Available if your root partition uses BTRFS. Automatically adds Timeshift snapshots to the GRUB boot menu, so you can boot directly into a previous snapshot without booting the main system first.

Deja Dup

Simple backup tool for personal files with encryption support. Backs up your home directory to local storage, external drives or cloud services.

BTRFS Assistant

Graphical tool for advanced BTRFS subvolume and snapshot management. Only available on systems using BTRFS as the root filesystem.

Firewall

GUFW

Graphical interface for the UFW firewall. Control which network connections are allowed or blocked. Install from the Security tab in Soplos Welcome.

Terminal
# Check firewall status
sudo ufw status

# Enable firewall
sudo ufw enable

Portmaster

Application-level firewall that monitors and controls network connections per application. More granular control than UFW. Note: running both UFW and Portmaster at the same time can cause conflicts — choose one.

VPN

Proton VPN

Secure VPN service from Proton. Free tier available with unlimited bandwidth. Install via Flatpak from the Security tab in Soplos Welcome.

Surfshark

Fast VPN with unlimited simultaneous devices. Install via Flatpak from the Security tab in Soplos Welcome.

Mozilla VPN

VPN from Mozilla focused on privacy and simplicity. Install via Flatpak from the Security tab in Soplos Welcome.

System Cleaning

BleachBit

Free disk space and maintain privacy. Cleans cache, cookies, temporary files and browser data across many applications.

Soplos Sys Cleaner

Soplos system optimizer. Scans APT cache, old kernels, Flatpak and Snap revisions, logs, temp files and unused locales — shows exactly how much space is recoverable per category before touching anything. Includes hardware detection and firmware management.

Stacer

System optimizer with resource monitoring, startup application manager and cache cleaner in a modern interface. Installed as AppImage.

Sweeper

Simple KDE tool to clean temporary files and browsing history.

Antivirus & Malware

ClamTk

Graphical interface for ClamAV. Scan files and directories for viruses and malware. Includes a virus definition updater.

ClamUI

Modern Flatpak-based graphical interface for ClamAV antivirus.

rkhunter

Command-line tool to detect rootkits, backdoors and system anomalies. Advanced tool for security auditing.

Password Security

  • Use strong, unique passwords
  • Enable automatic screen lock
  • Consider using a password manager

Gaming

Gaming Tab: Soplos Welcome has a dedicated Gaming tab with one-click tools to optimize your system for maximum gaming performance. Optimizations are applied persistently and survive reboots.

GameMode

Feral GameMode dynamically adjusts CPU governor, I/O priority and process priority when a game is running. Compatible with Steam, Lutris and native games.

Performance Mode

Installs soplos-game-performance, which applies system-wide performance tweaks at boot. Disables power-saving features and maximizes CPU and GPU throughput.

Gaming Sysctl

Applies kernel parameters optimized for gaming: vm.max_map_count=2147483642 (required for some Windows games via Proton), vm.swappiness=10 and reduced system latency.

Optimize GPU

Applies GPU-specific performance tweaks. For NVIDIA: forces performance power mode. For AMD: sets performance profile via AMDGPU. For Intel: enables GuC/HuC firmware loading. On hybrid laptops, configures PRIME Render Offload automatically.

Disk I/O

Sets the optimal I/O scheduler for each disk type: BFQ for HDDs (better response time), mq-deadline for SSDs (low latency writes) and none for NVMe (hardware manages queuing internally).

MangoHud

In-game performance overlay showing FPS, frame time, GPU/CPU usage, temperatures and VRAM. Also installs GOverlay (GUI configurator), VulkanInfo, gamescope (Wayland compositor for games), DXVK and vkBasalt via Flatpak.

CPU Power

Installs linux-cpupower and cpupower-gui to manage CPU frequency scaling governors. Set the performance governor for maximum throughput during gaming sessions.

Lutris Vulkan Fix

Fixes Vulkan layer conflicts when using Lutris with MangoHud or other Vulkan layers. Ensures smooth compatibility between Lutris, DXVK and Vulkan overlays.

Shell & Terminal

RC1 Defaults: Soplos Linux RC1 ships with zsh as the default shell and Ghostty as the default terminal across all three distributions.

zsh — Default Shell

Soplos Linux uses zsh as the default login shell. It ships with a curated .zshrc that includes useful aliases, autocompletion, command history improvements and syntax highlighting. You can open a terminal and start using it immediately — no configuration needed.

  • Autocompletion: Press Tab to complete commands, file paths and arguments
  • Command history: Shared across terminal sessions with search via Ctrl+R
  • Aliases: Common shortcuts pre-configured in ~/.zshrc

Ghostty — Default Terminal

Ghostty is a modern, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator built for performance and low latency. It uses native rendering on each platform, supports true color, ligatures and is highly configurable via a plain text config file at ~/.config/ghostty/config.

  • GPU rendering: Hardware-accelerated text rendering with minimal CPU usage
  • True color: Full 24-bit color support for modern terminal applications
  • Fast startup: Opens instantly with no noticeable delay

zRAM

Active by Default: zRAM is enabled by default in Soplos Linux RC1 on all three distributions. No configuration is needed.

What is zRAM

zRAM creates a compressed block device in RAM that the kernel uses as swap space. When physical memory runs low, instead of writing data to a slow disk, the kernel compresses and stores it in a dedicated region of RAM. Decompression is much faster than a disk read, so the system remains responsive under memory pressure.

Performance Benefits

  • Faster swap: Compressed in-memory swap is orders of magnitude faster than swapping to an SSD or HDD
  • More effective RAM: Compression ratios of 2:1 to 3:1 are common, effectively increasing usable memory
  • Reduced disk wear: Swap activity goes to RAM instead of your SSD, extending its lifespan
  • Better responsiveness: Systems with 4 GB or 8 GB RAM benefit most — fewer application freezes under load

What's Next?

Explore Documentation

Browse our comprehensive wiki for detailed guides.

Browse Wiki

Join Community

Connect with other Soplos Linux users.

Visit Forums

Get Help

Find answers in our FAQ section.

View FAQ
Congratulations! You're now ready to enjoy your Soplos Linux experience. Welcome to the community!