JenerOS
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Download JenerOS

Everything you need to turn a spare PC into your own little cloud.

First preview release coming soon

There is no download yet. When the first preview is ready, it will appear on the GitHub releases page. Until then, you can follow along or build it yourself from the code.

Releases on GitHub See the code

What you need

PartWhat works
ComputerA 64-bit (x86-64) PC with UEFI. Most PCs from 2012 on have it. Old desktops, mini PCs and laptops all work.
Secure BootTurned off in the PC's firmware settings.
Memory4 GB or more.
DriveA spare drive of 32 GB or more. A USB SSD works too. Installing erases this drive.
NetworkA cable to your router is easiest for the first start.
Your phoneAny phone with a camera, on the same home network, to finish setup.

Install on a PC

The download is one file named like jeneros_<version>.img.xz. You don't need to unpack it.

  1. Download the .img.xz file from the releases page.
  2. Install balenaEtcher on your computer. It is free.
  3. Connect the drive that the old PC will boot from. You can put it in a USB case for this step.
  4. In balenaEtcher, choose Flash from file and pick the .img.xz. Then choose Select target and pick that drive. Check twice: everything on it will be erased.
  5. Press Flash and wait until it says it is done.
  6. Put the drive in the old PC. In its firmware settings, turn Secure Boot off and set it to boot from that drive.
  7. Switch the PC on. When JenerOS is ready, the screen shows a QR code. Scan it with your phone and follow the steps.

Prefer Rufus on Windows? It works too. Pick DD image mode when it asks.

Try it in a virtual machine

Want to look around before you use a real PC? JenerOS runs in VMware, Proxmox and VirtualBox. Unpack the image and convert it for your virtual machine app:

xz -d jeneros_<version>.img.xz
qemu-img convert -f raw -O vmdk jeneros_<version>.img jeneros.vmdk     # VMware
qemu-img convert -f raw -O qcow2 jeneros_<version>.img jeneros.qcow2   # Proxmox or QEMU
  • Use UEFI firmware with Secure Boot off.
  • Give it 2 CPUs and 4 GB of memory.
  • Grow the disk to 32 GB or more before the first start. JenerOS fills the extra space by itself.

Build it yourself

JenerOS is open source. The build steps are in the project README on GitHub.

Found a problem? Tell us on GitHub.