Arch-based XFCE desktop Offline installer MIT licensed

The RAM-sipping Linux desktop
for the DRAM-shortage era.

DRAM prices roughly quintupled between 2025 and 2026, and analysts expect no relief before 2028. kutu OS applies the memory stack Google and Meta proved at fleet scale — zswap, MGLRU, DAMON, PSI-driven oomd — to an ordinary desktop, with safe defaults and nothing to configure. Every gigabyte your software doesn't waste is an upgrade you don't have to buy.

⬇️ Download ISO Read the docs

x86_64 · 2GB+ RAM · boots to a live session · installs itself in a few clicks

What you get

A complete desktop that treats memory as the scarce resource it now is.

💾

Memory that goes further

zstd-compressed zswap, MGLRU page aging and DAMON proactive reclaim typically reclaim 20–40% of your effective working set.

🎯

Tunes itself on first boot

RAM-size calibration picks saver, balanced or performance mode — user and per-app memory ceilings included.

🖱️

Click-to-install

Boot the live USB, poke around, then let the offline Calamares installer put it on disk. No accounts, no network needed.

🔄

Updates forever

Plain pacman -Syu against the kutu repository. It's still Arch underneath: the wiki, AUR and everything else work.

🚫

Nothing to regret

sudo kutu-reset returns the whole stack to stock behavior. Every tweak is a package, every package is removable.

🌅

Light but complete

Curated XFCE with dark theming, Firefox wrapped in per-app memory ceilings, and wallpapers that won't eat your battery.

The memory stack

Fleet-proven kernel machinery, tuned for a desktop and locked by a tested spec.

zswap (zstd)Compressed swap in RAM — your swap device without the disk tax.
MGLRUMulti-generational LRU ages pages the way modern workloads actually behave.
DAMONFinds cold memory and reclaims it before pressure becomes stutter.
systemd-oomdPSI-driven kills target the actual hog instead of freezing the screen.
kutu-runPer-app MemoryHigh ceilings for Firefox & friends, enforced by systemd.

Screens

Real screenshots — the live session and installer, captured from a QEMU boot of the ISO.

The kutu OS Calamares installer
The offline Calamares installer running in the live session.
kutu OS live XFCE desktop
The live XFCE desktop with the kutu dark theme.
kutu OS memory tools in a terminal
Memory reporting and the kutu-run launcher in action.

Try the packages on Arch

The whole memory stack ships as ordinary pacman packages from the kutu repo.

Add to /etc/pacman.conf:

[kutu]
Server = https://kutuso.github.io/os/repo/$arch/

Then pacman -Sy kutu-memory — or grab the ISO for the full desktop.