Curated rolling release Solus brings updates to its users by means of a curated rolling release model. It is a
rolling release in the sense that once installed, end-users were guaranteed to continuously receive security and software updates for their Solus installation without having to worry that their operating system will reach
end-of-life. The latter is typically the case with fixed point releases of operating systems such as
Fedora and
Ubuntu but also
Microsoft Windows. Marius Nestor at
Softpedia has argued that all operating systems should use the rolling release model in order to decrease development and maintenance workload for developers and to make the latest technologies available for end users as soon as these are ready for the market. Compared to other rolling release operating systems such as
Arch Linux - which provides
bleeding edge software, i.e. software so new that there is a relatively high risk that software breakages might occur and render the system partially or completely unusable, Solus took a slightly more conservative approach to software updates, hence the term
curated rolling release. In contrast to Arch, Software on Solus was commonly referred to as
cutting edge, typically excluding beta software, and was released after a short period of testing (in the unstable software repository) to end users in order to provide a safer, more stable and reliable update experience. By prioritizing usability (curated rolling release) over availability (pure rolling release), Solus intends to make the operating system accessible to a wider target market than Arch Linux, which is mainly aimed at more advanced users possessing in-depth technical knowledge about their system. Solus is also a
curated rolling release in allowing its users to participate in the actual curation process, broadly conceived as the process by which software is selected, maintained and updated (on the server side in the software repositories of the operating system as well as on the client side on the end users computer system). More specifically, and contrary to other operating systems with various 'enforced update mechanisms', a Solus user has the
freedom to choose what gets updated and when updates are applied (if at all), except for mandatory security updates.
Software availability Solus comes pre-installed with a wide range of software that includes the latest
Firefox,
Thunderbird,
LibreOffice,
Transmission and
Celluloid. Additional software that was not installed by default is able to be downloaded using the included Software Center. Wireless chips and modems were supported through optional non-free
firmware packages. Package management is done through eopkg. Michael Huff has quoted project founder and lead developer Ikey Doherty that Solus will not be defined by its package manager. • ypkg: a tool to convert the
build process into a packaging operation. • linux-steam-integration: Linux Steam Integration is a helper system to make the Steam Client and Steam games run better on Linux. In a nutshell, LSI automatically applies various workarounds to get games working, and fixes long standing bugs in both games and the client. • usysconf: usysconf is a stateless binary to provide a centralised configuration system to replace "package hooks" and post-installation triggers. • ferryd: the binary repository manager for Solus. • Software Center: a graphical frontend to install software in Solus. • Brisk Menu: a menu co-written with the
Ubuntu MATE development team.
Software previously developed by Solus •
Budgie desktop environment: a
GTK 3 desktop that tightly integrates with the
GNOME software stack, employing the underlying technology. Starting with version 11, it was announced that Budgie will no longer be written in GTK, and the GNOME software stack will be fully replaced, due to unsolvable disagreements with the GNOME team. In January 2022, the former Experience Lead of Solus, Joshua Strobl, announced that he would be resigning from Solus and forking Budgie Desktop into its own organization, separate from the Solus project. ==Security==