bootc is a new deployment method that powers Image mode for RHEL and HeliumOS, a new Linux distribution. We are excited to announce that AlmaLinux now offers bootc images for Intel/AMD(x86_64) and ARM64(AArch4). How did this start? My goal as developer of HeliumOS is to produce a Linux-based desktop operating system that is user-friendly, stable, and reliable. The first foray towards this goal used a Debian base, however this had some issues: Debian has 3-5 years of support. Though stable relative to most Linux distributions, I wanted more stability. An unexpected interruption during a traditional Linux package manager update can render the system un-bootable or otherwise broken. 2 months ago, I learned of Image mode for RHEL, a new method of deploying RHEL that used OCI images for updates. Rebasing on Enterprise Linux and using bootc, the technology behind Image mode for RHEL would solve both of the issues that I found with Debian. After various experiments, HeliumOS announced an Alpha release based on CentOS Stream.