Install

Run on a fresh or existing Ubuntu desktop. Sudo is required for apt packages and hardening restore. The project is free — you only need Git and a network connection.

Quick start

git clone https://github.com/sk1tzwzd/ubuntu-x47-build.git
cd ubuntu-x47-build
chmod +x install.sh snapshot.sh modules/*.sh
./install.sh

Optional amnesia user (Tor-forced anon):

./install.sh --with-amnesia

Finished X47 desktop after install — What you get after install — dock, wallpaper, Linux CMD Helper.

Install from ISO

Prefer a fresh machine? Grab the ISO from the latest release — official Ubuntu 26.04 desktop remastered with the X47 scripts. Choose Install X47 Ubuntu 26.04 in the boot menu. Language, disk, username, and password stay interactive (you create your own account). Nothing from the maintainer’s home directory is on the image — only a git archive of this repo under /opt/ubuntu-x47-build. First login opens the setup terminal.

GitHub limits release files to 2 GB, so the ISO comes in parts. Download every .part file plus SHA256SUMS from the release, then:

cat x47-ubuntu-26.04-desktop-amd64.iso.*.part > x47-ubuntu-26.04-desktop-amd64.iso
sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missing

Flash it to a USB stick (GNOME Disks, balenaEtcher, or dd) and boot. You can also build the ISO yourself with scripts/build-iso.sh (needs xorriso, no root).

Flags

Flag	Effect
`--user-only`	Skip apt + hardening; terminal, tools, icons, launchers only
`--skip-apt`	Skip third-party repos and apt packages
`--skip-hardening`	Skip UFW / fail2ban / sysctl / auditd restore
`--skip-debloat`	Keep language packs and default desktop apps (no trimming)
`--skip-perf`	Skip boot/service perf tweaks and the Firefox snap→deb swap
`--skip-desktop-fx`	Skip bottom dock + 3D window/desktop effects
`--skip-putty-clipboard`	Disable PuTTY-style WezTerm clipboard (select copy / right-click paste / Ctrl+C·V)
`--skip-win-screenshot`	Do not bind Super+Shift+S (Print still works)
`--with-amnesia`	Create the amnesiac Tor-forced `anon` user
`--only 10-terminal,30-icons`	Run a subset of modules

PuTTY clipboard and Super+Shift+S default on. Change them anytime from the X47 Settings app, or run x47-settings / x47-settings set putty_clipboard off.

What gets installed

Terminal — WezTerm AppImage (wide window + watermark); GNOME Terminal removed
Privacy — Mullvad VPN (apt), Tor Browser (latest from Tor Project)
Tools — nmap, Metasploit, wireshark, hashcat, Go recon suite, pipx AD tools, cargo utilities, release binaries
Icons & launchers — kali-* pack, custom cool icons, x47duster fallback (no Kali dragon)
Hardening — files under config/ restored to /etc

Performance / debloat

Runs by default (opt out with --skip-debloat). Core desktop and session packages and the pentest/dev toolchain are never touched, and every removal is reversible with sudo apt-get install <pkg>.

Language packs — removes non-English language-pack-*, LibreOffice l10n, and non-en spell dictionaries
Default apps — GNOME Terminal, GNOME games, Rhythmbox, Cheese, Thunderbird, LibreOffice, Transmission, Remmina, Shotwell, Maps/Weather/Contacts/Todo, Simple Scan, Totem, GNOME Music/Photos, Ubuntu Help
Snap bloat — App Centre (snap-store) and Desktop Security Centre (keeps firmware-updater)
Cleanup — apt autoremove --purge, cache clean, journal vacuum to 200M, thumbnail cache
Tweaks — fstrim.timer, zram-config compressed swap, vm.swappiness=10, file indexer (tracker/localsearch) masked

Boot / runtime performance

Runs by default (opt out with --skip-perf). Trims boot time and idle resource use; every step is reversible and prints how to undo it.

Pentest tools off the boot path — chkrootkit and bettercap are kept but no longer run as boot services (they were adding ~60s of boot I/O)
Faster GRUB — menu timeout cut to 1s and hidden
ModemManager masked — no cellular modem, so no serial-port probe stalls
ClamAV on-demand — resident daemon stopped (frees ~1 GB RAM); scan with clamscan -r
kdump-tools + cloud-init disabled — frees reserved RAM and install-time-only services
Printing/discovery off — cups, cups-browsed, avahi (re-enable if you print)

Firefox stays the hardened snap. If an earlier build swapped it to the Mozilla .deb, scripts/firefox-restore-snap.sh restores the snap and your profile.

Desktop looks

Runs by default for the main user (opt out with --skip-desktop-fx). User-level only; on Wayland, log out and back in once so the effects load.

Bottom dock — Ubuntu Dock moved to the bottom, always visible; hides in F11 fullscreen
3D window switcher — Coverflow Alt-Tab, bound to window and application switching
Rotating desktops — Desktop Cube (workspaces fixed at 4)
Window animations — Burn My Windows: TV Glitch on open, Broken Glass on close
Blur + wobble — Blur My Shell (panel/overview/dash) and Compiz-style wobbly windows
Hover-only window controls — minimize/maximize/close stay invisible until you hover the titlebar (GTK3 + GTK4 apps, including snap Firefox)
X47 wallpaper — the X47 knuckle-duster as glowing teal ASCII art, centered over a dark circuit background, set for light and dark modes
Linux CMD Helper widget — ask in plain English, get just the Ubuntu terminal command (Anthropic Claude Haiku; key in ~/.config/x47-widgets/anthropic.key or X47_ANTHROPIC_KEY). Above desktop icons, under app windows, hides in fullscreen, snaps to grid, click to copy

Extensions are pulled version-matched from extensions.gnome.org. On a brand-new GNOME release any effect without a compatible build yet is skipped with a warning; the bottom dock always applies.

Firefox hardening

A system-wide enterprise policy is installed to /etc/firefox/policies/policies.json (honored by the Firefox snap and deb).

Main browser — telemetry, studies, Pocket and sponsored content off; tracking protection with cryptomining + fingerprinting blocking; HTTPS-only; DNS-over-HTTPS; no prefetch. JavaScript stays on. Also forced as the default browser (replaces Chrome).
Anon browser — stays Tor Browser "Safest": JavaScript off, no SOCKS proxy (transparent Tor), and DoH hard-off (network.trr.mode=5) so DNS cannot bypass Tor.

Updating Cursor

Cursor is installed from the official apt repo. Prefer:

update-cursor
# or: sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade cursor

If the Cursor GUI says an update is available but apt says you already have the newest version, that is a known Cursor lag (in-app feed vs apt repo) — not caused by this build. Silence the nag with update-cursor --quiet-gui.

Source

Repository: github.com/sk1tzwzd/ubuntu-x47-build
Docs site (this page): sk1tzwzd.github.io/ubuntu-x47-build