Qubes OS
Security-focused desktop operating system that isolates apps and tasks in separate Xen virtual machines.
Liked for isolating apps and tasks in separate VMs, including throwaway disposable ones,1234 and several commenters run it as a stable daily driver.567 The most common complaint is weak graphics hardware acceleration,89 which means gaming needs a second GPU and an annoying passthrough setup.10
Why people recommend it
VM isolation · 3
Each app or job runs in its own VM, so a compromise or lag stays contained.
“Everything is its own VM, you can run apps in secure environments and when you close them it get rid of them.”
“each of those unprivileged apps runs in a dedicated virtual machine because I use QubesOS”
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“The good thing is that if a VM lags, only that VM lags; Qubes itself and other VMs don't.”
Daily driver · 3
Users have run it daily for a year or more and call it stable and easier than expected.
“Qubes OS, my daily driver. Btw it already exists and is stable.”
“I’ve daily-driven Qubes for about a year and it’s been easier than I expected.”
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“I've been running either Qubes OS or KVM/QEMU based VMs as my desktop daily driver for 10 years.”
Disposable VMs · 3
Throwaway VMs are used to safely open untrusted files and risky activities.
“I used disposable VMs in qubes on a computer with a one way (in only) network connection”
“I also use temporary disposable virtual machines in QubesOS to isolate those kinds of activities”
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“Everything is its own VM, you can run apps in secure environments and when you close them it get rid of them.”
Small attack surface · 2
Commenters say attacks would need a Xen sandbox escape, which is much harder than typical supply-chain exploits.
“Very small attack surface, I have been using qubes for years”
“I’ve daily-driven Qubes for about a year and it’s been easier than I expected.”
Hardware support · 2
It has run well on modern AMD laptops and on a Thinkpad.
“I've run it on pretty modern AMD mobile chipsets with a lot of success.”
“I've thrown it on my carry-around Thinkpad to give it a shot and I like it so far.”
Privacy setups · 2
It supports Whonix and VPN networking VMs that other VMs route through.
“I use Whonix on Qubes to access HN and other websites.”
“Everything is its own VM, you can run apps in secure environments and when you close them it get rid of them.”
Caveats and dissent
Graphics acceleration · 3
There is no hardware graphics acceleration by default, and gaming needs GPU passthrough.
“I am still impressed by QubesOS track and I use it for my dedicated 'financials' laptop.”
“I’ve daily-driven Qubes for about a year and it’s been easier than I expected.”
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“I've been running either Qubes OS or KVM/QEMU based VMs as my desktop daily driver for 10 years.”
Hardware compatibility · 2
Not all hardware supports the features Qubes needs, so check the compatibility list.
“The good thing is that if a VM lags, only that VM lags; Qubes itself and other VMs don't.”
“I've run it on pretty modern AMD mobile chipsets with a lot of success.”
Usability · 1
One commenter says using it as a daily driver can be painful.
“But with some improvements, I think it’s the right way to do it.”
Wayland support · 1
Wayland support isn't ready without breaking Qubes' interop features.
“I've thrown it on my carry-around Thinkpad to give it a shot and I like it so far.”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Partitioning my digital life into security domains (2011) 2 mentions
- Arbitrary code execution in QubesOS via copy-to-VM error reporting backchannel 2 mentions
- Meta’s Muse is an adorable privacy and security dumpster fire 1 mention
- Linux Zoom client proactively reading everything written to X11 clipboard 1 mention
- Research carried out using NetBSD 1 mention
- Omarchy: Any User Process Can Escalate to Root 1 mention
Also written as QubesOS. Data: qubes-os.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 28
“perhaps Qubes is still something to look into”
“Looks like Qubes OS is still alive”
“As a QubesOS user jailing an agent for one job to one VM is easy”
“Ultimately because qubes is a system of VMs based on commodity OS migrating OUT shouldn't be fundamentally hard.”
“it seems prudent to switch to a NetBSD/OpenBSD/Qubes system for the next few years”
“Very small attack surface, I have been using qubes for years”
“each of those unprivileged apps runs in a dedicated virtual machine because I use QubesOS”
“I am still impressed by QubesOS track and I use it for my dedicated 'financials' laptop.”
“I've run it on pretty modern AMD mobile chipsets with a lot of success.”
“I use Whonix on Qubes to access HN and other websites.”
“Qubes OS, my daily driver. Btw it already exists and is stable.”
“I would only trust Qubes OS with that, since it relies on strong, hardware-assisted virtualization”
“you might check out how Qubes handles clipboard access”
“I’ve daily-driven Qubes for about a year and it’s been easier than I expected.”
“My daily driver, can't recommend it enough.”
“My daily driver, can't recommend it enough.”
“I run Qubes as a daily driver according to the docs, and my workflow was not vulnerable to the discussed attack.”
“I've thrown it on my carry-around Thinkpad to give it a shot and I like it so far.”
“The good thing is that if a VM lags, only that VM lags; Qubes itself and other VMs don't.”
“But with some improvements, I think it’s the right way to do it.”
“This is why my daily driver is https://qubes-os.org”
“I used disposable VMs in qubes on a computer with a one way (in only) network connection”
“I use qubes OS and don't fear they will destroy my system.”
“Everything is its own VM, you can run apps in secure environments and when you close them it get rid of them.”
“I've been running either Qubes OS or KVM/QEMU based VMs as my desktop daily driver for 10 years.”
“along with QubesOS depending on use case.”
“Qubes is a much more secure alternative to Android without its main downside”
“I also use temporary disposable virtual machines in QubesOS to isolate those kinds of activities”