PromptOS: an AI-first Linux installer that never builds the same machine twice

Most installers ship a fixed menu of packages. PromptOS is different: a minimal live bootstrap that asks high-level questions, talks to your LLM provider, and generates a hardware-aware installation blueprint on the fly.

The problem with static install media

Traditional distro ISOs are frozen in time. Drivers lag, desktop profiles age, and “recommended packages” become a one-size-fits-none compromise. Maintaining a full custom distro is worse: you inherit package churn, security patches, and endless edge cases.

PromptOS keeps the maintenance burden where it belongs — upstream package managers and the models that already track modern stacks — while the installer itself stays small and focused.

What we built

• TUI wizard in Go + Bubble Tea for a static binary on a tiny live environment
• Pluggable LLM client for OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or local Ollama
• Structured JSON blueprints validated before execution
• Executor path for partitioning, chroot bootstrap (archinstall / debootstrap / pacstrap), and config drops
• Closed-action install triage, bounded auto-heal, boot-time rescue, and explicit disk-wipe confirmation
• CI that matters: GitHub Actions builds the real image and boots it in QEMU through GRUB into OpenRC

How the flow feels

1. Boot the minimal live image
2. Pick a provider and enter your key
3. Answer preference questions in a conversational wizard
4. The model scans hardware context and drafts a blueprint
5. The executor applies the plan; if boot fails, AI triage has a rescue path

What it is not

PromptOS is not a full distro, custom kernel, or package repository. It is an intelligent orchestrator. Optional “AI desktop profile” ideas stay later-phase design work; the present focus is a trustworthy installer spine and guest readiness verification.

Why it matters for builders

If you care about local-first AI desktops, self-healing recovery, and reproducible-but-personal machines, the interesting product is not another ISO flavour. It is a bootstrap that can reason about your hardware and intent without trapping you in forever-forked packages.

Repo: github.com/HappyMonkeyAI/prompt-os

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Originally published on HappyMonkey.ai.