This Linux distro looks so much like Windows 11 that it's unsettling

The first time you'll boot into AnduinOS, something will feel off, but in the best possible way. The centered taskbar, the frosted-glass Start menu that pops up in the middle of the screen, the weather widget in the corner, and the familiar system tray icons. To the untrained eye, this might start looking a lot like Windows.

Just using Linux might not be the universally true advice that it used to be before, but if Windows starts looking and feeling like Windows, could that make a difference? For Anduin Xue, the creator of AnduinOS, the OS scratches a personal itch, but for many others, this might just be what lets them switch to Linux.

It’s not Windows—it just wants you to think it is

What AnduinOS is actually built on beneath the familiar look

Strip away the cosmetics, and you'll find a lean, Ubuntu-based distribution running under the GNOME desktop environment. It's not some exotic fork with major changes to the kernel or package manager. All AnduinOS does is layer a carefully curated set of GNOME extensions and themes on top of vanilla Ubuntu to recreate the Windows 11 experience. Extensions like Dash to Panel merge the top bar and dock into a single Windows-style taskbar, while Arc menu delivers a Start menu clone that's responsive and surprisingly tweakable.

One major change that you should know about is that AnduinOS ditches Snap entirely. Canonical's controversial containerized packaging format is missing from the OS. Instead, you get Flatpak and a configured version of GNOME Software that shows only Flatpak apps. Core system packages use native .deb files, including Firefox, which ships as a proper .deb rather than a sandboxed Snap.

The ISO file itself is under 2 GB, and the installed system idles around 1.3 GB of RAM, a reasonable amount for a modern GNOME-based distro in 2025. At install, it'll only take up about 6 to 7 GB of disk space, including a swap file. That's a much lighter footprint than standard Ubuntu.

The resemblance is almost uncanny

How it recreates the Windows 11 experience so convincingly

AnduinOS doesn't just look like Windows 11, it behaves like it, too. It ships with a custom theme that closely mirrors Windows 11's Mica-style translucency and rounded corners, and even matches wallpapers. The Start menu opens into a centered box just like on Windows, and is complete with an all apps list. The bottom-right corner has system tray widgets reminiscent of Windows, and the overall color palette and iconography are consistent.

It's not a pixel-perfect copy of Windows, and for obvious reasons, it can't be. But more importantly, it doesn't feel like a cheap Halloween costume that'll break the moment you click one too many times. It's more than just a half-baked attempt to trick users; the experience works well because the developer is using multiple GNOME extensions working in unison, and he's put in the work to ensure they all play well together.

A familiar face doesn’t answer every question

Similar looks, similar data harvesting practices?

When a Microsoft employee ships a Linux distro that looks like Windows, the internet is bound to get skeptical. The source code is publicly available, and Xue pointed out that hiding backdoors in open-source software isn't something that'll slide by, as they can be easily exposed. The project is licensed under GPL3.0, hosted on GitHub, and the build instructions are fully public.

AnduinOS also explicitly collects no telemetry and tracking data in its base system, a habit totally opposite to Windows 11's aggressive data collection habits. Although there are benefits to letting Windows invade your privacy, it should be a choice and not the default.

Who is this distro really for?

The users most likely to benefit from the Windows-like approach

AnduinOS ships with a deliberately minimal app selection—you get Firefox, GNOME utilities, Shotwell for photos, Rythmbox, and Remmina for remote desktop. There's no LibreOffice, no email client, and no messaging app preinstalled out of the box. That's a conscious choice, however, and the Flatpak store is right there to fill any gaps. As is the case with many Linux distros, it offers an LTS version for users who want stability and a current release for those looking for the newest kernel and features.

For Windows users sitting on aging hardware that can't run Windows 11 or meet its TPM 2.0 requirements, AnduinOS is a genuinely compelling lifeline. It's familiar enough that the learning curve nearly disappears, yet stable enough for daily-driver use. It might feel like an OS with training wheels for Linux veterans, but for anyone looking to make the leap from Windows to Linux, this might just be the bridge they're looking for.