Get started with DistroBox in minutes

Run Fedora apps on Ubuntu, Arch packages on Debian, and more with this beginner-friendly container tool.

Imagine running Fedora packages on Debian, or Arch User Repository applications on Ubuntu, all without dual-booting or virtual machines. In this video from Learn Linux TV, you’ll learn how DistroBox makes the seemingly impossible ridiculously simple, turning your single Linux installation into a Swiss Army knife of distributions.

Jay introduces DistroBox, a tool that leverages containerization to run applications from multiple Linux distributions on a single host system. While containers aren’t new, DistroBox eliminates the traditional complexity of exposing GUI applications to your host environment. The tutorial walks through installing DistroBox and Podman (the recommended container engine for rootless security), creating your first container, and the surprisingly simple process of running applications across distribution boundaries. 

Jay demonstrates installing the Geany text editor from Fedora on a Pop!_OS system, then shows how the distrobox-export command makes containerized applications appear natively in your system’s app launcher. Whether you’re a developer who packages software for multiple distributions, someone who wants to test packages before installing them system-wide, or just curious about running different desktop environments, DistroBox opens up possibilities that previously required significant technical knowledge.

Key takeaways

• The default is Fedora, but the distro choice is yours – DistroBox defaults to Fedora containers, but you can specify any distribution using the –image flag when creating containers.
• Export makes it feel native – The distrobox-export command integrates containerized applications directly into your host system’s app launcher, making them indistinguishable from native apps.
• Podman over Docker for security – While Docker works, Podman is recommended because it supports rootless containers, adding an extra security layer to your containerized applications.

DistroBox transforms what used to be a time-consuming experiment into a five-minute exploration. The barrier between distributions dissolves, giving you the freedom to use the best tools from any Linux ecosystem without compromise.

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