Based on EndeavourOS (and Arch)
Always up-to-date
Tangential EOS is a customized installation of EndeavourOS, which provides an Arch Linux experience "without the hassle of installing it manually." It uses a rolling release model, so it is fast-moving and always has the most up-to-date software.
You can use Tangential if you want . . . but make sure you know what you're doing. It's a hobby project. There's no tech support and no warranty. If it breaks your computer or vandalizes your mailbox, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to buy you a new one.
Installation
Installation method for standard, modern x86-64 computers and virtual machines
- Preparation:
- Download EndeavourOS "Titan-Neo 2026.04.27" live ISO:
Magnet | Torrent | Direct (USA) | Release Notes - Create installation media (if installing on real hardware)
- Start the machine from the installer media (or ISO file)
On real hardware, you will likely need to disable Secure Boot in your BIOS
- Download EndeavourOS "Titan-Neo 2026.04.27" live ISO:
- Run Installer Script:
- Open a terminal window
- Download and execute the Tangential EOS installer script using this or a similar command:
curl -LO https://tangential.link/taneos; chmod +x ./taneos; ./taneos
- The installer will open; check for the Tangential EOS name and logo – If the installer doesn't have Tangential EOS branding, the customizations weren't applied!
- Proceed through the installation
- All done!
- You can now reboot into Tangential EOS
Installation method for ARM64 computers and virtual machines (Mac VMs, SBCs etc.)
ARM64 devices are not yet supported (stay tuned).
View or download the customizations:
installer script | pre-install script | post-install script
pre-install package | post-install package
Xfce4 Desktop
It's good
GUI Pkg. Mgmt.
It's easy
Sane Defaults
It's normal
Useful Software
It's ready
Default Settings
Scott has strong opinions about these things.
Mint Aqua Theme
From Linux Mint
Boot Splash
Plymouth enabled!
Better Defaults
Normal, modern taskbar
Light By Default
In most stubborn apps
Password Asterisks
Feedback in sudo!
Flatpak & AUR
Software options galore
Manage software with Shelly; native, AUR, and Flatpak packages supported.
Xfce4 with a normal, modern taskbar and the Mint-Y-Aqua theme from Linux Mint.
Modified default Xfce4 Terminal profile; 115x30 characters & always-visible tabs.
Use Xed text editor from Linux Mint instead of Mousepad from Xfce4.
Thunar (file manager) set to details mode; Git integration enabled.
Password feedback enabled in sudo. The aster****s are so beautiful. I love them.
Tangential branding for the boot splash, menu icon, and more.
Override most apps that default to dark modes, including GIMP, VSCode, and Shotcut.
Remove or hide some useless cruft apps included in the base distro.
Package Install Sets
Core Applications (required)
Shelly
Install and update software
Firefox
It's a good web browser
Parole
It's a good media player
SpeedCrunch
High-precision calculator
Betterbird
Email, calendar, etc.
Additional Font Packages (preselected)
Google Core
ChromeOS Core, Noto, etc.
Microsoft Core
Arial, Times New Roman, etc.
Everyday Applications (preselected)
Creative Applications (preselected)
Audacity
Audio editing tool
Blender
3D and animation
Darktable
Photo processing workflow
Scribus
Desktop publishing
Scientific Applications (preselected)
Google Earth Pro
Satellite imagery
Gramps
Genealogy software
Siril
Astro-photo processor
Stellarium
Astronomy software
Internet Applications (preselected)
Google Chrome
It’s still the standard
KDE Falkon
Fast, modern browser
Microsoft Edge
It’s a browser
TorBrowser
Super-private browser
Software Development (preselected)
Real Hardware Apps (not preselected)
Deskflow
Keyboard & mouse sharing
VirtualBox
System virtualization tool
Questions
I hope you read the warning! This is a hobby project that comes with no tech support and no warranty. I can't really help you. However, there are countless resources on the Internet to help you learn about GNU/Linux operating systems and troubleshoot problems.
Tangential EOS is a customized version of EndeavourOS, which is itself a customized version of Arch Linux. Resources and instructions for those systems should work with no significant changes. Here are some links:
There are many possible reasons why Tangential EOS could fail to install.
While you are booted into the live installation system, installer activity is logged to ~/endeavour-install.log. Reviewing the log may help you determine what happened. If the installer completed, the log is copied to ~/taneos-install.log. You can review it after booting into the new system and troubleshoot anything that didn't work correctly.
If you want to use Tangential EOS as a multi-boot system (for example, to run Windows and Linux on the same machine), you can . . . but it's not tested and that's not really what it's intended for. Scott is only using Tangential EOS in virtual machines or as a machine's sole operating system.
If you decide to do it anyway, refer to the base system's guidance. It should work . . . maybe . . . no promises.
Tangential EOS is based on EndeavourOS, which is itself based on Arch Linux. Its primary software management system is pacman, which has been preconfigured with the official EndeavourOS and Arch repositories. The system also includes the yay package manager for building and installing packages from the Arch User Repository (AUR), and the Flatpak package manager preconfigured with the Flathub repository.
From the command line, you can manage native packages with pacman or yay, AUR packages with yay, and Flatpak packages with flatpak. From the graphical interface, you can manage native, AUR, and Flatpak packages with Shelly.
Don't worry. Scott Bradford will never die. . . . Though I guess he could lose interest in the project.
Tangential EOS is just EndeavourOS with some tweaks, which is itself just Arch Linux with some tweaks. Don't think of it as a "true" distribution, but as a customized installation of the one it was built on. You'll keep getting updates as long as the base distribution makes them available. If you want to "revert" to the base system, you can:
- Set the Plymouth bootsplash theme to something other than Tangential.
- Uninstall the "taneos-custom" package.
- Remove any "unofficial" repositories and packages.
This should leave the system in a working state with nothing but residual settings from Tangential EOS, which can be deleted if you come across them or if they cause any issues.
Yes! Tangential EOS adds three executable command-line scripts in /usr/bin:
- jfu – EXPERIMENTAL, use with care! – Just f***ing update software from all supported package systems
- tangential-apply-branding – Sets the system name and icon to Tangential EOS (runs as an automated process on startup)
- tangential-reset-user-defaults – Re-applies the default user customizations apps (may overwrite some of your preferences!)
That's not a question. And what's wrong with you? Are you some kind of sociopath? I do not understand why people want to go back to the dark ages (heh) of computing. But go ahead, set things up however you want; all the theme settings are adjustable.
Tangential EOS will override some apps that stubbornly default to dark mode no matter how the system is set up. These include Blender, GIMP, Shotcut, Visual Studio Code, and others. When possible, I configured them to follow the user's preferences. When that option wasn't available, I set it to use light mode . . . but you can always change it in the app's settings.