Download Kairo
The ISO file is an image for a USB stick. With it you start Kairo without changing anything on your PC. Trying and installing are free.
New to Kairo?
Download the ISO file. With it you start Kairo from a USB stick, try it out and install it if you like it.
Kairo already installed?
Then you don’t need to download or reinstall anything. New versions like Kairo 0.9.3 arrive as a system update by themselves – Kairo checks daily. Right away: Einstellungen › Updates und Lizenz › Jetzt suchen (Settings › Updates and licence › Check now).
During the 30-day trial and with a licence. There are no updates when running from the USB stick.
Kairo OS 0.9.2
- File
- kairo-os-0.9.2-amd64.iso
- Size
- 1.70 GB
- Date
- 29.10.2026
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ISO file, 1.70 GB, for trying Kairo from a USB stick
After installing, Kairo fetches the update to Kairo 0.9.3 by itself – during the trial and with a licence.
Before you install
The installer guides you through in a few steps. It needs no internet and takes 10 to 30 minutes.
Back up your data
Copy photos and documents to a second USB stick or an external hard drive first. Kairo doesn’t show your Windows files.
Choose the disk
With “Install alongside” (“Daneben installieren”), Windows stays if there is enough free space – when starting, you then choose between Kairo and Windows. “Erase disk” (“Festplatte löschen”) removes all data on it; Kairo asks once more first. If the disk already holds data, nothing is preselected, and with BitLocker Kairo warns you first. Kairo needs at least 10 GB.
Remember the password
The user is always called “kairo”. You’ll need the password you choose to unlock later.
Pull out the stick
At the end the PC restarts. As soon as the screen goes dark, pull out the USB stick – then Kairo starts from the hard drive.
For advanced users
Check the file
On Windows, in Command Prompt, in the folder of the file:
certutil -hashfile kairo-os-0.9.2-amd64.iso SHA256
The result must match the checksum above.
In a virtual machine
In VirtualBox: new machine, type “Linux / Debian (64-bit)”, 2048 MB memory, 2 processors, the ISO file as the disk image – start.
The stick won’t start?
Secure Boot, boot key, black screen, no Wi-Fi: answers are in the help section of the guide. If it still doesn’t work, write to us at office@automata.at and tell us which PC you have.
Like Kairo? The licence is permanent, for one PC.
Licences and source code
Kairo consists of the Kairo interface and helper programs by AUTOMATA, and of many free programs from Debian.
Free programs: Kairo includes, among others, Linux, GRUB, Chromium, labwc, Calamares, PipeWire, NetworkManager, CUPS, Wine and LibreOffice. Their own licences apply, for example the GNU General Public License (GPL), the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL) and the Mozilla Public License (MPL). The licence texts are in Kairo in the folder /usr/share/doc. The Kairo licence does not restrict your rights under these licences. Some device firmware is not free but may be redistributed.
Source code offer: On request to office@automata.at, we will provide the complete source code of the free programs of a Kairo version, as far as their licence requires – as a download or on a data carrier for the cost of providing it. The offer is valid for anyone who received Kairo, and for each Kairo version for at least three years after we last offered it for download. You can also find the source code of the Debian packages on sources.debian.org.
App shop: Programs from the app shop are downloaded directly from Flathub. They are not part of Kairo; their makers’ terms apply.
Font: Geist, SIL Open Font License 1.1.