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Diff — Stormux

Comparing rev 3 → rev 4

{{infobox
| title = Stormux
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| image = stormux.svg
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| caption = A stylized terminal card for Stormux — tty1 showing the distro name in Arch blue, its Arch/ARM base, and the Fenrir console stack.
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| image = stormux-logo.png
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| caption = The Stormux logo: gothic lettering whose O is a carved jack-o-lantern wearing headphones, an X of crossed lightning bolts, and Grade 2 Braille dots spelling "Stormux" beneath. Artwork: stormux.org.
| base = Arch Linux / Arch Linux ARM
| type = Console-first accessibility distribution
| platforms = x86_64 PCs · Raspberry Pi and other single-board computers
| status = Maintained
| screen_readers = Fenrir (console) · PipeWire audio · RHVoice
}}
**Stormux** is an accessibility-first Linux distribution built on **Arch Linux** and **Arch Linux ARM**, targeting both ordinary PCs and single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi — the cheap, silent, always-on hardware where a talking console turns a $35 board into a full computer for a blind user.[[cite: stormux.org — Stormux project]]
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Its architecture is the technically interesting part. The console is driven by **Fenrir**, a *userspace* console screen reader — the same class of design [[Fedora 45]]'s KMSCON transition needs, delivered years earlier by the accessibility community. Fenrir reads the console without depending on the kernel's fbcon/speakup path, and Stormux wires it in from **the very first boot** — no sighted person is required to switch anything on. On the desktop side it uses a lightweight environment with audio routed through **PipeWire** and speech via **RHVoice**.[[cite: Stormux documentation — stormux.org]]
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Its architecture is the technically interesting part. The console is driven by **Fenrir**, a *userspace* console screen reader — the same class of design [[Fedora 45]]'s KMSCON transition needs, delivered years earlier by the accessibility community. Fenrir reads the console without depending on the kernel's fbcon/speakup path, and Stormux wires it in from **the very first boot** — no sighted person is required to switch anything on. On the desktop side it ships the **I38** tiling environment driven by the **Cthulhu** screen reader — an Orca fork maintained inside the project — over an **XLibre** X server, with audio routed through **PipeWire** and speech via **RHVoice**. A `configure-stormux` tool walks first-boot setup, including volume calibration before anything else.[[cite: Stormux documentation — stormux.org]]
# Features
- Accessible from first boot — speech without any sighted setup step
- **Fenrir** userspace console screen reader — bypasses legacy kernel fbcon dependencies
- **PipeWire** audio paths + **RHVoice** speech synthesis
- Runs on x86_64 and ARM single-board computers (Raspberry Pi)
- Rolling Arch base — current packages by default
# In the Fedora 45 debates
Stormux demonstrates that a modern, userspace console stack *can* be made accessible — but the tooling came from the accessibility world, not the display-stack world. The F45 discussion's gap is precisely Fenrir-shaped. See [[The Hat Tips Both Ways]].
# See also
- [[Accessible-Coconut]] · [[Stormux]] · [[Slint Linux|Slint]] · [[Vojtux]] · [[Adriane Knoppix]] · [[Vinux]] · [[Sonar Linux|Sonar]]
- [[Fedora 45]] · [[Why Debian Is Still King]]
[[Category:Distributions]]
[[Category:Linux]]
[[Category:Accessibility]]