Install

There are three ways to get Singularity. The cpak package and source build are available today, while the complete OS image is still being built.

Pre-release: install at your own risk

Singularity is in public alpha. Expect unfinished behavior and regressions, use a spare machine or virtual machine for the first test, and back up anything you care about before adding a login session.

The OS image

Singularity OS, the full operating system, is still being built. When it is ready, an installable image will be the simplest way to run the whole thing. For now, see Singularity OS for what it is and where it is going.

Install with cpak

cpak installs the published Singularity image, keeps its writable profile separate and registers it with the display manager after showing the requested permissions. This is the shortest way to try the same build maintained by the project on another Linux distribution.

Start with Install with cpak for the host check, package installation, login registration, updates and removal.

Build from source

For a native installation, the meta repository wires every component together as submodules and builds them with a single command:

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/singularityos-lab/singularity-desktop.git singularity-desktop
cd singularity-desktop
make compile
make install

The source installation has been tested on Vanilla OS 2 Orchid, Vanilla OS 3 Reunion, Debian Sid, and Ubuntu 26.04 (Resolute Raccoon). Other systems may need dependency or display-manager adjustments. On immutable systems, do not install into the system prefix: make install deploys to /opt/local, the persistent writable prefix.

make install does the full install to /opt/local (binaries, bundled libraries, portal and systemd wiring, icon theme, and session entry), and self-elevates when needed. make deploy-host is a deprecated alias kept for compatibility; it now just runs make install.

Once installed, the session shows up in your display manager. Log in through the greeter and pick the Singularity session.

The full build options, dependencies, and single-component builds are covered in Build from source.