Install AthenaOS

AthenaOS is currently installable through a public WSL rootfs and a signed APT repository.

Windows WSL 2, Recommended

Run this in Windows PowerShell. It sets WSL 2 as the default, downloads the latest rootfs, imports it as AthenaOS, verifies that the distro is WSL 2, and checks the CLI.

irm https://apt.athena-os.org/install-wsl.ps1 | iex

Verify WSL 2

After install, the VERSION column must show 2 for AthenaOS.

wsl -l -v
wsl -d AthenaOS athena version
wsl -d AthenaOS athena self-test

Convert Existing AthenaOS To WSL 2

If Windows shows AthenaOS as WSL 1, convert it from PowerShell.

wsl --shutdown
wsl --set-default-version 2
wsl --set-version AthenaOS 2
wsl -l -v

Windows WSL 2, Manual

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri https://apt.athena-os.org/downloads/athenaos-wsl-latest.tar.gz -OutFile "$env:TEMP\athenaos-wsl-latest.tar.gz"
wsl --set-default-version 2
mkdir "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\AthenaOS"
wsl --import AthenaOS "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\AthenaOS" "$env:TEMP\athenaos-wsl-latest.tar.gz" --version 2
wsl --set-version AthenaOS 2
wsl -l -v
wsl -d AthenaOS
athena version
athena self-test

APT Install Or Upgrade

Use this inside a Debian-compatible Linux environment, WSL, or an existing AthenaOS install.

curl -fsSL https://apt.athena-os.org/install.sh | bash

macOS Lima VM

macOS does not have WSL. AthenaOS runs as a lightweight Lima VM.

Open the dedicated macOS install guide for Homebrew, Lima, troubleshooting, updates, and FAQ.

curl -fsSL https://apt.athena-os.org/install-macos.sh | bash
limactl shell athenaos
athena version
athena self-test

APT Manual Setup

curl -fsSL https://apt.athena-os.org/athenaos-archive-keyring.asc \
  | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/athenaos-archive-keyring.asc >/dev/null

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/athenaos-archive-keyring.asc] https://apt.athena-os.org stable main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/athenaos.list

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y athenaos-cli
athena version

Update AthenaOS

sudo apt update
sudo apt install --only-upgrade athenaos-cli
athena version
athena self-test