The developers of GNOME OS recently introduced a new initiative aimed at simplifying the testing of experimental versions of programs in distributions that are distributed as atomically updated monolithic system images. This project, known as the GNOME OS Developer Tool Suite, will enable developers and testers to make and test changes to system images without compromising the monolithic nature of the distribution. By using this toolkit, users can modify parts of the system and test these changes without the need for isolated containers or disabling security mechanisms.
One key component of the toolkit is the development of a graphical interface called “Test Center,” which will allow users to manage experimental changes made to the system. Additionally, an online repository will be established to distribute these experimental changes, such as using experimental versions of programs and system components within monolithic distributions.
While the use of Flatpak packages has addressed the issue of installing additional programs in monolithic distributions, it is not suitable for testing unstable program versions due to the complexity involved for regular users and the need to manually remove installed components. The Test Center, on the other hand, will enable users to install experimental versions of applications via a developer-provided link. These applications will be marked as experimental and will automatically be deleted after the testing period.
To implement experimental system changes, the Test Center will utilize the systemd-sysext toolkit, which is designed to create and install images with system extensions overlaid on top of the system. These overlays can be easily reverted to the original state of the system after testing the changes.
Furthermore, efforts are being made in collaboration with Flatpak developers to streamline the installation of additional console utilities that may not be included in the base system image. While Flatpak currently focuses on graphical programs, it is being adapted to better support the distribution of console applications as well.