First-run onboarding
Create or adopt the managed Arch environment, configure a normal Linux user, and get to a launchable desktop path.
Pre-release MVP · Arch first · Windows first
Arch Linux on Windows, without becoming your own support team.
Pane is a Windows app for people who want a real Linux desktop they can customize, launch, repair, reset, and understand from one place.
Today, Pane supports Arch + XFCE through a managed WSL2/XRDP bridge. The native Pane-owned runtime is under active development and is not marketed as complete yet.
Pane Control Center
Selected environment
Arch Linux + XFCE
Launch
Desktop session
Storage
PaneShared
Recovery
Doctor + repair
Future runtime
WHP boot path
Windows app
Managed Arch
GUI handoff
The target user
Pane is for Windows users who want Linux as an app, not a weekend project.
The first audience is not distro-hoppers who already enjoy hand-wiring every service. It is students, developers, tinkerers, creators, and Linux-curious Windows users who want a fresh Arch environment with a real GUI and clear recovery paths.
Pane should make Arch feel approachable without pretending Arch is no longer Arch. Users still customize, install packages, break things, and learn. Pane owns the boring lifecycle work around launch, reconnect, repair, storage, reset, and support.
What Pane owns
The app wraps the Linux lifecycle people usually get stuck on.
Desktop launch
Open the supported Arch + XFCE session through Pane instead of manually juggling WSL state, XRDP, and connection files.
Durable shared files
PaneShared gives users a predictable bridge for files, with durable storage by default and scratch storage for disposable sessions.
Repair before support
Doctor checks, repair, update, logs, reset, and support bundles reduce the chance that users hit a dead end and ask for help.
Current release boundary
The MVP is intentionally narrow so it can be reliable.
Pane starts with one supported path: Arch Linux, XFCE, WSL2, XRDP, and a packaged Windows app entrypoint. That is the supportable bridge while the native runtime is built.
Supported todayArch + XFCE desktop bridge
App entrypointPackaged pane.exe
User filesPaneShared durable or scratch
RecoveryDoctor, repair, reset, bundle
Not claimed yetNative booted Arch GUI inside Pane
Good fit
Use Pane if you want...
- A fresh Arch desktop on Windows without hand-building the integration path.
- A GUI-first control surface for launch, repair, reset, logs, and shared files.
- A project that is moving from a WSL bridge toward a true app-owned runtime.
Not yet
Wait if you need...
- A production VM replacement with mature snapshots, networking, audio, and GPU behavior.
- KDE, GNOME, Niri, Ubuntu, Debian, Kali, or multi-distro support today.
- A native framebuffer Arch desktop rendered inside Pane without WSL or XRDP.
Where this is going
The bridge is a product stage, not the final architecture.
Now
Supportable Arch desktop bridge
Package, launch, diagnose, repair, reset, share files, and collect support data.
Next
Pane-owned native boot path
Move from WHP preflight and boot probes toward deterministic Linux serial output and rootfs startup.
Later
Embedded display and input
Render the Linux GUI inside Pane, then build toward networking, audio, snapshots, and desktop choices.
Expansion
More distros, same lifecycle bar
Ubuntu, Debian, Kali, KDE, GNOME, and Niri should only ship when their support path matches Arch.
Build with the truth boundary intact