The thoughtful, capable, and ethical replacement for Windows and macOS

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elementary OS 8 Circe (3.2 GB)
Recommended System Specs | FAQ

What’s New in elementary OS 8

Carefree because you're cared for. OS 8 brings a Secure Session that ensures apps respect your privacy and require your consent, a brand new Dock with productive multitasking and window management features, and empowers our diverse community through Inclusive Design.

Read the Announcement
elementary OS AppCenter home page
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Get it on AppCenter

Get free and paid apps on AppCenter, the open, pay-what-you-can app store for indie developers. Each app has been reviewed and curated by elementary to ensure a native, privacy-respecting, and secure experience.

Get Work Done. Or Play.

Stay productive and focused with Multitasking View, Picture-in-Picture, Do Not Disturb, and more. Or keep work out of sight when watching videos or playing games.

Multitasking View

Workspaces help organize your work by task. Keep work and play separate, but just one swipe or tap away.

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Picture-in-Picture

Whether you’re watching a movie, game, or terminal process, Picture-in-Picture helps keep tabs on one thing while working on another.

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Do Not Disturb

Tune everything else out to stay focused on your work, or keep notifications at bay while watching a movie. Do Not Disturb stops notifications in their tracks.

Apps You Need, Without Ones You Don’t.

elementary OS comes with a carefully considered set of apps that cater to everyday needs so you can spend more time using your computer and less time cleaning up bloatware.

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Music

Organize and listen to your music. Browse by album, use lightning-fast search, and build playlists of your favorites.

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Web

Surf the web with a fast & lightweight web browser. Web lets you use modern sites and web apps while protecting your privacy and being lighter on battery life.

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Mail

Manage multiple accounts quickly and effortlessly with conversation-based email, fast-as-you-type search, new email notifications, and more.

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Photos

Import, organize, and edit photos. Make a slideshow. Share with online services.

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Videos

Smart and simple video viewing with a library, thumbnail previews on the seekbar, playlists, subtitle support, smart fullscreen, and the ability to resume what was last playing.

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Calendar

Easily view and create events. Sync with online accounts.

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Files

The smart pathbar makes it easy to browse with breadcrumbs, search, or path completion. Quickly navigate with the column view and enjoy browser-class tabs with smart features like tab history.

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Terminal

Switchable color schemes designed to prevent eye strain, browser-class tabs with history and smart naming, task-completion notifications, natural copy & paste, backlog search, paste protection, and more. Who says you can’t teach an old app new tricks?

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Code

Tailor-made with autosaving, project folders, Git integration, smart whitespace, EditorConfig support, Mini Map, Vala symbols, and extensions like Markdown shortcuts and Vim Emulation. Code will be the last editor you’ll ever need.

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Camera

Easily snap pictures or video from your built-in or USB webcam.

elementary OS Screen Time & Limits

Icon of an adult holding the hand of a child Screen Time & Limits

Screen Time

Set per-user time limits for weekdays, weekends, or both.

Internet Use

Manage allowed websites. Rules affect all apps for the chosen user, even if they use a different web browser.

Manage Apps

Choose just which apps are safe for you or your child to access. Plus, optionally allow access with your password.

Everything We Do is Open Source

Our platform itself is entirely open source, and it’s built upon a strong foundation of Free & Open Source software (like GNU/Linux). Plus, we actively collaborate within the ecosystem to improve it for everyone.

Explore Our Stack

Secure & Privacy-respecting

When source code is available to audit, anyone—a security researcher, a concerned user, or an OEM shipping the OS on their hardware—can verify that the software is secure and not collecting or leaking personal information.

Security Notices

Built for Developers

Whether your app could benefit from a new system feature or API or you’re curious as to how an existing feature or design pattern was built, you have complete access to our source code. Copy it, learn from it, remix it, modify it, and redistribute it.

Get Involved
elementary OS Keyboard Shortcuts

User Friendly. And Keyboard Friendly.

elementary OS is designed to be easy to understand and pick up as a new user. But that doesn’t mean it’s dumbed down; powerful, customizable keyboard shortcuts ensure you’ll stay productive whether it’s your first day or your thousandth.

Privacy-respecting. Through and through.

Your data always belongs to you, and only you. We don’t make advertising deals or collect sensitive personal data. We’re funded directly by our users paying what they want for elementary OS and apps on AppCenter. And that’s how it should be.

Our Privacy Policy

Tattle-Tale

elementary OS helps you keep tabs on what apps are up to. When an app is using your microphone, we display an indicator to let you know. When an app is using a lot of energy, we tell you in your power indicator.

Permissions

When an app wants access to your data or devices, it has to ask up front. We review all AppCenter apps to ensure they’re properly using permissions—and you can always revoke them yourself in System Settings.

Housekeeping

elementary OS automatically keeps your temporary and trashed files tidied up. Not only does this keep your device’s storage free, it can help ensure your private data doesn’t come back to haunt you.

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The thoughtful, capable, and ethical replacement for Windows and macOS

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“elementary OS is different… a beautiful and powerful operating system.”
“Gets out of the way and lets you focus on what you need to get done.”
“I've found myself more productive these past two weeks [using elementary OS] than in the last two months combined.”
“A fast, low-maintenance platform that can be installed virtually anywhere.”
“Lightweight and fast… and has a real flair for design and appearances.”