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NSpawn Subsystem for Linux

Keep the host atomic. Work in any distro.

nsl gives a Linux host persistent Linux machines, as WSL does for Windows. Each machine is a whole distro with its own packages and services. It runs as a systemd-nspawn container in one small VM, starts when you use it, and works in your files.

Install nsl → How it works

NSL

nsl create debian --distro debian:13   # verify the signed images; the first machine is the default
nsl                                    # a login shell in the machine, in this directory
nsl run make test                      # one command, with its exit status

What a machine gives you

  • Any distro, one command away

    nsl opens a login shell in your default machine, in the directory you were in. nsl run runs one command and returns its exit status.

  • Your files and your account

    Your $HOME, /run/media/USER and /mnt appear at /mnt/host. Inside, you keep your username, UID and GID, and passwordless sudo.

  • Ports and windows on the host

    A server listening in a machine is reachable at the same port on host 127.0.0.1. Wayland applications open windows on your desktop.

  • Seven signed distros

    Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS Stream, Arch, openSUSE Tumbleweed and Leap. Rebuilt weekly, and verified against the signed Frostyard publishing workflow before use.

  • Isolation when you need it

    --isolated gives a machine a VM of its own, with no access to host files, desktop or host actions, for software you do not trust.

  • A clean host

    nsl runs as your user. It installs no host packages and changes no device permissions, groups or sudoers.

Start here

  • 01 Get started

    Check the host, install nsl and create your first machine.

  • 02 Architecture

    One VM, many machines, and what a machine may touch on the host.

  • 03 Look it up, baby

    Every command, every setting in nsl.conf, and every published image.

Pre-release

nsl has no stable release yet. v0.4.0 is the first release of this design; v0.3.0 and earlier are a retired prototype. The tested host is Snow Linux 13 on x86-64 with systemd 261.2, QEMU 10.0.13, virtiofsd 1.13.2 and GNOME Wayland.