features

Everything Void gives you.
Plus the parts it was missing.

Odyssey Linux does not replace Void. It extends it with three tightly scoped additions — a tuned kernel, a graphical layer, and an advanced control centre — while keeping your system 100% upstream-compatible.

01 — foundation

Pure Void, underneath.

Every package you install comes directly from the Void Linux repositories. Odyssey maintains a single supplementary repo with exactly three packages. Your system is Void — verified, reproducible, honest.

01.1

xbps upstream

xbps pulls from official Void mirrors. No forks, no shadow repos. If a package is in Void, it is in Odyssey — at the exact same version, signed by the same keys.

01.2

Rolling release

Void is rolling. Odyssey is rolling. There is no release cycle to wait for, no end-of-life date to dread. Update when you want, at the granularity you want.

01.3

Kernel swap only

The only divergence from stock Void is the kernel. linux-odyssey registers as a virtual provider of linux, so xbps resolution remains intact and you can switch back at any time.

01.4

runit, always

No systemd. No compatibility shim. No hybrid. runit is the init, the service supervisor, and the process reaper — end to end. PID 1 stays lean.

02 — kernel

linux-odyssey.
Tuned where it matters.

linux-odyssey applies the CachyOS patchset on top of the Linux LTS tree and compiles exclusively for x86-64-v3. No bloat, no compatibility theatrics — just measurable gains on modern hardware.

BORE replaces CFS. Interactive workloads — terminals, browsers, audio — stop competing with background processes. Latency drops. The system feels faster because it is faster.

BORE scheduler (Burst-Oriented Response Enhancer)
BBR3 congestion control
zstd module compression
Transparent Huge Pages
zswap enabled by default
Kyber I/O scheduler
PREEMPT — 1000 Hz tick
x86-64-v3 compilation target

$ uname -r

6.12.9-odyssey

$ xbps-query linux-odyssey

pkgname: linux-odyssey

version: 6.12.9_1

provides: linux-6.12.9_1

repo: odyssey-repo

$ cat /sys/kernel/sched/bore

$ cat /proc/sys/net/ipv4/tcp_congestion_control

bbr

BORE BBR3 PREEMPT LTS base x86-64-v3 zstd runit compatible

03 — package management

xbps-gui.
The terminal, optional.

A native Python/Qt frontend for xbps. Search the repository, install, remove, and update packages without opening a terminal. No Electron. No web runtime. No 300 MB of JavaScript to manage a text index.

Privilege escalation is handled through pkexec — no sudo prompt, no tty dance, proper polkit integration.

Search across installed and remote packages
Install, remove, and hold packages
Full upgrade with live output stream
Dependency graph viewer
pkexec privilege escalation
Python + Qt6 — no Electron

# xbps-gui is a thin Qt6 wrapper

# around xbps-install / xbps-remove

$ xbps-gui

→ loading repo index...

→ 17,842 packages available

→ 1,204 installed

# privilege escalation chain:

# pkexec → doas → sudo (autodetect)

04 — control centre

Odyssey Control Centre.
Advanced tuning, no config files.

A unified graphical interface for the parts of your system that have always required editing files or remembering flags. Nine panels, each purpose-built for a specific subsystem.

04.1

Repository manager

Enable, disable, and prioritise xbps repositories. Add custom mirrors. Manage xbps.conf entries without touching /etc/xbps.d/ manually.

04.2

Boot manager

Edit GRUB entries, set the default boot target, configure timeouts, and manage kernel parameters — all without touching grub.cfg directly.

04.3

Privacy panel

Install and configure Tor and Nginx as a local proxy, control DNS-over-HTTPS, manage systemwide privacy toggles. One panel, no terminal required.

04.4

Kernel tuning

Load and save sysctl profiles graphically. Tweak scheduler behaviour, virtual memory ratios, and network stack parameters. Persistent via /etc/sysctl.d/99-odyssey.conf.

04.5

Memory & swap

Configure zswap compressor and pool limits, adjust swappiness and cache pressure, create or resize swap partitions — without rebooting.

04.6

runit service manager

Browse, enable, disable, start, and stop runit services from a graphical list. See live status and journal output. No ln -s required.

05 — installer

Calamares, built for runit.

Calamares has been patched to work without systemd. Full disk encryption, automatic and manual partitioning, UEFI and BIOS — and a desktop environment chooser at install time.

stable

KDE Plasma

Wayland · X11

stable

XFCE

X11

stable

Cinnamon

X11 · Wayland

stable

niri + Noctalia

Wayland

next release

MangoWC + Noctalia

Wayland

next release

labwc + Noctalia

Wayland

06 — roadmap

What is coming next.

Odyssey is maintained by one person. The roadmap is honest about what is built, what is in progress, and what is planned.

v1.0 — now

KDE Plasma, XFCE, Cinnamon, niri+Noctalia via Calamares desktop chooser. linux-odyssey with BORE, BBR3, zstd, x86-64-v3. xbps-gui and Odyssey Control Centre (kernel, memory, privacy, repos, boot, runit panels).

v1.1 — next

MangoWC + Noctalia and labwc + Noctalia added to installer. Wayland session for all compositors. WM configurator integrated in Control Centre — keybinds, gaps, borders, animations graphically editable.

v1.2 — planned

XLibre integration — simplified installation and configuration of the XLibre display server via Control Centre, with one-click switching between X and Wayland sessions. Expanded kernel profile library.

Everything Void gives you.Plus the parts it was missing.

Pure Void, underneath.

linux-odyssey.Tuned where it matters.

xbps-gui.The terminal, optional.

Odyssey Control Centre.Advanced tuning, no config files.

Calamares, built for runit.

What is coming next.

A distribution with an opinion.

Everything Void gives you.
Plus the parts it was missing.

linux-odyssey.
Tuned where it matters.

xbps-gui.
The terminal, optional.

Odyssey Control Centre.
Advanced tuning, no config files.