OpenBook Download

Install OpenBook

OpenBook runs from a USB stick without changing the laptop. From there you can try it, or install it on the laptop's own drive.

This is a developer preview. It is a debug build signed with Android's public test keys, and it has been tested in virtual machines. Use a laptop with nothing on it you need.

It is built for the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025, GA403WR). Other laptops are untested.

What you need

  • A PC with UEFI firmware and a 64-bit x86 processor.
  • A USB stick of 4 GB or more. Writing the image erases it.
  • To install: a drive of 64 GB or more. Smaller drives are refused.
  • To install next to Windows: about 64 GB of unallocated space on that drive. OpenBook never shrinks or moves partitions, so make the space in Windows Disk Management first, and suspend BitLocker if it is on.
  • Secure Boot turned off in the firmware settings. The stick's boot loader isn't signed for Secure Boot.
  • Mains power, or a battery at 50% or more.

1. Download and check it

Get the image from Downloads, by torrent or direct download, with its Checksums and Signature files. For 0.1.0-preview.2, the Torrent file still lists an old download address that no longer works, so it needs other people sharing it. Use Direct download if the torrent cannot start. The checksums are signed with OpenBook's release key. To check the signature and then the image on Linux or macOS, in the folder with all three files:

curl -fsSLO https://openbook.page/keys/allowed_signers
ssh-keygen -Y verify -f allowed_signers -I release@openbook.page -n openbook-release \
  -s openbook-0.1.0-preview.2-x86_64-live.sha256.sig < openbook-0.1.0-preview.2-x86_64-live.sha256
sha256sum -c --ignore-missing openbook-0.1.0-preview.2-x86_64-live.sha256

ssh-keygen should print Good "openbook-release" signature for release@openbook.page, and the key's fingerprint is SHA256:p2CHvoYmi9AsCB98uyBn4kp/rpc7eDWDeeL9rAKi8Ec. On macOS, use shasum -a 256 -c. On Windows, compare Get-FileHash .\openbook-*.img.xz with the line in the checksums file. The key is also at openbook-release.pub.

2. Write the stick

The download is a compressed disk image, .img.xz, not an ISO. balenaEtcher, Rufus, Raspberry Pi Imager, GNOME Disks and Fedora Media Writer read it directly. Pick the USB stick, not a drive you use. On Linux:

xz -dc openbook-0.1.0-preview.2-x86_64-live.img.xz | sudo dd of=/dev/disk/by-id/usb-YOUR-STICK bs=4M conv=fsync status=progress

Tools that boot several images from one stick, such as Ventoy, are not expected to work: Android needs the stick's own partitions.

3. Start from the stick

  1. Plug in the stick. Power on the laptop holding Esc to open the G14's boot menu, and pick the USB stick.
  2. OpenBook starts by itself. For the other options, press Space while the stick starts, to show its menu:
    EntryUse it for
    OpenBookThe normal session. Changes stay on the stick
    OpenBook - safe graphics (Mesa GL, no ANGLE)If the screen stays black or garbled
    OpenBook - save logs to this USB stickSaves logs to the stick and powers off by itself
    OpenBook - start fresh (erase this stick's saved data)Throws away the stick's session and starts again
    OpenBook - serial console (virtual machines)Virtual machines only
  3. The first start after writing is slow, because Android unpacks itself onto the stick.

4. Try it or install it

The installer opens by itself.

  1. Language, then a hardware check that shows what works on this laptop.
  2. Try OpenBook goes to the desktop and changes nothing. You can install later from "Install OpenBook" in the launcher.
  3. Disk. Every drive with its size and contents. The stick you started from can't be picked.
    • Erase disk and install uses the whole drive and erases everything on it.
    • Install alongside uses the largest free space and leaves the other partitions alone.
    • View the plan lists every write before anything happens.
  4. Confirm by typing the drive's name, then install. When it's done, remove the stick and restart.

If the power fails or the stick comes out during the install, start from the stick and install again. The install writes in an order that leaves either the old partitions, a blank drive or a complete OpenBook, and its boot entry is written last.

5. First start

  • The installer adds an "OpenBook" entry to the firmware's boot list. After a whole-drive install, OpenBook starts by itself.
  • Next to Windows, Windows still starts by default. Pick OpenBook from the firmware's boot menu (Esc on the G14).
  • Setup asks for a language, Wi-Fi and a screen lock. There is no account.

6. Reinstall or remove

  • Reinstall: start from the stick and choose Erase disk and install on the OpenBook drive. Its data is erased.
  • Remove an install next to Windows: in Windows, delete the OpenBook partitions and the EFI\OpenBook folder on the EFI partition.

Known issues

  • Debug build with public test keys, so verified boot reports the device as unlocked. Not for daily use.
  • Apps can't use the NVIDIA GPU yet. Deep sleep isn't reached, Bluetooth audio doesn't work, and the speakers and webcam are untested.
  • With the installer stick plugged in, an installed OpenBook may offer "USB drive detected ยท Tap to set up". Don't tap it: setting it up formats the stick.

Source and help

The source of the open-source parts, and how to build them, is on the Source page. Report a problem at github.com/Mhsbrian/openbook-releases.