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FAQ

Why Debian?

Here are my requirements for a base OS:

  • can run on bare metal and virtualized
  • can be virtualized via Proxmox, Parallels, and other hypervisors
  • must be supported by Parallels Tools
  • must support x86 and ARM architectures

Debian satisfies these requirements and is well known for stability, simplicity, and versatility.

Why Cinnamon desktop?

Here are my requirements for a desktop environment:

  • must be available on my preferred base OS (Debian)
  • able to support a traditional program menu
  • able to support a traditional taskbar with the ability to re-arrange the order in which running programs are listed
  • support hotkeys
  • stable and reliable
  • relatively light on resources
  • must be responsive and not slow me down

Cinnamon satisfies these requirements and has some nice eye candy!

Should I start with Debian or Linux Mint?

Either works great, and our installer supports both. If you're on x86_64 hardware and don't have a favorite, we recommend Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition - Mint develops the Cinnamon desktop, so it ships a newer version of Cinnamon than Debian 13 does, plus a friendly installer, a driver manager, and multimedia codecs out of the box. If your hardware is very new, Mint also offers an HWE ISO with a newer kernel, and our Hardware Notes have tips for specific machines.

That said, Debian remains the project's foundation, and there are cases where it's the right choice:

  • Linux Mint is only available for x86_64 architecture. If you're on ARM, you need a distro compiled for ARM that can run Cinnamon (like Debian).
  • Raspberry Pi OS is based on Debian 13 and runs on both Raspberry Pi hardware and x86_64 PCs. You can use our installer to turn it into OhMyDebn!
  • You want the most vanilla base possible - for fun and for science!

Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) splits the difference - it's Debian-based and already ships Cinnamon. Our installer supports installing directly onto LMDE 7 if you'd rather have Mint's extras on a Debian base.

Plain Ubuntu works too - our installer also supports installing directly onto Ubuntu 24.04/26.04 if that's where you're already set up.

What if I don't want systemd?

Start with Devuan 6 (Excalibur) or LCOS, which is built on it. Both are Debian 13 underneath but ship without systemd, and our installer supports them directly: it leaves their package sources alone, skips the systemd-only pieces (such as the automatic update check timer), and makes Cinnamon the default login session. The sysvinit editions of MX Linux 25 work the same way.

What is the relationship between OhMyDebn and Security Onion?

OhMyDebn is not directly related to the Security Onion project. OhMyDebn is sponsored by Security Onion Solutions (SOS); however, SOS does not provide any technical support for it. OhMyDebn is intended to provide a general purpose desktop environment so, of course, you could use the included web browser to connect to your Security Onion Console!