CutefishOS returns as Cutefish with a rebuilt Wayland-based desktop environment, Debian 13 nightly images, and experimental macOS app compatibility powered by a custom C++ toolkit and proprietary Reef compatibility layer.
The new look and its own programs
The new version relies on its own window and graphics management system for visual effects and animations. It also has its own programs, such as a file manager, terminal, and video player.
Running Mac applications on Linux
The biggest change is the developers' effort to make applications built for Mac compatible to run on Cutefish. The team has reached a first major milestone, showing Mac applications running normally in the new environment.
The applications tested include the following:
- NetNewsWire
- Ghostty
- CotEditor
- cake
- Ookla Speedtest
The technology is called Reef, and it works by recreating the tools and commands that Mac applications require, without having to emulate the processor. Reef's code consists of about 460.000 lines and more than 80 different sections. For now, the technology remains experimental, it is not open source, and the creators have not announced when it will be officially released to the public.
Integrating artificial intelligence assistants
The new system offers support for artificial intelligence assistants through special tools. With the user's explicit permission, programs such as Claude Code and Codex can interact with the desktop.
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For safety reasons, Cutefish has a visible stop button and automatically stops the assistant's action as soon as the user picks up the mouse or starts typing.
Trial versions for users
The first test versions of Cutefish 1.0 are based on Debian 13 and are aimed at computers with standard and ARM processors, while a software repository is also available.
The creators remind that the project has not yet reached a stable release and the available versions are intended solely for testing.
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