OPEN-SOURCE MISSION
Shadowfetch exists so the people who run AI agents own the ground those agents run on. We build in the open — a signed, Debian-derived desktop released under the GPL — because software you cannot read is software you cannot trust, and no one should have to take a black box’s word for what it does with their machine, their files, or their work. Your agents run on your own hardware, in sandboxes you can inspect, with no account to create and no telemetry to phone home, and a snapshot to fall back on when something breaks; what you do stays private to you, while the source, the build, and every release stay open for anyone to audit, fork, and improve. We stand on Debian’s shoulders and state plainly what we add — and we give it all away, because a future where computing remains private, inspectable, and in the hands of the people who use it is one worth building in the open, together.
SHADOWFETCH LINUX 5.0 / SHADOWCODE
Shadowfetch Linux 5.0 is rebuilt around ShadowCode, the desktop's coding agent. Bring the subscriptions, API keys and local models you already have, approve what it does, and review the diff.
shadowfetch-5.0.0-amd64.iso · 4.09 GB (3.81 GiB) · amd64 · 2026-09-30
Then update to 5.0.1 through APT: sudo apt update, then sudo apt full-upgrade. 5.0.1 release notes.
Debian + KDE Plasma 6 · No Shadowfetch account · Signed downloads
One picker for every model you can already use.
How ShadowCode connects them ↗THREE OPTIONAL AGENTS / CHOSEN IN WELCOME
First-boot Welcome offers exactly three. None is preinstalled: each downloads only if you pick it, from a pinned release that is checked before anything runs. Then Welcome opens ShadowCode so you can connect your own services.
The official native desktop, pinned at 0.61.0. Verified package, administrator approval, vendor update source; an eligible vendor account and plan.
shadowfetch-grok-botInstalled in your home as your user from the release's own installer, pinned to commit f97608f and checked by SHA-256. Not sandboxed: it runs commands and edits files as you. MIT. Your own provider key.
shadowfetch-hermesLong security-advisory record, disclosed at the choice. Installed in your home with npm ci from a lockfile Shadowfetch ships; runs inside Firebreak; its Gateway is off by default and pinned to 127.0.0.1 when enabled. MIT. Your own provider key.
shadowfetch-openclawWHAT 5.0 CHANGES
The desktop's coding agent. Open a project, pick a model, describe the change, approve its actions and review the diff. Version 1.0 lists free local models first, explains failures in plain words, and checks commits for secrets before they leave. ShadowCode 1.0.0 ships as upstream's signed .deb, republished byte for byte and checked against its Ed25519-signed release metadata before it enters the image.
Subscriptions (Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, Antigravity, Grok) run through each vendor's own command-line tool. No subscription? An OpenRouter API key, billed per token. No account at all? A free local model, run by the llama.cpp runtime bundled with ShadowCode.
Welcome offers exactly three: Grok Bot, Hermes Agent from Nous Research, and OpenClaw, whose security-advisory record is shown at the choice. Each installs only if you pick it, from a pinned, verified release. Then Welcome hands you to ShadowCode to connect your services.
shadowfetch-agent-network online|offline decides whether agent sandboxes start with network. Firebreak, Grok Bot, Hermes, OpenClaw, Workbench, Mission Control and Welcome all read it; the boot menu offers the offline choice and the installer carries it to disk. ShadowCode keeps its own network setting.
Agent processes see an approved project and required system files. Every sandbox gets its own network namespace, a declared egress allowlist is enforced with nftables, and a syscall filter applies in every sandbox. Mission Control queues scoped code, report and media work you review before accepting.
A new emblem and wallpaper carry one identity from GRUB and Plymouth to SDDM, Plasma and the installer. Fire and Ice are retired; a one-time migration at login repoints only settings that named a removed asset.
MISSION CONTROL / THREE STARTING POINTS
9 images · virtual-machine captures of 5.0.0; each caption names the image it was taken from
A RELEASE YOU CAN CHECK
Download facts come from the published release manifest. Verify the checksum and signature, inspect the source, and read the release's own test evidence and limits. ShadowCode 1.0.0 enters the image only as upstream's signed ShadowCode_1.0.0_amd64.deb, SHA-256 6439c6307478…, re-verified at every gate.
SHA-256 (shadowfetch-5.0.0-amd64.iso) 2d8a72e044e8061bd616b2b4668425cc4d4ec0480a98975f961c0e58cba95e21
Open source lab
Free and open-source projects that do not ship in the distribution. Source, license and install steps live on each project page. The complete public GitHub catalog is on Projects.
A Linux desktop coding agent with one model picker for your Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, Antigravity and Grok subscriptions, OpenRouter models on your own API key, or local GGUF models.
An offline, bring-your-own-DNA genomics workbench for macOS with conservative ancestry, pharmacogenomics, and research exports that never upload a genome.
A private news desk on loopback: RSS, AI, HN, markets, and weather, with a freshness ledger so stories are not repeated.
Shadowfetch Linux is free and open-source software. Optional vendor applications have their own licenses and accounts. Commercial product apps are separate at shadowfetch.com.
Earlier Shadowfetch releases have been covered by Linuxiac, LinuxLinks and DistroWatch. Their earlier reviews are not claims about this release.