One system, five ways to work: macOS, Windows 11, ChromeOS, the classic Aura desktop or Ptéra. Based on Ubuntu 26.04, with no tracking, built to protect everyone's data.
macOS: menu bar at the top (File, Edit… Help), dock at the bottom with the Launchpad.
What Aura does for you
No mandatory account, no telemetry, no ads. Nothing is ever sent to the publisher.
Ads, trackers, third-party cookies and malicious sites are blocked in every browser, even behind a VPN.
Disk encryption is offered by default during installation, and a personal vault protects your sensitive files.
Spots spam and phishing, warns you before cleaning up, and gets your address removed from advertising lists.
Background tools run at low priority. “Aura Check” finds and fixes what slows things down.
Support for Microsoft Surface devices (Studio, Go, Pro) and for computers Windows 11 refuses.
The Settings window takes the shape of Windows 11, macOS System Preferences or ChromeOS, and redraws itself when you switch styles.
Login screen, window buttons, sign-out screen, icons, emoji and launcher change with the style, in light and dark.
Switched off at every startup: only the person in front of the screen can turn it back on, with their password. No remote connection can watch it.
An alert if your e-mail address appears in a breach (bank, gym, shop) and what to do right away. Masked addresses for each site.
Private windows are protected like the others: blocker, big-tech and all-category trackers, spy cookies. Chrome, Edge and Opera are blocked out of the box.
In the background, it spots viruses, trojans disguised as documents, booby-trapped macros and damaged files, and quarantines threats.
Aura Store
Every installation opens a window showing its steps and progress. Downloaded packages are checked (SHA-256 fingerprint published by the developer) before they are installed, and can be removed from the Store.
ArtCraft apps (github.com/storytold) are free software under active development (“alpha”): the Store always installs their latest published release. VMware and Packet Tracer need the installer downloaded with your own account from the vendor.
Download
Standard edition · 26.04 — October 2026
To install on your computer. You can also try it first, straight from the USB drive.
Live edition · 26.04 — October 2026
To carry Aura on a USB drive, without changing anything on the computer.
Check the fingerprint after downloading: sha256sum aura-linux-*.iso must print the same string as above.
Get started
A 16 GB drive or larger. Install Ventoy or Rufus on your current computer.
With Ventoy, just drag the ISO onto the drive. With Rufus, pick the ISO then “Start”.
Restart while pressing the boot menu key, then pick the USB drive. When installation ends, remove the drive and press Enter.
Download Ventoy · Rufus (official sites) — see the full installation guide
| PC brand | Boot menu | PC brand | Boot menu |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP | F9 (or Esc then F9) | Dell | F12 |
| Lenovo | F12 | Asus | F8 or Esc |
| Acer | F12 | Microsoft Surface | volume down + power |
Requirements
History
Before Aura, there was Ptéra Linux. A first project, put aside, then taken up again with a new goal: protecting users and making the move from Windows to Linux easier.
Ptéra Linux started as a Linux system focused on networking and cybersecurity.
Incompatibilities with some solutions forced the project to be paused.
The project came back for two reasons: the security of employees, and helping people move from Windows to Linux. The aim: make life easier for users and protect them while they adapt to a new system.
Aura Linux carries on this mission: making sure users lack nothing and stay protected. They find their bearings with the macOS, Windows 11 and ChromeOS styles, install apps in one click, and their data stays with them.
To honour Ptéra Linux, its desktop became Aura's “Ptéra” style: its official wallpaper and logo, a GNOME-style top bar, a Debian-style dock with “Show Applications”, Tahoe-style windows and its own lock screen. It comes in light and dark, alongside the other styles.