¶ What makes PikaOS different?
PikaOS isn’t just another Linux distro — it’s built for speed, simplicity, and flexibility, with a growing set of custom tools that make system management easier for everyone — especially gamers and content creators. Critically, there is also a cute bird mascot 🐤.
¶ 👾 Gaming-Ready and Performance-Tuned
PikaOS comes preconfigured for gaming on Linux, with all of the necessary tools — yes, even the most obscure controller drivers — right out of the box.
Under the hood, everything is tuned for speed:
- Custom performance kernel
- Compiler optimizations (O3, LTO, AVX2)
- Up-to-date Mesa and Nvidia drivers that stay updated
- Fully automated setup gets your system running in minutes
- Podman (an excellent Docker alternative) available out of the box
¶ 🛠️ Homegrown System Tools
PikaOS ships with a suite of custom-built GUI + CLI apps to make daily life easier:
- Pika Welcome – Configure your desktop environment quickly and painlessly—no terminal needed (unless you want to).
- Pikman Update Manager – A dual-mode (GUI + CLI) update manager for both APT and Flatpak.
- Pika Kernel Manager – Easily view, install, or switch kernels.
- Pika Device Manager – View hardware info and manage drivers (Mesa/Nvidia) with ease.
¶ 🧪 Desktop/WM Flexibility Built In
Want to try a new desktop or window manager? You can — no reinstalling required. Pika offers custom ISOs for:
- GNOME
- KDE
- Hyprland
- Niri
¶ 
Debian BTW
Built on Debian Sid with custom patches, PikaOS ensures:
- Broad software and hardware compatibility
- Btrfs subvolume support
- Automated partitioning options
- Flexible setup for both new and advanced users
¶ 🌐 Open Source, Open Community
- All code is available on our Gitea
- Actively developed with community input
- Super friendly, actually responsive PikaOS Community Discord
¶ 🐤 Bonus
- Cute bird mascot
- Gamer-focused, dev-friendly
- Fast-growing user base that's always happy to help
- Debian, BTW