Dear FydeOS Team,
First of all, I would like to thank you for your work on FydeOS. I appreciate the effort to bring a ChromeOS-based experience to a wider range of hardware while maintaining usability and performance.
After studying the installation and storage architecture of FydeOS, I wanted to share a suggestion that I believe could significantly improve flexibility and attract more advanced users and developers.
Currently, FydeOS follows the traditional ChromiumOS partition model with multiple dedicated system partitions, A/B updates, and a stateful partition structure. While this design offers reliability and seamless updates, it can feel restrictive for users coming from conventional Linux distributions.
I would like to propose introducing an optional āAdvanced Installation Modeā that offers a more Linux-oriented storage architecture.
Some ideas:
- Support installation onto existing Linux-style layouts.
- Allow installation on Btrfs partitions.
- Add optional transparent compression (zstd).
- Provide subvolume support similar to root/home separation.
- Optional snapshot and rollback integration.
- Allow more user control over system and data partitioning.
- Support coexistence with multi-boot environments more gracefully.
- Optional ability to disable A/B partition duplication for users who prioritize storage efficiency.
Potential benefits:
-
Better storage efficiency
Btrfs compression could reduce disk usage significantly, especially for Android application data, Linux containers, browser caches, and updates. -
Improved multi-boot compatibility
Many enthusiasts run Windows, Linux, Android-x86, and FydeOS together. A more flexible partition model would make FydeOS easier to adopt in advanced setups. -
Better recovery and experimentation
Snapshots and rollback functionality would allow users and developers to safely test updates and modifications. -
Increased appeal to Linux power users
Many users already familiar with Linux expect filesystem flexibility, custom partition layouts, and advanced storage features. -
Better developer workflows
Developers using containers, Linux environments, and custom builds could benefit from modern filesystem features and simplified storage management.
I understand that maintaining ChromeOS compatibility and update reliability is an important design goal. Because of that, I am not suggesting replacing the current architecture, but rather offering an optional advanced installation profile for users who explicitly choose it.
I believe this could help FydeOS evolve into a more flexible platform while preserving its strengths.
Thank you for your time and for building FydeOS.
Best regards