Xenon on Linux

A free dashboard for any spare screen, on Linux in beta: the same dashboard as Windows, an honest list of what still differs, and the packages it needs.

Last updated: 13 September 2026 · current release 4.11.8

01Downloads

Linux is beta. The dashboard, the widgets, the catalog and the integrations are identical to Windows; what still differs is the part that reads and drives the machine, and the table below is the honest list. GNOME and KDE are the two desktops it is tested on.

02First launch

Open the app. The first launch offers to set the dashboard up in a terminal window: it downloads the engine, verifies the download before extracting it, and registers a systemd --user service so Xenon starts when you log in. Where there is no user manager it falls back to an XDG autostart entry and says so, including that the fallback has no crash-restart.

The package deliberately does not do any of that for you. Everything it would create belongs to one user account, and a package installs as root for the whole machine.

The installer also lists the optional tools you do not have. On Debian and Ubuntu:

sudo apt install nodejs npm unzip           # required
sudo apt install wireplumber                # volume, microphone and the per-app mixer
sudo apt install wmctrl xdotool x11-utils   # the open-applications widget (X11 sessions)
sudo apt install ffmpeg                     # voice input and spoken replies

If your desktop has no terminal emulator at all, the app cannot show you the installer: download the source zip from the release, extract it and run ./INSTALL.sh.

03What works on Linux

AreaStatus
Dashboard, tiles, themes, catalog, widget SDKWorks, identical to Windows.
Native full-screen app, starts at login, updates itselfWorks.
CPU, RAM, disks, networkWorks.
CPU and GPU temperature, GPU load, fan speedsWorks, through the kernel's own sensors.
System volume, microphone mute, per-app mixerWorks, with WirePlumber installed.
Now playing and media keysWorks, through MPRIS.
In-game FPS counterWorks, through MangoHud.
Xenon AI, chat, actions, "Hey Xenon" wake wordWorks, cloud and local.
Network lighting: WLED, Hue, Nanoleaf, OpenRGBWorks.
Streaming, Spotify, Discord, Home AssistantWorks.
Phone or tablet as a second screenWorks.
Desktop notifications and the incoming-call cardWorks.
Open apps, app switcher, screen vision for the AIX11 sessions only.
Global search hotkeyGNOME only.
CORSAIR iCUE lightingNot on Linux. iCUE is Windows software; network lights are unaffected.
Typing text and moving windows from the dashboardNot yet.

The platform table in the README is the authoritative version of this list, with a footnote on every row that has a condition.

04X11 and Wayland

Most of the dashboard does not care which one you run. The parts that do are the ones that have to see other windows: the open-applications widget, the app switcher and the AI's screen vision use X11 tools (wmctrl, xdotool) and are simply not shown on a Wayland session rather than offered and then failed. If those matter to you, log into an X11 session; everything else is the same on both.

Found something that does not work?

Linux is beta because the honest list above still has gaps. A bug report with your distribution, desktop and session type is the fastest way to shorten it; the Discord is the fastest way to ask first.