Slax 2026.11 updates its desktop with taskbar previews, virtual workspaces, and desktop icons, alongside Debian 13 and an AI assistant.

Slax developer Tomas Matejicek has announced Slax 2026.11, a new version of the lightweight, portable Linux distribution designed to run from a USB drive. Based on Debian 13 and powered by the Linux kernel 6.12, the release features a redesigned desktop, a built-in AI assistant, Secure Boot support, and a graphical installer, all packed into a 512 MiB ISO image.

The desktop has been overhauled with Alt+Tab window previews, live taskbar thumbnails, and four virtual workspaces. Users can view all workspaces simultaneously with Alt+F3 or switch between them using Ctrl+F1 through F4.

The desktop also supports files and folders, and the taskbar includes keyboard layout switching and volume controls. Application interfaces have been adjusted for a more consistent appearance across older and newer programs.

The application launcher has been improved as well. Optional applications are marked with a download icon, letting users install and launch them from the menu. Traditional package management through APT remains available.

One of the most notable additions is the Slax AI Assistant, which allows users to troubleshoot problems, inspect their systems, and execute commands using natural-language instructions. It helps identify disk space usage, investigate system issues, and perform administrative tasks. The assistant requires an internet connection and user sign-in.

Slax 2026.11 also includes a graphical installer for Windows and Linux. Users can create bootable USB drives or install Slax alongside an existing operating system on supported configurations. Additionally, UEFI Secure Boot is now supported through a signed bootloader and kernel, eliminating the need to disable Secure Boot on compatible machines.

Another improvement concerns persistent sessions. A single USB drive can store multiple named sessions, each retaining its own applications, files, and settings. Users can select a session at startup, duplicate it using F4, or rename it with F6, as these sessions can be carried between computers.

For disk maintenance and recovery, Slax includes a graphical partition manager that supports creating, resizing, and formatting partitions. Additional utilities support LVM, LUKS encryption, and filesystems such as XFS. VirtualBox, VMware, and SPICE integration is also included for virtual machine environments.

However, users depending on Slax’s modular system should note an important change. The distribution now uses OverlayFS instead of AUFS, so the slax activate and slax deactivate commands can no longer dynamically load or unload .sb modules during a running session.

Modules can still be included before boot, while installing software through APT and preserving changes in persistent sessions remain supported.

For more information, see the announcement.

  • sbird@retrofed.comEnglish
    1·
    3 days ago

    Also, why are you (cm0002) cross-posting so much of the content of .ml constantly, good or bad? It’s nice to see more activity on the Fediverse, but mate not all the stuff from .ml should be reshared (one of the reasons why it was defederated was poor moderation!)

    Nothing against you in particular, and giving more activity to other communities is important, but maybe don’t reshare what are basically advertisements? It doesn’t help that you aren’t citing where you got the specific post from.

    I think your intention is good, and keep doing what you’re doing, but check the quality of the stuff you share maybe?

    • cm0002@suppo.fiOP
      3·
      3 days ago

      See below, oh believe me I filter a ton of crap out, but linuxiac is generally trusted so I don’t think them too much when it comes across

      Why am I cross-posting .ml content?

      I cross-post from .ml to the nearest relevant non-.ml comm to reduce the influence of .ml comms and indirectly, the instance as a whole, to help vitalize non-.ml comms and make it an easier decision for other instance admins to defederate because one key reason I identified that admins don’t want to defederate is because .ml still has some very large comms and some active niche comms.

      Megathread on the issue

      Some highlights from the link:

      Dessalines, head .ml admin, lead Lemmy dev actively spreading genocide denialism https://sh.itjust.works/post/61371958

      .ml admin, Nutomics continued transphobia https://lemmy.world/post/29222558 The original transphobic Comment from Nutomic: https://lemmy.world/post/18236068

      “If you don’t support Russia then you just don’t understand geopolitics” ~dessalines, .ml admin, dev https://lemmy.world/post/27352415

      "Don’t worry guys, the Uyghur Genocide was REALLY just birth control! ~dessalines, .ml admin, dev https://lemmy.world/post/30580167

      “See! nobody died IN Tiananmen Square, just AROUND it, so it doesn’t count!!” ~ Davel, .ml admin https://lemmy.world/post/30673342

      “NK is actually good and anything counter to that is Western propaganda!” ~dessalines, .ml admin, dev https://lemmy.world/post/31595035

      General negative sentiment to other instances who haven’t “seen the way” yet ~davel, .ml admin https://lemmy.world/post/27426510

      And so so much documentation on clear heavy handed censorship and bias also on the link. So much I can’t even put them all here because this comment would be really long.

      I believe the behavior of its admins (the main admins are Lemmy devs) does harm to the overall growth of the Lemmy-verse and maybe even the Thrediverse (since Lemmy kinda kicked off the Thrediverse) because of its association with the devs of Lemmy and their insistence to use .ml as their personal political platform to spread harmful propaganda

      On the outside, bringing up Lemmy frequently leads to comments like “Lemmy? Isn’t that the place with a bunch of tankies?” Or “Tried Lemmy, but found it full of pro Russia crap so I left”. The best way forward from that I see is to either widely defederate from .ml like the rest of the Triad, or pressure them to put a fair and unbiased as possible admin team.