Beta 1.0.1 Field Guide

Complete installation and setup documentation for SelahOS Beta 1.0.1.

SelahOS Documentation

SelahOS is a creator-first Arch Linux distribution built for musicians, producers, and digital artists who demand low-latency audio and a polished desktop without the complexity of a vanilla Arch install.

Component	Choice
Base	Arch Linux
Kernel	linux-zen (low-latency optimized)
Desktop	KDE Plasma 6
Audio	PipeWire + WirePlumber (JACK-compatible)
Windows compatibility	SelahBridge (proprietary)
Theme	Selah (dark gold — Kvantum + Plasma)

System Requirements

Minimum

Component	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	x86_64, 2 cores	4+ cores, Intel/AMD 2018+
RAM	4 GB	16 GB
Storage	20 GB	60 GB SSD
GPU	Any with KMS	Vulkan-capable (recommended)
Audio	Any ALSA device	USB/PCIe audio interface
Boot	UEFI or BIOS	UEFI

Note: SelahBridge requires a Vulkan-capable GPU for full compatibility. Intel HD 4000+, AMD GCN 1.0+, and NVIDIA Kepler+ are supported.

Live Boot

Writing the ISO

Always use dd to write the ISO. Do not use Ventoy.

sudo dd if=selahos-v1.0-beta-x86_64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync

Replace /dev/sdX with your USB drive (check with lsblk).

Boot Menu

At the GRUB boot menu, select SelahOS Live. The system will boot directly to the KDE desktop as liveuser with no password required.

MacBook users: Hold Option at startup to select the USB drive. GRUB is installed with --removable support for MacBook NVRAM compatibility.

Trying Before Installing

The live environment is fully functional — you can browse the internet, test audio, and explore SelahBridge before committing to an install. All changes are lost on reboot unless you run the installer.

Installation

Launch the installer from the desktop shortcut or application menu: System → Install SelahOS.

Steps

Select your target drive from the dropdown.
Choose your timezone and locale.
Set your username and password.
Review the partition layout (auto-partitioned by default).
Click Install.

Warning: Installation will erase the selected drive. Back up your data first.

Post-Install First Boot

After installation completes and you reboot, SelahOS will apply your theme, configure PipeWire, and run first-boot detection. This takes about 30 seconds and happens automatically.

What Is SelahBridge?

SelahBridge is SelahOS's proprietary Windows application compatibility layer. It enables professional Windows creative software — including DAWs and music production tools — to run natively on SelahOS with full audio support.

SelahBridge is exclusively available on SelahOS and is not available as a standalone product.

Installing SelahBridge

Via the GUI

Open SelahBridge Setup from the application launcher.
The setup wizard will guide you through installation.
Log out and back in when prompted.

Via the Console

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/SelahOS/selahos/main/selahbridge-install.sh | sudo bash

Confirmed Working Applications

InMusic Software Center ✓
Additional creative applications in testing

Audio Support

SelahBridge includes full professional audio routing support. ASIO-compatible applications are supported through SelahBridge's integrated audio bridge.

Hardware Compatibility

Tested on MacBookPro9,2 · MacBookPro14,1 · iMac16,2

All Apple Intel Macs from 2009–2020 supported.

Support

For SelahBridge support visit selahos.io or email support@selahos.io

Recovery Tools

SelahOS includes several recovery tools accessible from the live environment and from the installed system.

selah-rescue

Mounts the installed system and drops into a chroot for manual repair:

sudo selah-rescue

selah-recover

GUI recovery center — available in the Application Menu under System. Offers options to reinstall the bootloader, reset the pacman keyring, and repair broken packages.

selah-update

Safe system updater that handles keyring refresh, mirror ranking, and pacman hooks in the correct order:

selah-update

Bootloader Recovery (MacBook)

If the system fails to boot on a MacBook after an NVRAM reset, boot from the SelahOS USB, run selah-rescue, then:

grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi --removable

Updating SelahOS

SelahOS is a rolling release based on Arch Linux. To update:

selah-update

This runs a full system update with pre-flight keyring and mirror checks. Run it periodically — at least once a month — to keep packages current.

Before major updates: Create a SelahBridge snapshot in the SelahBridge Manager so you can roll back if something breaks.

FAQ

No audio in my DAW after reboot

Open SelahBridge Manager → Audio → Restart Audio Engine. If the problem persists, use the audio registration option from the same tab.

A Windows app won't launch

Restore a snapshot from SelahBridge Manager → Snapshots, or contact support@selahos.io for assistance.

SelahBridge Setup fails or stalls

This usually means a network resource is temporarily unavailable. Wait a few minutes and retry. If the issue persists, contact support@selahos.io.

DAW reports no audio device found

Open SelahBridge Manager → Audio and use the audio registration option, then restart the DAW.

System is slow / high CPU after install

Check that the linux-zen kernel is running:

uname -r   # should contain "zen"

If not, run selah-update and reboot.

SDDM login screen doesn't appear

Boot to TTY (Ctrl+Alt+F2), log in, and run:

sudo systemctl enable --now sddm

Black screen after GRUB on MacBook

Add nomodeset temporarily at the GRUB prompt. Then boot, install the correct GPU driver, and remove it.