Understanding Immutability

Shanios's immutability fundamentally changes how you interact with the system. Understanding this concept is key to using Shanios effectively.

What You CAN Do

• ✅ Install applications via Flatpak
• ✅ Edit configuration files in /etc
• ✅ Create and modify files in /home
• ✅ Run containers (Podman, Distrobox, LXC)
• ✅ Update the entire system atomically
• ✅ Store data in /data and persistent subvolumes

What You CANNOT Do

• ❌ Use pacman to install traditional packages (use Flatpak, Nix, or Distrobox)
• ❌ Modify files in / (root filesystem) (read-only by design)
• ❌ Edit files in /usr, /bin, /lib directly (use /etc overlay for configs, Distrobox for binaries)
• ❌ Install software that requires system-level changes (use containers or AppImages instead)
• ❌ Run sudo pip install globally (use pip install --user, Nix, or Distrobox)
• ❌ Run sudo npm install -g to system paths (use Nix or install inside Distrobox)
• ❌ Use make install to install built software into system directories (build and export from Distrobox)
• ❌ Modify files in /opt or /usr/share directly (/etc overlay for config; Distrobox for everything else)

Why This Design?

Security

Malware cannot modify system files or persist across reboots.

Reliability

Updates are atomic — they either work completely or fail safely.

Rollback

Instant recovery from failed updates or system issues.

Consistency

System state is always predictable and reproducible. The same image that was deployed is the same image that runs — indefinitely, regardless of what software is installed or run on top.