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TechQuiet 3d · day 9

Gravity Linux releases M4 Mac Mini alpha with GPU and display support

A new Fedora-based distro for Apple Silicon ships its first developer alpha, working GPU and DCP support but no suspend or USB-C display output yet.

newest coverage 2d agosummary written 2d ago3 pieces42 likes & upvotes18 comments Hacker NewsNewswires

What to know

  • The alpha targets only the M4 Mac mini and is explicitly not a daily-driver release; a beta reinstall will likely be required.
  • Working features include GPU acceleration (OpenGL ES 3.0/3.3) and the display controller (DCP), but suspend, USB-C video output, Thunderbolt/USB4, and clean shutdown/reboot do not yet work.
  • The project says it relies solely on clean-room reverse engineering without inspecting Apple source or binaries, aiming to eventually upstream all support into mainline Linux.
  • Phoronix reports the project also uses Asahi Linux code and AI coding assistants (OpenAI Codex, Claude Code) in its development process.

Cody Ho Gravity Linux co-creatorNiklas Sheth Gravity Linux co-creatorMichael Larabel Phoronix founder and author

How it unfolded 3 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 2 pieces in two hours at Sep 21, 2 PM; 3 pieces over 9 days (1 article · 2 posts) Sep 15, 6 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Hacker News 1Sep 15, 8 PM — quietSep 15, 10 PM — quietSep 16, 12 AM — quietSep 16, 2 AM — quietSep 16, 4 AM — quietSep 16, 6 AM — quietSep 16, 8 AM — quietSep 16, 10 AM — quietSep 16, 12 PM — quietSep 16, 2 PM — quietSep 16, 4 PM — quietSep 16, 6 PM — quietSep 16, 8 PM — quietSep 16, 10 PM — quietSep 17, 12 AM — quietSep 17, 2 AM — quietSep 17, 4 AM — quietSep 17, 6 AM — quietSep 17, 8 AM — quietSep 17, 10 AM — quietSep 17, 12 PM — quietSep 17, 2 PM — quietSep 17, 4 PM — quietSep 17, 6 PM — quietSep 17, 8 PM — quietSep 17, 10 PM — quietSep 18, 12 AM — quietSep 18, 2 AM — quietSep 18, 4 AM — quietSep 18, 6 AM — quietSep 18, 8 AM — quietSep 18, 10 AM — quietSep 18, 12 PM — quietSep 18, 2 PM — quietSep 18, 4 PM — quietSep 18, 6 PM — quietSep 18, 8 PM — quietSep 18, 10 PM — quietSep 19, 12 AM — quietSep 19, 2 AM — quietSep 19, 4 AM — quietSep 19, 6 AM — quietSep 19, 8 AM — quietSep 19, 10 AM — quietSep 19, 12 PM — quietSep 19, 2 PM — quietSep 19, 4 PM — quietSep 19, 6 PM — quietSep 19, 8 PM — quietSep 19, 10 PM — quietSep 20, 12 AM — quietSep 20, 2 AM — quietSep 20, 4 AM — quietSep 20, 6 AM — quietSep 20, 8 AM — quietSep 20, 10 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 2 PM — quietSep 20, 4 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 8 PM — quietSep 20, 10 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 2 AM — quietSep 21, 4 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 8 AM — quietSep 21, 10 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 2 PM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Hacker News 1, Newswires 1Sep 21, 4 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 8 PM — quietSep 21, 10 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 2 AM — quietSep 22, 4 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 8 AM — quietSep 22, 10 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 2 PM — quietSep 22, 4 PM — quietSep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 8 PM — quietSep 22, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quiet 1–3
Sep 16Sep 17Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22yesterdaynow · 11:30 AM ET
  1. 3

    Phoronix reports project's use of Asahi code and AI tools

    Phoronix's Michael Larabel covers the alpha release, noting Gravity Linux builds on Asahi Linux code and reverse engineering while also leveraging OpenAI Codex and Claude Code in its development.

    “In addition to leveraging Asahi Linux code and reverse engineering, Gravity Linux also leverages OpenAI Codex and Claude Code...”
    — Michael Larabel
    1. 1 outlet Gravity Linux Aims To Provide A Nice Experience For Apple M4 & Newer

      first by Phoronix, 2d ago

  2. 1

    Developers disclose current alpha limitations

    The release notes list known-broken features (suspend, USB-C display output, Thunderbolt/USB4, flaky shutdown/reboot) and state no upgrade path is guaranteed from alpha to beta, with a full reinstall likely required.

    “This release is primarily intended FOR DEVELOPERS. It is not yet ready to be used as a daily driver.”
    — Gravity Linux, project blog · source
  3. 2

    Gravity Linux ships M4 Mac mini alpha

    Cody Ho and Niklas Sheth release an early alpha of Gravity Linux (a Fedora remix using KDE/Wayland) for the M4 Mac mini, with working GPU (OpenGL ES 3.0 and OpenGL 3.3) and DCP support, but explicitly meant only for developers and not for daily use.

  4. background

    Gravity Linux project announces itself — The project publishes a 'Hello Gravity' post describing its goal: bring Linux to Apple Silicon Macs (M4 and above) through clean-room reverse engineering, with the eventual aim of upstreaming all support into mainline Linux distributions.