Postmarket Operating System
1. Origins & Motivation (2016–2017)
The idea emerged around 2016, when the developers (notably Oliver Smith) started building a mobile-OS based on real Linux (not a modified Android) for smartphones.
The main motivation: extend the usable life of mobile devices beyond what manufacturers support — rather than being locked into short update lifecycles.
The project officially launched (public announcement) in May 2017.
It chose Alpine Linux as its base distribution — because Alpine is lightweight, security-oriented, and suited to limited resources.
2. Early Development & First Year (2017–2018)
In its first year the project focused on making the base system work — supporting many devices, consolidating packages, building a cross-device toolchain and installer.
By early 2019 it was reported that pmOS supported over 100 devices.
The goal of a “10-year device lifecycle” was actively referenced early on.
3. Growth, Interface & Device Support Expansion (2019–2021)
The project moved from proof-of-concept to supporting more devices and richer user interfaces: e.g., Phosh, Plasma Mobile, Sxmo.
In May 2021 the “Four years of postmarketOS” blog post recorded ~289 supported mobile devices.
The focus also expanded on mainline kernel support (i.e., moving away from heavily vendor-modified Android kernels) to improve long-term maintainability.t.
4. Recent Releases & Milestones (2022–2025)
Versions like v22.06 (June 2022) emphasized reviving end-of-life devices and increasing usability.
More recent release v24.06 (mid-2024) supports over 250 devices and ships updated major UIs (GNOME Mobile, KDE Plasma Mobile) and kernel improvements.
Ongoing work includes: GPU acceleration on Chromebooks, improved keyboard mappings, better Snapdragon MSM8953 support, kernel tweaks.
5. Key Technical Features & Philosophy
Base: Alpine Linux + musl libc + BusyBox — optimized for small footprint.
Package manager: apk-tools (from Alpine) — enabling real package management like a desktop Linux.
Modularity: Most code is shared across devices; only device-specific bits differ.
UI support: Multiple UIs (Phosh, Plasma Mobile, Sxmo, Hildon, etc) allow users to choose their interface.
Sustainability & Privacy: Emphasis on avoiding ‘walled garden’ updates, giving user control, reducing e-waste.
6. Challenges & Limitations
Although device support is wide, not all features (calls, SMS, modem, camera) are full-working on every device. Many are still “bootable but limited”.
Porting to newer hardware is complex — bootloader, proprietary firmware, vendor drivers remain obstacles.
It remains more suited to power users / enthusiasts rather than “plug-&-play” everyday users.
7. Impact & Ecosystem Influence
postmarketOS has helped revitalize older smartphones and reduce device ‘obsolescence’.
It has contributed upstream to Linux kernel, mobile Linux tooling, and helped legitimize “real Linux on phones” as a concept.
It bridges mobile-hardware with open-source desktop-style OS, influencing other projects in mobile-Linux space.
8. Timeline Summary
Year—>Event
~2016—>Conception begins by developers (Oliver Smith etc)
May 2017—>Public launch/announcement of postmarketOS
2018—>1-year anniversary, major developmental milestones
2019—>100+ devices supported, wider device base
2021—>~4 years old, ~289 devices supported, mainline kernel progress
2022—>Version v22.06 released, emphasis on end-of-life device revival
2024—>v24.06 release, >250 devices, updated UIs and kernel improvements
9. Current Status & Where It’s Going
As of 2025, postmarketOS is active, under development, with a growing supported-devices list and improving feature set.
The focus remains on: making devices truly long-lived, improving hardware support (modems, cameras), upstreaming kernel drivers, polishing UI/UX.
It remains more aimed at enthusiasts rather than general consumers — though that gap is narrowing.
postmarketOS is a free and open-source, Linux-based mobile operating system. Its core philosophy is to create a sustainable, long-lasting mobile computing environment by treating smartphones and other mobile devices like the personal computers they are. It is based on the Alpine Linux distribution.
The Full History of postmarketOS
The history of postmarketOS is a story of a community-driven project tackling the fundamental problem of planned obsolescence in the smartphone industry.
Phase 1: Inception and The Big Idea (May 2017)
The Problem: Founder Oliver Smith (and many in the Linux-on-mobile community) were frustrated with the short support life of Android devices. Even high-end phones often received only 2-3 years of security updates, rendering them obsolete and creating massive electronic waste.
The “Aha!” Moment: Smith published a blog post titled “We can make smartphones last 10 years,” which became the project’s manifesto. The core argument was that the main obstacle wasn’t hardware capability but the software stack. Android’s complexity, with its deep hardware-specific integrations (like the vendor/ and device/ trees), made it impossible to maintain devices long-term.
The Solution: Borrow from the principles of traditional Linux distributions.
Use a Mainline Linux Kernel: Instead of relying on old, forked Android kernels, the goal was to port each device to the latest stable mainline Linux kernel. This would allow the device to benefit from ongoing security patches and features directly from the kernel community.
A Single, Unified System Image: Unlike Android, which requires a separate build for each device, pmOS would have one core system image that runs on all devices. Device-specific components (like bootloaders and kernel) would be packaged separately using Alpine’s apk package manager.
Choice of User Interface: The OS would provide a base and let users install their preferred phone UI (like Phosh, Plasma Mobile) or even a traditional desktop environment.
Phase 2: Early Development and Community Growth (Late 2017 - 2018)
The Name: The name “postmarketOS” reflects the project’s goal: to support devices after their official market life has ended.
Choosing Alpine Linux: The project selected Alpine Linux as its base because of its simplicity, security focus (using musl libc and busybox), and lightweight nature—ideal for constrained mobile hardware.
"Booting the Toaster": The initial approach was humorously termed “porting to every device that can boot Linux.” The community began a massive, collaborative effort to get pmOS to boot on hundreds of old Android phones, development boards, and even unconventional devices like the Pine64 PinePhone and the Nokia N900.
The pmbootstrap Tool: A key innovation was the creation of pmbootstrap, a powerful Python tool that automated the complex process of building the OS, cross-compiling the kernel, and creating bootable images for specific devices. This dramatically lowered the barrier to entry for new developers and porters.
The Wiki and Porting Structure: A detailed wiki was established, documenting the porting process and the status of every device. Devices were categorized by their level of functionality (e.g., “boots to console,” “X11 desktop,” “phone calls working”).
Phase 3: Maturation and the “Convergence” Vision (2019 - 2021)
From “Booting” to “Daily Driving”: The focus shifted from simply getting devices to boot to making them usable for daily tasks. This involved deep, painstaking work on device drivers for cellular modems, WiFi, Bluetooth, cameras, and power management.
The Rise of Phosh: The Phosh (Phone Shell) UI, a GNOME-based mobile interface developed by Purism for the Librem 5, became a flagship UI for pmOS. Its polished and user-friendly nature made “daily driving” pmOS a more realistic goal.
Mainline Kernel Focus: The project doubled down on its core mission, with developers doing heroic work to reverse-engineer and upstream drivers for mobile hardware into the mainline Linux kernel. This work benefits the entire Linux ecosystem, not just pmOS.
Convergence: Like its philosophical predecessor, Maemo, pmOS embraced the concept of “convergence”—the idea that your phone could power a desktop experience when connected to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. This became a key differentiator from Android and iOS.
Phase 4: Stabilization and Mainstream Recognition (2022 - Present)
The “Edge” to “v23.06” Transition: pmOS had been a rolling-release distribution based on Alpine’s “edge” branch. In mid-2023, the project released its first stable version, pmOS v23.06. This was a major milestone, signaling that the OS was mature and reliable enough for less technical users on supported devices.
Official Images: With the stable release, the project began providing pre-built, flashable images for a curated list of well-supported devices (like the PinePhone Pro, various Qualcomm-based Xiaomi phones, and Samsung Galaxy devices), while still allowing community ports for hundreds of others.
Commercial Adoption: pmOS gained credibility as the OS of choice for several community-driven and niche commercial devices, such as the Pine64 PinePhone and PineTab, and the Volla Phone.
Current Focus: The current work revolves around:
Improving the “Out-of-Box” Experience: Making installation and setup seamless.
Hardware Support: Continued work on graphics acceleration, camera support, and power efficiency on mainline kernels.
App Ecosystem: Encouraging development of native mobile Linux apps and improving the experience of running Android apps via Waydroid.
Key Philosophical Tenets
The history of pmOS is defined by these core ideas:
Fight Planned Obsolescence: The primary driver. A 10-year life cycle for hardware.
Security: By using a mainline kernel and providing regular updates, pmOS can secure devices long after their manufacturers have abandoned them.
Freedom and Control: It’s a 100% open-source project that gives users full control over their device.
The Linux Phone Dream: It is a leading force in the long-held dream of having a truly free and open Linux distribution that works in your pocket.
In conclusion, postmarketOS evolved from a provocative blog post into a mature, impactful project at the heart of the mobile Linux revolution. It has not only given new life to thousands of old devices but has also laid the technical and philosophical groundwork for a more sustainable and user-controlled mobile future.
