Install Core OS with separate music storage.

The QA11 bootable ISO expects a dedicated 32 GB or larger system disk and at least one additional disk for music. The Debian package offers a separate route on an existing Debian 13 host.

Latest Debian Core: 1.0.3 QA8 package and Alpha6 v18 QA11 ISO. These are test builds dated 13 October 2026. The QA11 ISO boots into the six-screen Brimstone installer with the correct Core branding; the .deb is the exact Core package bundled with that ISO. Debian 13 amd64 on a physical computer or full VM is supported (4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM recommended for virtualisation, not LXC). Keep a backup before upgrades; the clean-install ISO can erase the OS disk you select. Previous 1.0.2 QA4 downloads are retained for recovery.

BRIMSTONE CORE OS · QA11 INSTALL REQUIREMENTS

Two drives. Two jobs.

The current bootable Core OS installer is designed around a dedicated Debian system disk and one or more separate disks for the music collection. A single physical disk is not supported for automatic media setup in QA11.

DISK 1 · SYSTEM

Boot / Debian / Core

32 GB minimum dedicated SSD, NVMe or hard disk (64 GB or larger recommended for headroom). The installer permanently erases the selected OS disk.

DISK 2+ · MUSIC

Music / Books / Recordings

At least one additional physical disk or VM virtual disk, separate from the OS target. Use more disks for larger collections or supported ZFS layouts. Music disks are chosen separately and must be configured and mounted for Core to register its collections.

Important before installation: QA11 will boot on a one-disk system, but it cannot automatically configure the media library on that same disk. The ISO erases the OS disk you explicitly confirm; do not select a disk containing music as that target. Back up all important data before preparing or reconfiguring storage.

See the Core OS guide and real screenshots ↗Debian .deb alternative ↗

BEFORE YOU START

A clean Debian 13 host is the baseline.

Use Debian 13 (Trixie) amd64 on the machine that will remain your Core. Connect the storage that contains your music and any optical/audio hardware you intend to use.

Debian 13 amd64

Install on bare metal or in a full virtual machine (VM). For VMs, allocate at least 4 vCPUs (CPU cores) and 8 GB RAM. Do not use LXC containers.

Network & storage

For the ISO, provide a second disk for music as well as the boot drive. On an existing Debian package install, configure suitable separate media storage or mounted shares before importing.

Optional hardware

Optical drives, ALSA audio devices and supported endpoints are detected during commissioning when present.

INSTALL

Full Core install instructions.

Use these commands in order on a clean Debian 13 (Trixie) amd64 host.

# Debian 13 (Trixie), amd64: package install on an existing OS
sudo -i

wget -O 'brimstone-core_1.0.3+v18qa8_amd64.deb' 'https://core-audio.uk/downloads/core/brimstone-core_1.0.3+v18qa8_amd64.deb'
apt update
apt install ./brimstone-core_1.0.3+v18qa8_amd64.deb

# First-time commissioning only
brimstone-core-install

# Open the management UI at the address shown by Core.
# Local HTTPS and self-signed CA trust may need configuring.
# Change the initial Core admin password before normal use.

Open the HTTP/HTTPS LAN address and port reported by Core. Local HTTP should remain on a trusted LAN; enable trusted TLS at a gateway for remote use. mDNS discovery normally stays within one LAN and can fail across VLANs. Use the Core LAN IP if core.local cannot be found. Tailscale requires your own account authorisation and is never published through a public Funnel.

SHA-256 (.deb): ce43fac370baf194f49527798c8e366036b7a32254cfeaffbc0bf8ef7f9c544c

Download Debian Core 1.0.3 QA8 .deb

BOOTABLE INSTALLATION IMAGE · DEBIAN 13 AMD64

Brimstone Core OS · QA11 ISO

Boot the ISO on a spare PC or full VM with a dedicated 32 GB+ boot disk and at least one additional music disk to use the six-screen graphical installer. It includes the same 1.0.3 QA8 Core package above. ISO is an Alpha QA build, not a final production release. Verify the selected operating-system disk before confirming installation.

Alpha6 v18 · QA11 installer ISO

Download Brimstone Core OS ISO (1.3 GB)

SHA-256: ec910acec66f4ef6121f235248cadf5d07235a109fc8bba864ca132277a77c98

BIOS and UEFI boot records verified; clean-install behaviour still merits separate testing on your hardware. Do not use an existing music/data disk as the OS target.

ACTUAL QA11 INSTALLER

What you will see.

Real screenshots from the installation test VM, not concept artwork.

**Welcome**The six-stage Core OS installer and its safety defaults.

**Select the OS disk**Choose the dedicated OS drive; only this chosen disk is erased during the OS installation.

**Select music disks**Data drives are listed separately from the boot drive; this QA example uses three virtual music disks.

All installer screenshots and disk setup details ↗

Upgrades preserve the library. The package owns software. Persistent state, PostgreSQL data and media paths live separately, so installing a later Core package does not replace the music catalogue.

REMOTE CONTROL

Local first, remote when you want it.

The commissioning path provisions Core's private remote-access support separately from the Debian base packages. Control can then connect to the owner's configured Core rather than using a hard-coded address.

Installation help Meridian/Sooloos setup