What is Distrobox?

  • Distrobox is a utility that allows you to run multiple Linux distributions in your system without the need to dual boot or install them in a virtual machine. It enables backward and forward compatibility with software and provides freedom to use whatever distribution you need.

  • It uses Podman or Docker to create containers using the Linux distribution of your choice. The container created will be tightly integrated with the host, which allows sharing the /home directory of the user, hardware (like external storage, pen drives, speakers) and graphical apps (X11/Wayland).

Install Distrobox

The recommended way to install Distrobox is via the official script. To do so, open a terminal and run the following command:

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/89luca89/distrobox/main/install | sh -s -- --next --prefix ~/.local
  • In this way, Distrobox will be installed in the ~/.local directory, which is already in the PATH variable for Vanilla OS.

Note: We are going to install Distrobox in your home directory to avoid altering the root file system.

Uninstall Distrobox

To uninstall Distrobox, run the following command:

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/89luca89/distrobox/main/uninstall | sudo sh -s -- --prefix ~/.local