CodeVerse Linux (CVH Linux)

CodeVerse Linux (CVH Linux) is a community-driven, Arch-based Linux distribution with a Wayland-first focus. The repository contains an ArchISO profile (iso/), build tooling (scripts/), curated configs (configs/), and a small set of custom packages (src/, pkgbuild/, repo/).

Target

• Architecture: x86_64
• Recommended for: VM testing while the project is evolving
• Also intended for: real hardware (use caution; the installer wipes the selected disk)

Getting Started (Beginner-Friendly)

This section walks you through everything from scratch. No prior Arch Linux or ISO experience needed.

What is an ISO?

An ISO file is a complete, bootable disk image — think of it as a virtual CD/USB that contains a live operating system. To use CVH Linux, you first need to build this ISO file from the source code in this repo, then either:

• Flash it to a USB drive and boot your computer from it, or
• Attach it to a Virtual Machine (VM) like VirtualBox or QEMU

Step 1: Set Up Your Build Machine

What this means: You need an existing Arch-based Linux system (like Arch Linux, EndeavourOS, or Manjaro) to build the ISO. Building the ISO is currently supported only on Arch-based systems.

If you don’t have an Arch-based system, you can use a virtual machine (VM) with Arch Linux for building.

Make sure the following tools are installed on your build machine:

sudo pacman -S archiso git

Step 2: Clone This Repository

git clone https://github.com/TheCodeVerseHub/CodeVerseLinuxDistro.git
cd CodeVerseLinuxDistro

Step 3: Build the ISO

Run the build script:

./scripts/build-iso.sh

This will take several minutes — it downloads packages and assembles the full system image. When it finishes, you'll find the .iso file inside the out/ folder.

For more detailed build options and troubleshooting, see docs/BUILD.md.

Step 4: Boot the ISO

This will start a live system that runs directly from the ISO without installing anything. You have two options depending on whether you're using a real machine or a VM.

Option A: Real Hardware (USB Drive)

Warning: The installer will wipe the disk you select. Back up any important data first.

Flash the ISO to a USB drive. Replace /dev/sdX with your actual USB device (use lsblk to find it):

sudo dd if=out/codeverse-linux-*.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync

Then plug the USB into your target machine and boot from it (usually by pressing F2, F12, or Del during startup to open the boot menu).

Option B: Virtual Machine — VirtualBox

1. Open VirtualBox and click New
2. Set type to Linux, version to Arch Linux (64-bit)
3. Allocate at least 2 GB RAM and 20 GB disk space
4. Under Settings → Storage, attach the .iso file as an optical drive
5. Start the VM — it will boot directly into the CVH Linux live environment

Option C: Virtual Machine — QEMU

qemu-system-x86_64 \
  -m 2G \
  -cdrom out/codeverse-linux-*.iso \
  -boot d \
  -enable-kvm

Remove -enable-kvm if your system doesn't support KVM (you'll see an error if so).

Step 5: Run the Installer

Once booted into the live environment, open a terminal and run:

sudo cvh-install

The installer is interactive — it will ask you which disk to install to and walk you through the setup. Follow the on-screen prompts.

Reminder: The installer will partition and format the disk you choose. Make sure you select the correct one.

Screenshots

Add screenshots to this section as the UI stabilizes.

• (placeholder) Desktop
• (placeholder) Installer

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for environment setup, testing, and PR guidelines.

Repo Layout (High Level)

Path	Description
iso/	ArchISO profile (packages list, airootfs/, bootloader config)
scripts/	Build ISO, build packages, legacy/standalone installer script
configs/	GRUB theme + user setup configs (niri, waybar, rofi, etc.)
src/ + pkgbuild/ + repo/	Custom packages and local pacman repo artifacts

License

GPL-3.0-only (see LICENSE).