IncusOS
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 35 of 87 operating systems by recommenders
Immutable, read-only Linux host that runs Incus containers and VMs with A/B updates and no package manager, managed through the Incus API. Common caveat: no shell access.
Immutable, read-only Linux host that runs Incus containers and VMs with A/B updates and no package manager, managed through the Incus API. Common caveat: no shell access.
16 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 15
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 94%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 15 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 15 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Immutable read-only root, no package manager
“read-only root FS, interactions with the system exclusively through the Incus API, no package manager”
Comment from 25 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: I've built a nice home server OS” “it has some very nice properties like the OS being immutable, and having no shell”
Comment from 6 Aug 2026 in “Proxmox VE now available for ARM64” “Sounds pretty appealing though - immutable OS, A/B updates & very locked down.”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “Self-hosted infrastructure with Incus OS” - Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “SmartOS”
- Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Rebuilding My Homelab with Compose, Ruby, IPv6, and No Kubernetes”
A/B updates and safe auto-updates
“Having an OS that versions all my VMs and allows A/B running the actual OS, has a high quality CLI”
Comment from 25 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: I've built a nice home server OS” “Sounds pretty appealing though - immutable OS, A/B updates & very locked down.”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “Self-hosted infrastructure with Incus OS” “it does make sense on a paper: safe auto-updates, no manual key management”
Comment from 12 Jan 2026 in “I Cannot SSH into My Server Anymore (and That's Fine)” Runs containers and VMs on ZFS
“Running IncusOS on some local hardware with ZFS underneath is a phenomenally powerful sandbox.”
Comment from 11 Jan 2026 in “Code and Let Live” “which includes ZFS, immutability and manages both containers and VMs”
Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “SmartOS” Fast and easy to use
“it's so fast and easy it's not at all noticeable”
Comment from 23 Dec 2025 in “Lotusbail npm package found to be harvesting WhatsApp messages and contacts” “It's a joy to set up and use.”
Comment from 25 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: I've built a nice home server OS”
Other operating systems people recommend
The four most recommended other operating systems, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 87 operating systems, rankedWhat people said
29 of the 30 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“A complete rethink of immutable infrastructure with a decade of additional hindsight.”
“Sounds pretty appealing though - immutable OS, A/B updates & very locked down.”
“For running services, Incus, particularly IncusOS has been godsend.”
“it has some very nice properties like the OS being immutable, and having no shell”
“Completely agree. Immutable host. This is the way”
“I don't believe sacrificing immutability in the host is an improvement over k8s for stability and maintenance.”
“IncusOS is very rigid in it's configuration (in a good way!)”
“My IncusOS hosts excellent and I'm glad I can run Incus itself on most Linux distros”
“it still felt quite primitive compared to Proxmox”
“Incus has become indispensable in my homelab over the past few months.”
“Having an OS that versions all my VMs and allows A/B running the actual OS, has a high quality CLI”
“which focuses on Linux containers”
“It's a joy to set up and use.”
“read-only root FS, interactions with the system exclusively through the Incus API, no package manager”
“IncusOS seems like a strong contender.”
“Another interesting, though less radical take on an immutable container OS”
“which includes ZFS, immutability and manages both containers and VMs”
“Incus (and IncusOS) feel a bit more futuristic”
“it does make sense on a paper: safe auto-updates, no manual key management”
“Running IncusOS on some local hardware with ZFS underneath is a phenomenally powerful sandbox.”
“it's so fast and easy it's not at all noticeable”
“the vision looks beautiful”
“in future will be IncusOS but now just Ubuntu”
“something to keep an eye on”
“IMO the client certs are pretty elegant from a technical perspective.”
“It seems to suffer from a chicken and egg problem.”
“I have mixed feelings about their decision not to give you shell access”
“for homelab-like setup Incus OS seems more like a sweet spot”
“This is very exciting stuff, getting much closer to the Proxmox or VMware experience!”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.