From download to desktop, one step at a time.

Prepare a USB drive, try the desktop, check your essential apps and hardware, and install when you're ready. The time needed depends on your computer and connection.

Downloads are currently paused. This guide is preparation for an available release or help for existing testers. Check release status first. Keep your working operating system while release testing continues.

What you need

Step by step

  1. Verify the download. Follow the signature and checksum instructions below before writing the image.
  2. Write the ISO to USB. Check the target drive's name and capacity: writing the image erases that USB drive. On Windows, use Rufus (pick the ISO, pick the stick, press Start) or Ventoy (install once, then just copy ISOs onto the stick). On macOS/Linux, balenaEtcher works the same way.
  3. Boot from the USB. Restart with the stick plugged in and tap the boot-menu key as the machine starts:
    MakerKey
    Dell, Lenovo, AcerF12
    HPF9 (or Esc)
    ASUS, MSI, GigabyteF8 / F11 / Del
    Most othersF12, F10 or Esc
    Choose the USB entry (the one that says UEFI if both appear).
  4. Try before installing. Pick Live system in the menu. You get the complete Dagric desktop running from the stick — browse, test Wi-Fi and sound, open apps. Starting the desktop does not install Dagric. Avoid opening internal drives for writing while testing, and run Check This PC first.
  5. Install. When you're ready, double-click Install Dagric OS on the desktop. The installer walks you through language, time zone, and disk choice. On a blank machine choose Erase disk only if everything on the selected disk may be removed. To keep Windows, use Install alongside if offered. Stop and ask for help if the expected option is missing. Read the final disk summary before confirming.
  6. Reboot and enjoy. Remove the stick when asked. First login, Dagric greets you, offers the NVIDIA driver if you have that hardware, and the Dagric Hub gathers every setup tool in one place.
Secure Boot? Leave it enabled for the initial test. The boot chain has been exercised in virtual firmware; physical-machine validation remains pending. If the USB does not boot, record the message and ask for help before changing firmware settings. If you later install the NVIDIA driver, Dagric includes guidance for the one-time key-enrollment screen at reboot (choose Enroll MOK → Continue, enter the password you set).

Verify your download

Use the checksum, signature, and signing key for the exact release you downloaded. Verify the key fingerprint against the security page. With GPG installed:

gpg --import dagric-signing-key.asc
gpg --verify SHA256SUMS.sig SHA256SUMS

Continue only after a valid signature from the expected key. On Linux, run sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS; on macOS, use shasum -a 256 -c SHA256SUMS. The entry for your downloaded image must match.

Files: SHA256SUMS · SHA256SUMS.sig · signing key. On Windows, compare Get-FileHash -Algorithm SHA256 .\dagric-os-1.0-amd64.iso in PowerShell against the verified list, adjusting the filename to your actual download. A checksum match alone does not verify the publisher; the signature check is a separate step.

After you're in

Check release status