mirror of
https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-doc.git
synced 2024-12-27 00:09:26 -05:00
257 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
257 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
lang: en
|
|
layout: doc
|
|
permalink: /doc/getting-started/
|
|
redirect_from:
|
|
- /doc/how-to-get-started/
|
|
- /getting-started/
|
|
- /en/doc/getting-started/
|
|
- /doc/GettingStarted/
|
|
- /wiki/GettingStarted/
|
|
ref: 190
|
|
title: Getting started
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
After [downloading](/downloads/) and [installing](/doc/installation-guide/)
|
|
Qubes OS, it's time to dive in and get to work! (Already know your way around?
|
|
Dive right in to [organizing your qubes](/doc/how-to-organize-your-qubes/).)
|
|
|
|
## The Basics
|
|
|
|
Qubes OS is an operating system built out of securely-isolated compartments
|
|
called [qubes](/doc/glossary/#qube). For example, you might have a work qube, a
|
|
personal qube, a banking qube, a web browsing qube, and so on. You can have as
|
|
many qubes as you want! Most of the time, you'll be using an [app
|
|
qube](/doc/glossary/#app-qube), which is a qube intended for running software
|
|
programs like web browsers, email clients, and word processors. Each app qube
|
|
is based on another type of qube called a [template](/doc/glossary/#template).
|
|
More than one qube can be based on the same template. Importantly, a qube
|
|
cannot modify its template in any way. This means that, if a qube is ever
|
|
compromised, its template and any other qubes based on that template will
|
|
remain safe. This is what makes Qubes OS so secure. Even if an attack is
|
|
successful, the damage is limited to a single qube.
|
|
|
|
Suppose you want to use your favorite web browser in several different qubes.
|
|
You'd install the web browser in a template, then every qube based on that
|
|
template would be able to run the web browser software (while still being
|
|
forbidden from modifying the template and any other qubes). This way, you only
|
|
have to install the web browser a single time, and updating the template serves
|
|
to update all the qubes based on it. This elegant design saves time and space
|
|
while enhancing security.
|
|
|
|
There are also some "helper" qubes in your system. Each qube that connects to
|
|
the Internet does so through a network-providing [service
|
|
qube](/doc/glossary/#service-qube). If you need to access USB devices, another
|
|
service qube will do that. There's also a [management
|
|
qube](/doc/glossary/#management-qube) that automatically handles a lot of
|
|
background housekeeping. For the most part, you won't have to worry about it,
|
|
but it's nice to know that it's there. As with app qubes, service qubes and
|
|
management qubes are also based on templates. Templates are usually named after
|
|
their operating system (often a [Linux
|
|
distribution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_distribution)) and
|
|
corresponding version number. There are many ready-to-use
|
|
[templates](/doc/templates) to choose from, and you can download and have as
|
|
many as you like.
|
|
|
|
Last but not least, there's a very special [admin
|
|
qube](/doc/glossary/#admin-qube) which, as the name suggests, is used to
|
|
administer your entire system. There's only one admin qube, and it's called
|
|
[dom0](/doc/glossary/#dom0). You can think of it as the master qube, holding
|
|
ultimate power over everything that happens in Qubes OS. Dom0 is more trusted
|
|
than any other qube. If dom0 were ever compromised, it would be "game over."
|
|
The entire system would effectively be compromised. That's why everything in
|
|
Qubes OS is specifically designed to protect dom0 and ensure that doesn't
|
|
happen. Due to its overarching importance, dom0 has no network connectivity and
|
|
is used only for running the [desktop
|
|
environment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_environment) and [window
|
|
manager](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_manager). Dom0 should never be
|
|
used for anything else. In particular, you should never run user applications
|
|
in dom0. (That's what your app qubes are for!)
|
|
|
|
### Color & Security
|
|
|
|
You'll choose a **color** for each of your qubes out of a predefined set of
|
|
colors. Each window on your desktop will have its frame colored according to
|
|
the color of that qube. These colored frames help you keep track of which qube
|
|
each window belongs to and how trustworthy it is. This is especially helpful
|
|
when you have the same app running in multiple qubes at the same time. For
|
|
example, if you're logged in to your bank account in one qube while doing some
|
|
random web surfing in a different qube, you wouldn't want to accidentally enter
|
|
your banking password in the latter! The colored frames help to avoid such
|
|
mistakes.
|
|
|
|
[](/attachment/doc/r4.0-snapshot_40.png)
|
|
|
|
Most Qubes users associate red with what's untrusted and dangerous (like a red
|
|
light: stop! danger!), green with what's safe and trusted, and yellow and
|
|
orange with things in the middle. This color scheme also extends to include
|
|
blue and black, which are usually interpreted as indicating progressively more
|
|
trusted domains than green, with black being ultimately trusted. Color and
|
|
associated meanings are ultimately up to you, however. The system itself does
|
|
not treat the colors differently. If you create two identical qubes --- black
|
|
and red, say --- they'll be the same until you start using them differently.
|
|
Feel free to use the colors in whatever way is most useful to you. For example,
|
|
you might decide to use three or four qubes for work activities and give them
|
|
all the same color --- or all different colors. It's entirely up to you.
|
|
|
|
### User Interface
|
|
|
|
On operating systems like Windows and macOS, the desktop environment is
|
|
unchangeable and part of that operating system. With Linux, any of a number of
|
|
desktop environments are an option. Qubes OS is installed with XFCE as its
|
|
default desktop environment, but it also supports [KDE](/doc/kde/), as well as
|
|
the window managers [i3](/doc/i3/) and [AwesomeWM](/doc/awesomewm/).
|
|
|
|
[](/attachment/doc/r4.0-taskbar.png)
|
|
|
|
The bar at the top of your screen in Qubes 4.0 includes the following XFCE
|
|
component areas:
|
|
|
|
- The **Tray**, where many functional widgets live.
|
|
- **Spaces**, an interface for [virtual
|
|
desktops](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_desktop). Virtual desktops do
|
|
not have any inherent security isolation properties, but some users find them
|
|
useful for organizing things.
|
|
- The **Task Bar** where buttons for open and hidden windows live.
|
|
- The **App Menu**, where you go to open an application within a qube, to open
|
|
a dom0 terminal, to access administrative UI tools such as the Qube Manager,
|
|
or to access settings panels for your desktop environment.
|
|
|
|
To learn more about how to customize your desktop environment, we recommend you
|
|
spend some time going through [XFCE's documentation](https://docs.xfce.org/).
|
|
|
|
There are several tray widgets that are unique to Qubes OS:
|
|
|
|
- The **Whonix SDWDate** allows you to control the Tor connection in your
|
|
[`sys-whonix`](https://www.whonix.org/wiki/Qubes) qube.
|
|
- The **Qubes Clipboard** lets you easily copy text from dom0.
|
|
- The **Qubes Devices** widget allows you to attach and detach devices --- such
|
|
as USB drives and cameras --- to qubes.
|
|
- The **Qubes Disk Space** widget shows you how much storage you're using.
|
|
It'll notify you if you're ever running out of space.
|
|
- The **Qubes Domains** widget allows you to manage running qubes, turn them on
|
|
and off, and monitor RAM and CPU usage.
|
|
- The **Qubes Updater** widget informs you when updates are available and helps
|
|
you install them.
|
|
|
|
[](/attachment/doc/r4.1-widgets.png)
|
|
|
|
#### Qube Manager
|
|
|
|
To see all of your qubes at the same time, you can use the **Qube Manager** (go
|
|
to the App Menu → Qubes Tools → Qube Manager), which displays the states of
|
|
all the qubes in your system, even the ones that aren't running.
|
|
|
|
[](/attachment/doc/r4.0-qubes-manager.png)
|
|
|
|
#### Command-line interface
|
|
|
|
All aspects of Qubes OS can be controlled using command-line tools. Opening a
|
|
terminal emulator in dom0 can be done in several ways:
|
|
|
|
- Go to the App Menu and select **Terminal Emulator** at the top.
|
|
- Press `Alt`+`F3` and search for `xfce terminal`.
|
|
- Right-click on the desktop and select **Open Terminal Here**.
|
|
|
|
Terminal emulators can also be run in other qubes as normal programs. Various
|
|
command-line tools are described as part of this guide, and the whole reference
|
|
can be found [here](/doc/tools/).
|
|
|
|
## First boot
|
|
|
|
When you install Qubes OS, a number of qubes are pre-configured for you:
|
|
|
|
- **Templates:** `fedora-XX` (`XX` being the version number)
|
|
- **Admin qube:** `dom0`
|
|
- **Service qubes:** `sys-usb`, `sys-net`, `sys-firewall`, and `sys-whonix`
|
|
- **App qubes** configured to prioritize security by compartmentalizing tasks
|
|
and types of data: `work`, `personal`, `untrusted`, and `vault`. (There is
|
|
nothing special about these qubes. If you were to create a black qube and
|
|
name it `vault`, it would be the same as the pre-configured `vault` qube.
|
|
They're just suggestions to get you started. )
|
|
|
|
A variety of open-source applications such as file managers, command-line
|
|
terminals, printer managers, text editors, and "applets" used to configure
|
|
different things like audio or parts of the user interface are also installed
|
|
by default—most within the templates. Most are bundled with each template.
|
|
|
|
### Adding, removing, and listing qubes
|
|
|
|
You can easily create a new qube with the **Create Qubes VM** option in the App
|
|
Menu. If you need to add or remove qubes, simply use the Qube Manager's **Add**
|
|
and **Remove** buttons. You can also add, remove, and list qubes from the
|
|
command line using the following tools:
|
|
|
|
- `qvm-create`
|
|
- `qvm-remove`
|
|
- `qvm-ls`
|
|
|
|
### How many qubes do I need?
|
|
|
|
That's a great question, but there's no one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on
|
|
the structure of your digital life, and this is at least a little different for
|
|
everyone. If you plan on using your system for work, then it also depends on
|
|
what kind of job you do.
|
|
|
|
It's a good idea to start out with the qubes created automatically by the
|
|
installer: `work`, `personal`, `untrusted`, and `vault`. If and when you start
|
|
to feel that some activity just doesn't fit into any of your existing qubes, or
|
|
you want to partition some part of your life, you can easily create a new qube
|
|
for it. You'll also be able to easily [copy any
|
|
files](/doc/how-to-copy-and-move-files) you need to the newly-created qube.
|
|
|
|
Want to see some examples? Check out our in-depth guide on [how to organize your
|
|
qubes](/doc/how-to-organize-your-qubes/), which walks through several common use
|
|
cases based on our user research and years of experience from veteran Qubes
|
|
users.
|
|
|
|
## Secure Habits
|
|
|
|
It is *very important* to [keep Qubes updated](/doc/how-to-update/) to ensure
|
|
you have the latest security updates. Frequently updating is one of the best
|
|
ways to remain secure against new threats.
|
|
|
|
It's also *very important* to make regular backups so that you don't lose your
|
|
data unexpectedly. The [Qubes backup
|
|
system](/doc/how-to-back-up-restore-and-migrate/) allows you to do this
|
|
securely and easily.
|
|
|
|
## How-To Guides
|
|
|
|
Here are some basic tasks you're likely to want to perform often that are
|
|
unique to Qubes as a multi-environment system. A full list is available in the
|
|
[How-To Guides](/doc/#how-to-guides) section in the docs.
|
|
|
|
- [How to organize your qubes](/doc/how-to-organize-your-qubes/)
|
|
- [How to Update](/doc/how-to-update/)
|
|
- [How to Back Up, Restore, and Migrate](/doc/how-to-back-up-restore-and-migrate/)
|
|
- [How to Copy and Paste Text](/doc/how-to-copy-and-paste-text/)
|
|
- [How to Copy and Move Files](/doc/how-to-copy-and-move-files/)
|
|
- [How to Copy from Dom0](/doc/how-to-copy-from-dom0/)
|
|
- [How to Install Software](/doc/how-to-install-software/)
|
|
- [How to Use Devices (block storage, USB, and PCI devices)](/doc/how-to-use-devices/)
|
|
|
|
If you encounter any problems, please visit the [Help, Support, Mailing Lists,
|
|
and Forum](/support/) page.
|
|
|
|
## Compatible Hardware
|
|
|
|
Make sure your hardware satisfies the [system
|
|
requirements](/doc/system-requirements/), as Qubes OS cannot run on every type
|
|
of computer. You may also want to check out [Qubes-certified
|
|
Hardware](/doc/certified-hardware/) and take a look at the [Hardware
|
|
Compatibility List (HCL)](/hcl/).
|
|
|
|
## Downloads
|
|
|
|
[Download an ISO](/downloads/), learn how to [verify its
|
|
authenticity](/doc/verifying-signatures/), and follow our [guide to install
|
|
Qubes OS](/doc/installation-guide/). Looking for the [source
|
|
code](/doc/source-code/)? You'll find it [on
|
|
GitHub](https://github.com/QubesOS).
|
|
|
|
## Documentation
|
|
|
|
Peruse our extensive library of [documentation](/doc/) for users and developers
|
|
of Qubes OS. You can even [help us improve it](/doc/how-to-edit-the-documentation/)!
|