ZimaOS Public Evaluation Program

Welcome to join the public evaluation program of ZimaOS. ZimaOS is evolved from CasaOS, and we have built a release version of ZimaOS for better hardware compatibility and update experience. It will perfectly adapt to the Zima series hardware and also be compatible with x86-64 systems with UEFI.

It is built using Buildroot and has stable OTA update functionality. Based on CasaOS, we have built a series of new applications. You can find the specific differences between it and CasaOS from the table below:

Discussion

This project is just for releasing test images, if you want to discuss related issues, feel free to go to our forum. Icewhale Community

Distribution Features

Lightweight and memory-efficient
Minimized I/O
Over The Air (OTA) updates
Offline updates
Better disk management capabilities

Supported hardware

ZimaBoard
ZimaBoard2
ZimaBlade
ZimaCube
Generic x86-64 (e.g. Intel NUC)

Getting Started

Installation

Preparation
- Enable UEFI boot in BIOS/UEFI and disable Secure Boot.
- Back up any important data on the target drive. The selected disk will be erased.
Download the image
- Open Releases and download the installer image.
- Pick the file named zimaos_XXXXX_installer.img (XXXXX varies by version).
Create the USB installer
- Use Balena Etcher (Windows/macOS/Linux): https://etcher.balena.io/
- Steps:
  1. Launch Etcher.
  2. Select the downloaded *.img file.
  3. Choose the target USB drive (verify the correct device).
  4. Click Flash, wait for completion, then safely eject the USB drive.
Install ZimaOS
- Insert the USB installer into the target device (Zima hardware or generic x86‑64 PC).
- Open the BIOS/Boot Menu and boot from the USB device in UEFI mode.
- Follow the on‑screen installer to select the target disk and confirm installation (this erases the disk).
- When installation completes, reboot as prompted and remove the USB installer.
- Boot from the installed disk (UEFI) to start ZimaOS and finish the initial setup.