Griffin Linux
The Smartest Way to Switch from Windows
Project maintained by bobbycomet Hosted on GitHub Pages — Theme by mattgraham
Griffin Linux
Linux that feels like Windows, but faster, smarter, and it actually teaches you how to use it.
No ads. No telemetry. No bloat. Just your PC, the way it should have always been.
✅ Griffin Linux tools are out now and installable today. The Griffin distro is in active development. Join Discord to follow along and get early access. Griffin is not affiliated with Ubuntu/Kubuntu or Canonical.What is Griffin?
Linux has always been powerful. It just hasn’t always been welcoming. Griffin is a layer built on top of Debian/Ubuntu systems, designed to reduce the friction of moving from Windows without hiding what Linux actually is.
You get the same desktop, package managers, drivers, and upstreams you’d have anyway, plus a coordinated set of tools on top that handle the things that usually send new users to forums: hardware quirks, driver setup, gaming performance, audio issues, and system health.
Griffin isn’t trying to deliver magic. It’s designed to cut down on troubleshooting and make the first months of using Linux feel like using a finished system, not assembling one.
The full Griffin tool suite is available now, tool by tool, and can be installed on any supported system through Griffin Updater. From here, the project’s main focus shifts to building a dedicated Griffin distro, with the existing tools continuing to receive security and bug fixes along the way.
Platform direction
Griffin’s primary focus going forward is a standalone, Kubuntu-based Griffin distro. That’s where new feature work is concentrated. The individual Griffin tools you can install today are not going away: they’ll keep getting security patches and bug fixes, and most of them work well beyond Ubuntu.
The Griffin distro: built on Kubuntu, and in active development now that much of the groundwork around it has settled. It’s meant to be the cleanest way to get the full Griffin experience out of the box, with Griffin Updater providing centralized installation and updates so the base system’s package sources stay untouched. No release date yet.
The Griffin ecosystem: every tool is designed to work across Ubuntu-based systems, and several reach further by nature:
- Fan Hub runs on Ubuntu, Arch, Fedora, and any systemd-based distro.
- Appify runs almost anywhere: Debian-based systems (Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, Zorin OS, elementary OS, Debian itself), RPM-based systems (Fedora, openSUSE, Nobara — via the AppImage), Arch-based systems (Arch Linux, Manjaro, EndeavourOS — via the AppImage), independent distros (NixOS, Void Linux), and most other modern systemd-based distros via the AppImage.
- Grix and Griffin Hub both support plugins to extend their functionality. Grix plugins are also how support for other distros gets added, so the tool can grow beyond Ubuntu/Debian as the community builds for it.
- Sentry v3 runs on any systemd-based Linux system.
Everything else targets Debian/Ubuntu-based systems.
How the pieces fit together
Griffin isn’t one app or control panel; it’s a set of focused tools that each handle one job well, built to cooperate without you having to wire anything together.
- Sentry v3 watches what’s running and learns your habits, pulling back background processes during gaming sessions while making sure tools like OBS are never touched. It has flags to ignore anything Appify creates, and if you use Griffin Hub with System Tune to wrap Steam so Gamemode, gamescope, and mangohud can be run (removes the need for launch options with these 3), Sentry will prioritize the game.
- Kernel Autotune handles the low-level kernel settings, Zram/Zswap, BBR TCP, governors, HDD optimization, and automatically configures every kernel installed through XKM. It creates a config that can be edited and a state.json that is seen by other applications for system information and hardware information.
- System Tune evolved from Game Tune Hub and brings the system together for gaming: one place to wrap Steam in Gamemode/Gamescope/Mangohud and view your Sentry and Kernel Autotune settings, and you can configure them. If Kernel Autotune is not installed, a new tab is used that replicates what Kernel Autotune does, but not to the full extent.
- Hardware Hub brings hardware control, GitHub and stock kernel controllers (GitHub controllers: Xone, xpadneo, paroj/xpad, sim wheels with hid-tmff2), CPU, GPU, and WiFi (fixes Broadcom and Realtek common driver issues) into one place. Also a part of Griffin Hub.
- Fan Hub stands on its own; fan and RGB control turned out to be too large to fit inside Griffin Hub. It replicates a Windows-like experience with fan control and RGB control, and runs on Ubuntu, Arch, Fedora, and any systemd-based distro.
- Grix catches everything else: PipeWire fixes, drive health, capacity warnings, and a learn function that explains what’s happening and why. Grix reads the
state.jsonand gives you the system information in the GUI. Grix supports plugins, which is also the path for extending distro support beyond Ubuntu/Debian. - Griffin Updater evolved from Discord Updater. Checks an
apps.jsonfor a catalog, checks version numbers of debs/AppImages that are not in official apt repos and updates them accordingly.
Full details on each tool are below.
┌──────────────────────────────┐
│ Griffin Linux │
└──────────────┬───────────────┘
Griffin Updater
┌─────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────┐
│ │ │
Griffin Hub Griffin Persona Grix
│ │ │
┌───────┴───────┐ ┌───────┴───────┐ ┌───────┴───────┐
│ │ │ │ │ │
Hardware Drivers Initial Setup Gaming Learning Troubleshooting
│ │ │ │
Diagnostics Profiles
│
┌──────────┴──────────┐
│ │
Kernel Autotune Sentry
Core tools
These run quietly in the background and keep everything else working.
Sentry v3 learns your usage habits and manages background resource use via cgroups. Detects gaming sessions automatically through Game Tune Hub, pulls back background processes, and never touches critical tools like OBS. Configurable and visible inside Game Tune Hub. Runs on any systemd-based Linux system.
Kernel Autotune applies smart baseline tweaks at boot, handles HDD optimization, and automatically configures every kernel installed via XKM. Fully reversible, with settings accessible inside Game Tune Hub.
Hardware and drivers: Gaming and performance
Griffin Hub houses Controller Hub, CPU Hub, GPU Hub, and WiFi Hub in one place, and supports plugins to extend what it covers. Following the retirement of the standalone WinBridge tool, Wine automation was dropped. WinBridge’s Wine automation didn’t scale the way it needed to, so that work is being folded into Griffin Hub instead.
- Dashboard has graphs, temps, and more. This is an at-a-glance dashboard and does not replace KDE’s system monitor.
- System Tune wraps Steam with Gamemode, Gamescope, and Mangohud; no per-game launch options required. Backs up your original Steam executable so changes are always reversible. Sentry v3 and Kernel Autotune settings are both configurable here, in one place.
- Controller Hub auto-detects Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, and third-party controllers and wheels, and applies optimal profiles and firmware automatically. Xone and xpad-noone are treated as a pair; conflicting drivers are blacklisted but swappable.
- CPU Hub simple governor control: performance, balanced, or powersave. Kernel Autotune sets the baseline; CPU Hub lets you override it anytime.
- GPU Hub detects your GPU and manages your driver stack, including extras like CUDA, NVENC, and AMD ROCm. The hardware swap feature safely reverts to base drivers and removes extras when you switch GPU brands, so you can install the new stack clean. RTX 50-series and RDNA4 support is in progress.
- WiFi Hub handles Realtek and Broadcom driver fixes via a dedicated GUI. Pairs well with an Xanmod kernel installed through XKM.
XKM (Kernel Manager) installs and manages Xanmod, Liquorix, and Mainline kernels. Handles DKMS rebuilds and unused kernel cleanup automatically (can be turned off). Every kernel XKM installs is configured by Kernel Autotune. Grix can recover DKMS if something goes wrong. View on GitHub
Fan Hub — a standalone rethinking of fan control on Linux: fan curves, cooling profiles, liquidctl, and OpenRGB integration covering AIOs, CPU fans, GPU fans, NVMe temps, RAM temps, and more. Runs headlessly via the OpenRGB server, so RGB and fan control work without OpenRGB open. Works on Ubuntu, Arch, Fedora, and any systemd-based distro.
Productivity
Appify — turns any website into an isolated, native-feeling desktop app: Gmail, Twitch, Discord, cloud gaming services, and more. Sentry v3 flags cloud gaming apps so they’re never throttled. Appify has the widest reach of any Griffin tool, and detects your display server automatically:
- Debian-based: Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS, Zorin OS, elementary OS, Debian
- RPM-based: Fedora, openSUSE, Nobara (via AppImage)
- Arch-based: Arch Linux, Manjaro, EndeavourOS (via AppImage)
- Independent: NixOS, Void Linux, and most other modern systemd-based distros (via AppImage)
Griffin Persona — Griffin’s welcome app. You pick one or more personas: Gaming, Productivity, Audio, System Tools, Streaming, General Use; each one is a complete workflow, and Persona configures your desktop to match. Pick a single persona, or select them all at once. It also detects your hardware, so GPU drivers and extras like NVENC, CUDA, or AMD ROCm install automatically as part of the setup. Not tied to a fresh install, run it any time to set up or expand a workflow. A VTubing persona is planned.
Grix: system health and support
System-aware. Transparent. Always on your side.
Grix handles the things that fall outside dedicated tools — the issues that would otherwise send a new Linux user to forums or Reddit. It runs targeted checks, explains what it finds in plain language, and either walks you through a fix or asks if you want it handled. Everything is logged, so you can review or undo any change.
Grix covers: PipeWire audio fixes, drive health monitoring, capacity warnings with plain-language steps, general system warnings, and a learn function that explains what Grix is doing and why. Grix supports plugins, and this is also the mechanism for extending Grix’s checks to distros outside Ubuntu/Debian as the community builds support for them.
Griffin Updater
Griffin ships with a dedicated updater for all of its tools. It checks each tool’s GitHub repo for updates and lets you update from a simple GUI, no terminal required. There’s no auto-update by design; you choose when to update, so you can see how a release lands before committing.
If a Griffin tool isn’t installed yet, Griffin Updater handles that too. Click Install next to any tool, and it takes care of the rest. For tools available in both AppImage and Deb formats, choose your preference once, and the updater remembers it.
- AppImage (Deb also available where noted): Appify, Griffin Hub, Grix, Fan Hub, Griffin Updater, XKM
- Deb only (for now): Griffin Persona, Sentry, Kernel Autotune
Philosophy
- Not hiding Linux — Griffin meets you where you are and shows you what Linux can be, without locking anything down
- Reversible by default — every Griffin tool that changes system settings can be undone, via GUI or config file
- Privacy first — no telemetry, no reporting home
- Open and community-driven — built in the open, shaped by the people who use it
NOTE: Conky Studio is not a part of the Griffin lineup. While it does help make desktop customizations easier and shares a similar philosophy as the Griffin Linux Project by being a layer to make something easier on Linux. It is its own platform, as it uses Conky, a well-established and powerful project to do so. It is not affiliated or endorsed by the Conky developer or its maintainers; it is a third-party standalone tool with its own evolving platform. You can check Conky Studio out here
Roadmap
- Griffin distro (Kubuntu-based) — the project’s main focus going forward
- Windows version of Appify (in progress)
License
The entire Griffin ecosystem is licensed under GPLv3. All Griffin images, artwork, and names are owned by the Griffin Linux project and are not covered by that license.
A bit about me
Hi, I’m Bobby. I started out building my own tools and scripts; Griffin was never the original plan. I’ve been watching Linux since 1999, and I’ve used both Windows and Linux long enough to understand why the switch feels hard. Linux is powerful, but it’s fragmented, and its culture can make newcomers feel like outsiders before they’ve even started.
Griffin came from a simple thought I had while working on Appify: shouldn’t Linux be better at this? Not more powerful, it already is. Better at welcoming people in, without making them feel like they have to earn it first.
That’s what this is. Not a replacement for Windows. A replacement for the experience that drives people away from Linux before they ever see what it can do.
Get involved
Griffin is shaped by the people who use it. Early feedback directly changes what gets built next.
- Discord (early access, updates, feedback): Join here
- Official Blog (project news and updates): Read here
- Patreon (early builds + support development): Support here
- Ko-fi (one-time support): Donate here
For Griffin’s official stance on age restriction legislation and how it affects the project going forward: Read here
Griffin Linux. Where power meets simplicity.
Made with Windows switchers in mind. Built for everyone who wants a better PC.