HoopoeLinux: Private by Design
HoopoeLinux: Private by Design
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Some Linux distributions arrive with a roar. HoopoeLinux arrives with a crest of feathers and a rather quiet promise: a light system, a clear mind and a build designed around your privacy. It is named after the striking black-and-white-striped bird that forages with calm, purposeful precision, and it is a very fresh face on the scene. For anyone who has ever wished that anonymity tools came ready-packed rather than as a weekend project, it deserves a proper look.
Whether you are a curious newcomer, a seasoned tinkerer or a privacy-minded professional, this overview covers what HoopoeLinux is, what it ships with and how to try it sensibly. We drew on the project's own website, its SourceForge pages and its DistroWatch listing, and where those sources disagree we say so plainly.
Meet the Hoopoe
HoopoeLinux is published by ubuntushop.biz, whose webshop is linked from the project's homepage. DistroWatch says the project originates in Belgium and is developed by a company that specialises in privacy-oriented Linux computers. The project is young: its SourceForge page was registered at the end of July 2026, so we are looking at a distribution barely a few months old. DistroWatch lists it as active, with a fixed release model and support for 64-bit x86 (x86_64) machines only.
Under the hood, HoopoeLinux is built on what the project calls Ubuntu Cinnamon Crest, and DistroWatch describes the base as Ubuntu LTS. In plain English, that means you inherit Ubuntu's enormous software ecosystem and its familiar APT package manager, but with the Cinnamon desktop rather than Ubuntu's usual GNOME. If you have never met it, Cinnamon is a traditional, friendly desktop: a panel along the bottom, a menu in the corner, a system tray on the right and desktop icons if you want them. People arriving from Windows tend to feel at home within minutes. Nemo is the graphical file manager, and the project also mentions a terminal-based one called lf for the keyboard-minded.
Two terms above deserve unpacking. A fixed release model means the distribution ships as dated snapshots, rather than flowing continuously the way rolling-release systems do: you install a release, receive updates for it, and move to the next snapshot when it arrives. LTS stands for long-term support, the label Ubuntu gives to releases that are maintained for years, which makes them popular on desktops where predictability matters more than the newest toys. Together they point to a distribution aiming for steadiness rather than excitement, a sensible temperament for something that wants to protect your privacy.
The technical particulars are refreshingly straightforward. The project's specification panel lists a Linux kernel from the 7 series, systemd as the init system, and a choice of Wayland or Xorg for the display. Bash is the default shell and terminal. The site's terminal-style specification panel suggests a minimum of 4 GiB of memory, which is sensible for a desktop carrying this much software. Boot support covers traditional BIOS, UEFI and Secure Boot machines, which matters more than it sounds, because it means the system aims to run on most hardware you are likely to own.
Speed gets a bold claim. The project says the system boots in under 13 seconds. As ever, treat a figure like that as a best case; a fast solid-state drive and a patient afternoon with a stopwatch will tell you what your own machine manages.
Then there is the philosophy, which is where the hoopoe earns its place as a mascot. The project describes the bird, whose scientific name is Upupa epops, as famously precise: it forages with singular focus, wastes nothing and leaves no trace except what is intended. That becomes a set of design principles. Every process running should have a reason to use memory, every package in the repositories should earn its place, and you should not find services you did not ask for. The site is explicit that there is no telemetry and no clutter.
One practical expression of that thinking is the stance on packaging. Ubuntu leans on Snap packages for some applications, which some users find heavy or intrusive. HoopoeLinux says it avoids them in favour of native packages, with official builds of Firefox and Thunderbird provided that way. Firefox ESR is the default browser, ESR standing for Extended Support Release, a branch that favours stability over a constant stream of new features. According to DistroWatch, Brave and Google Chrome are on offer as well, and its profile also mentions LibreOffice for productivity.
The project's own site adds that Euro-Office now comes preinstalled, so a document, spreadsheet or presentation is a double-click away.
The software library is a distinctive selling point. The site advertises more than 1,200 packages from curated repositories, plus a preinstalled ArtCraft Launcher.
Through it you reach a family of native, open-source applications written in Rust, covering image editing, vector illustration, video, photography, PDFs, motion graphics, page layout, interface design, word processing, audio, presentations, computer-aided design and spreadsheets. The project positions them as free alternatives to well-known commercial creative and office suites. They sit alongside a developer-friendly setup: the site says ZSH, Git and tmux come pre-configured, although, as noted, its specification panel lists Bash as the default shell, so expect to see both.
Support rounds out the picture. The website points to forums, IRC and a wiki maintained by the wider Ubuntu community, which is a genuine advantage for a new distribution: most Ubuntu answers on the internet work here too, and that saves a great deal of head-scratching.
The Privacy Toolkit
Every decision in HoopoeLinux, according to its website, traces back to one question: does this make your computing more focused, free and private? The answer takes the form of a toolkit that most distributions would leave you to assemble yourself. Here is what it contains and, for readers newer to the topic, what each piece actually does.
Start with Tor, which stands for The Onion Router. When you browse through Tor, your traffic is wrapped in several layers of encryption and relayed through a chain of volunteer-run servers, each of which learns only the step before and the step after. The website you visit sees the last relay rather than you, and your internet provider sees that you are using Tor rather than where you are going. HoopoeLinux includes the Tor Browser, a hardened version of Firefox configured to work with that network and to resist common tracking techniques.
AnonSurf takes the idea further. Where Tor Browser protects what happens inside one application, AnonSurf is a module that routes your system's connections through the Tor network, according to DistroWatch. That means applications that know nothing about Tor can still travel over it. It is a convenient approach, and a good example of a tool that is only as strong as your understanding of it, a point we return to shortly.
Next comes I2P, the Invisible Internet Project. It is easy to confuse with Tor, but its character is different. I2P is an encrypted private networking layer, and it is best known for hosting services inside the network itself, sites often called eepsites, as well as peer-to-peer communication. Broadly speaking, Tor is a way to reach the ordinary internet with more anonymity, while I2P is a self-contained network with its own hidden corners. Having both in one place lets you explore each without hunting for installers.
The project also bundles what it calls Tractor Carburetor, though the spelling wanders: the official pages variously write Carburator Tractor, Tractor Carburator and Tractor Carburetor. DistroWatch describes it as a module for bypassing VPN bans, which is relevant in countries or networks where commercial VPN services are blocked. Do not let the quirky spelling put you off, but do check your local rules before relying on any circumvention tool.
For network hygiene, there are domain and IP blockers that work in both directions, covering incoming and outgoing connections. They give you a simple way to stop your machine talking to hosts you would rather it avoided, whether those are trackers, advertising servers or addresses you simply distrust.
Then there are the live-boot options. The project says it has built in access to Tails and Kodachi, two well-known privacy-oriented live systems. Tails is designed to leave no trace on the computer it runs on, which makes it a favourite for sensitive one-off tasks on borrowed hardware. Kodachi is also built around anonymity and security. The convenience here is plain: rather than preparing separate USB sticks, you can reach both from within your everyday system. DistroWatch's summary adds that the project draws inspiration from, or incorporates components of, tools in this family, which is entirely in keeping with open-source tradition.
Encryption comes next. The project advertises full-disk encryption in its installer, together with an OEM-style setup. Full-disk encryption scrambles everything stored on the drive, so that a lost or stolen laptop is a locked box rather than an open diary. OEM setup, as in Ubuntu, lets one person prepare a machine and hand it over so that the new owner can finish personalising it on first boot. That suits small businesses, schools, charities and anyone setting up a computer for a relative.
Finally, there is a gesture many projects skip: HoopoeLinux runs its own Tor relay, listed in the Tor Project's public metrics. Relays are the volunteer-run servers that carry everyone's traffic, so operating one is a tangible contribution to the network that the distribution depends on. It is a small but encouraging sign that the developers intend to give something back as well as bundle something up.
Who might find all this useful? Journalists and researchers handling sensitive sources come to mind, as do travellers on untrusted hotel or airport networks, students on monitored campus connections and people living where parts of the internet are filtered. Everyday users benefit too, because shaking off some of the tracking that follows you from page to page is a perfectly reasonable ambition. Most of these components exist elsewhere as separate downloads, so the pitch here is convenience: finding them together, configured to sit side by side.
A word of realism is in order, and it applies to every distribution in this space. Software alone cannot make you anonymous. Logging into your personal accounts over Tor undoes the anonymity you were seeking. Downloading and opening documents carelessly can reveal your real address. Neglecting updates leaves old weaknesses open. Think of the toolkit as a well-equipped workshop rather than a magic cloak: the results depend on the craft of the person using it. It also pays to verify rather than assume: once a tool is running, use the Tor Project's own connection-check page to confirm that your traffic really is taking the route you expect. Read each tool's documentation, be clear about what you are protecting and from whom, and remember that using privacy tools is lawful in most places but not everywhere.
Taking Flight
Getting hold of HoopoeLinux is simple: the project says it is free forever and needs no registration. The Download buttons on the official website lead to SourceForge, where the Files area currently holds a single image, named hoopoelinux.iso.
That is also where a few numbers need untangling. The project's website quotes a base ISO size of 6.8 GB. SourceForge currently lists the file at 7.4 GB, last modified on 20 October 2026. DistroWatch's featured build, 2026.10.15, was recorded at roughly 6.1 to 6.2 GB. The most likely explanation is that the image has been refreshed since the other figures were written, and since the file name carries no version number, the modified date is your best clue. Whatever you download, note the size and date, and compare the hash values that SourceForge normally shows in a file's information panel, because the Files area lists no separate checksum or signature files.
A little preparation pays off. Back up anything precious before touching your disks, and if you plan to share a computer with another operating system, leave the partitioning to the manual option and read each screen carefully, because the installer's warnings about erasing the disk are not decorative. If you choose encryption, pick a passphrase you can remember and keep a safe record of it: there is no back door, so losing the passphrase means losing the data. Remember, too, that a live session typically starts afresh each time, so save anything you want to keep to external storage before shutting down.
Before committing a disk, take the cautious route. Write the image to a USB stick with a trusted tool and try the live session, or run it in a virtual machine, and give it at least 4 GiB of memory so that the experience is fair. A live session lets you test your Wi-Fi, graphics, audio and trackpad before anything is changed on your computer.
When you are ready to install, you will meet Ubiquity, the graphical installer long associated with Ubuntu. The project advertises one-click automatic installation, a manual option for those who like to carve up their own partitions, and the encrypted route described earlier. It also says the installer does not need an internet connection, which suits offline machines and privacy-conscious people who would rather stay disconnected until the system is fully set up. Be aware that DistroWatch's profile refers to the Calamares installer instead; installers can change between builds, so follow what you see on screen and the project's own guidance. The same profile lists Btrfs, ext4 and XFS as file system choices, with ext4 the long-standing safe choice for most people.
If you would like a preview, the homepage carries short videos showing the one-click installer, the encrypted installer and everyday desktop activity. They are a handy way to see the process before trying it yourself.
Once you are up and running, spend a few minutes on first steps. Apply any pending updates through APT or its graphical front-ends, since a privacy tool on an unpatched system is a contradiction in terms. Look around the application menu to see how the privacy tools are grouped, and try the Tor Browser before anything more adventurous. Explore the ArtCraft Launcher at your own pace, adding only the applications you need, in keeping with the install-what-you-need philosophy.
If you like what you find, there are friendly ways to give something back. The website offers a donation link, and the webshop mentioned earlier is another way to support the team. Sharing feedback with the developers or helping other newcomers on community forums is just as valuable, especially for a project this young.
In short, HoopoeLinux occupies an appealing middle ground. It borrows the familiarity of Ubuntu and the comfort of Cinnamon, then adds a generous privacy toolkit, a no-snap and no-telemetry stance, and an installer that takes security seriously. It is early days, and a few details differ between sources, so approach it as a promising newcomer rather than a finished verdict. For anyone curious about privacy-minded desktop Linux, it is well worth a test flight.
Disclaimer: All product names, logos, brands and trademarks mentioned, including HoopoeLinux, Ubuntu, Cinnamon, Tor, Firefox, Tails and Kodachi, are the property of their respective owners and are used here for identification and editorial purposes only. The Distrowrite Project strives for accuracy in everything it publishes, but details may change, so please verify information with the official sources. Please use open-source software responsibly and legally.
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