# lxc/incus-os

Immutable Linux OS to run Incus

Repository: https://github.com/lxc/incus-os
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/incus-os
Homepage: https://linuxcontainers.org/incus-os/
Language: Go
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: hacktoberfest
Last push: 2026-09-03T00:54:08+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 68/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 100, release rhythm 35, longevity 52
- inputs: {"age_days": 741, "days_push": 0, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1090, forks 83 (observed 2026-09-03T02:15:14.591891+00:00)

## What it is
IncusOS is an immutable, Debian-based Linux operating system purpose-built for running Incus container and virtual machine servers. It leverages UEFI Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 for boot security and full disk encryption, applies atomic A/B updates, and is managed exclusively through an authenticated REST API with no shell access.

## Use cases
- run an incus container and VM server on bare metal
- deploy a secure immutable hypervisor host with full disk encryption
- set up a locked-down container host managed only via REST API
- build a reproducible fleet of identical incus servers
- install incus on Hetzner, OpenStack, Scaleway or VMware
- create a ceph-backed incus cluster
- run incus in a VM for testing

## When to choose
- you want a dedicated, minimal, secure OS purely for running Incus
- you need UEFI Secure Boot, TPM-backed encryption and atomic A/B updates out of the box
- you value identical, bit-for-bit consistent servers for easy scaling and redeployment
- you prefer API-only management with no shell attack surface

## When to avoid
- you need a general-purpose Linux OS with a shell and arbitrary packages
- you want to run workloads other than Incus on the host
- your hardware lacks UEFI Secure Boot or TPM 2.0 support
- you need fine-grained manual control over the host OS

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: container-runtime, security, self-hosted, deployment
- domain: self-hosted, operating-systems, cloud-computing
- platform: -
- tags: immutable-os, incus, lxc, secure-boot, tpm, full-disk-encryption, a-b-updates, zfs, mkosi, debian-based, rest-api-management, containers, devops, linux, amd64, arm64

## Member repositories
- lxc/incus-os (main) score 68

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-09-03T02:15:14.591891+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T06:51:16.494973+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/lxc/incus-os (fetched 2026-09-03T02:15:14.591891+00:00, sha 2f5e2efbdcdd)
  - homepage: https://linuxcontainers.org/incus-os/ (fetched 2026-08-29T12:53:40.625517+00:00, sha 7d5e71bf0a8b)
  - site_page: https://linuxcontainers.org/incus/docs/main (fetched 2026-08-29T12:53:40.634753+00:00, sha e7ded83d765b)
  - site_page: https://linuxcontainers.org/incus-os/docs/main (fetched 2026-08-29T12:53:40.636814+00:00, sha 03cf5084e71c)
  - site_page: https://linuxcontainers.org/lxc/getting-started (fetched 2026-08-29T12:53:40.638974+00:00, sha bc8a7ac428c9)
  - site_page: https://linuxcontainers.org/lxc/documentation (fetched 2026-08-29T12:53:40.641238+00:00, sha 12b232992f56)
  - site_page: https://linuxcontainers.org/lxcfs/getting-started (fetched 2026-08-29T12:53:40.642962+00:00, sha da97669c7916)
  - site_page: https://linuxcontainers.org/distrobuilder/docs/latest (fetched 2026-08-29T12:53:40.644527+00:00, sha b769c8605a16)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.