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NixOS screenshot

NixOS

NixOS is an independently developed GNU/Linux distribution that aims to improve the state of the art in system configuration management. In NixOS, the entire operating system, including the kernel, applications, system packages and configuration files, are built by the Nix package manager.

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SmartOS screenshot

SmartOS

SmartOS is an open-source UNIX-like operating system based on illumos, a community fork of OpenSolaris. It features four technologies - ZFS (a combined file system and logical volume manager), DTrace (a dynamic tracing framework for troubleshooting kernel and application problems), Zones (a lightweight virtualisation solution), KVM and bhyve (two full virtualisation solutions for running a variety of guest operating systems, including Linux, Windows, BSD and Plan9).

Technical Specs Comparison
NixOSSmartOS
IndependentBaseSolaris
nix / nixpkgPackage Managerpkgsrc
systemdInit Systemother
Fixed ReleaseRelease ModelFixed Release
26.05Latest Version
AdvancedDifficultyIntermediate
May 30, 2026Release DateJune 11, 2026
ARM64x86_64
Architecture
ARM64x86_64
AwesomeCOSMICEnlightenmentFluxboxGNOMEi3IceWMKDE PlasmalabwcLXQtmangowmRatpoisonWayfireXfceNo Desktop
Desktops
AwesomeCOSMICEnlightenmentFluxboxGNOMEi3IceWMKDE PlasmalabwcLXQtmangowmRatpoisonWayfireXfceNo Desktop