# Bourbon OS

> Power on. Straight into Steam.

Canonical page: https://pyrosoft.pro/software/bourbon-os

Status: coming-soon
Platforms: Linux, macOS

Bourbon OS is PyroSoft's lean ARM64 gaming operating system, styled after SteamOS and built on Fedora 44. It signs itself in and opens Valve's native ARM64 Steam client in Game Mode, with FEX translating x86 game code and Proton running Windows games through Steam. There is no desktop in the way, and no Steam account, games or purchases are baked into the image. It is headed for Bourbon 26 as a Steam appliance. Bourbon sets it up as a virtual machine on stock UTM, sized to your Mac, keeps your Steam library in a folder outside the VM so a reset leaves your games alone, and uses a guest agent to check on it, restart Steam, launch a game you own or run a repair. Inside Bourbon 26 it has been labelled Bourbon Linux (SteamOS). Bourbon OS is in internal testing and isn't available to download yet. Setup stays locked until a validated image ships, there is no date, and no performance figures have been published.

Price: Coming to Bourbon 26.

## Requirements

ARM64 (aarch64) only; main target is a UTM or QEMU virtual machine on an Apple Silicon Mac

## Features

- Valve's native ARM64 Steam client, opening in Game Mode
- FEX for x86 and x86-64 game code; Proton via Steam for Windows games
- Console-style boot: UEFI, automatic sign-in, Openbox, then Steam
- Mesa Vulkan and OpenGL, PipeWire audio, GameMode and Steam Input
- Root filesystem grows on boot into a bigger VM disk
- Steam library kept outside the VM, so resetting it leaves your games alone
- VM image (qcow2) for UTM and QEMU; installer ISO not released

## How to get it

Coming soon. Use the product page and development journal for current status.

## Recorded details

- License: Proprietary (source private)
- Tech: Fedora 44 (aarch64), FEX, Proton, Mesa, Gamescope, PipeWire

## Screenshots

![Bourbon 26 Experimental page listing the Windows 11 ARM64 and Bourbon Linux (SteamOS) virtual-machine experiments, both switched off](https://pyrosoft.pro/store-assets/media/d8a8039187-960.webp)
![The Supermarket Chaos title menu inside a UTM window titled Bourbon Linux on a Mac, captured during internal Bourbon OS testing](https://pyrosoft.pro/store-assets/media/2f7e3a91ff-960.webp)

## Questions

### Can I download Bourbon OS?

Not yet. There is no public build. Bourbon OS is coming to Bourbon 26, which will set it up as a virtual machine once a freshly baked image passes its final boot test. There's no date.

### Is Bourbon OS SteamOS?

No. It's PyroSoft's own OS, built on Fedora 44 and styled after SteamOS. It isn't made or endorsed by Valve.

### Why does Bourbon 26 call it Bourbon Linux?

BourbonLinux is the project's code name; Bourbon OS is the brand. Inside Bourbon 26 the edition is labelled Bourbon Linux (SteamOS).

### Will my games run?

Steam runs natively on ARM64, but no title is promised to work. Game code goes through FEX (and Proton for Windows games), and in a VM the graphics are paravirtualised. For Windows games on a Mac today, use Bourbon 26.