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Current release: 1.0.0a72 License: MIT Platforms: Windows 11 + WSL2, and native Debian/Ubuntu Runtime: Python 3.11+ · PySide6 6.8+

ChromaPress is a native desktop workbench for analyzing, staging, customizing, building and verifying Linux installation images.

The central design rule is simple: the selected source ISO is treated as read-only. Changes are staged and reviewed separately, then handled by the Linux-native servicing/build engine in a controlled workspace.

1.0.0a72 is an alpha release. Static analysis, manifests and package evidence are not a substitute for real boot, install, live-session or hardware validation where those are required.

• Native PySide6/Qt desktop interface.
• Windows front end using WSL2 for Linux-native image tooling.
• Native Linux engine in the Debian package.
• Existing ISO analysis without copying or modifying the source ISO.
• Role-based application selection and target-image application/component inspection.
• Staged Changes → Test → Undo workflow.
• Read-only Boot & Hardware evidence before changes are staged.
• Preservation-first System, Installer, Desktop and custom-content planning.
• Current image-plan review before production.
• SHA-256-backed source/integrity checks where applicable.
• Optional AI App Studio with explicit review and validation gates; this feature is not part of the current verified runtime path.
• Danish and English interface support.
• Windows .exe and Debian .deb release builds.

The screenshots below document one complete ChromaPress build path from a reviewed production plan to a booted live ISO with the requested package change verified at runtime.

The production plan has passed preflight and is staged for generation. The selected source ISO remains read-only.

During generation, ChromaPress shows the current real build phase and a monotonic progress percentage. The percentage advances from completed build phases rather than elapsed-time estimates.

The generated ISO completed ChromaPress' output SHA-256 and static boot-structure checks. Runtime boot verification is still treated as a separate gate.

The generated ISO was booted as a Lubuntu 26.04 live system in Oracle VirtualBox. The package added by ChromaPress was then verified as installed and launched successfully.

BOOT_ISO=PASS
LIVE_DESKTOP=PASS
ABIWORD_INSTALLED=PASS
ABIWORD_VERSION=3.0.8+ds-2
ABIWORD_LAUNCH=PASS

ChromaPress exists in part because of time spent debugging Linux ISO customization tools.

A friendly reminder from one open-source project to another: people who spend hours finding, reproducing, and fixing bugs are contributors too. Treat them that way.

ChromaPress can work from a supported distribution source or open an existing ISO directly. Existing images are referenced in place and analyzed through the Linux-native engine.

The Overview page presents the detected distribution, architecture, boot mode, root filesystem layers, installer evidence and source SHA-256.

ChromaPress can organize applications around the intended use of the target system. Application changes remain explicit and staged rather than silently applied.

Verification status: AI App Studio has not been runtime-tested for this release and is not included in the verified end-to-end release path documented above.

AI App Studio is an optional experimental feature designed to follow the same review model as the rest of ChromaPress.

It is intended to assist with creating or revising applications using target-Linux context while keeping the generated project inspectable. Generated source must be reviewed and validated before it can be staged for inclusion in an ISO.

API credentials are intended to remain session-scoped and are not designed to be stored in ChromaPress project files or copied into the target image.

The current image plan provides one place to inspect the selected source and staged intent before production.

The production page keeps reusable profile handling, output configuration, verification settings and reviewed expert hooks together.

ChromaPress is deliberately preservation-first and fail-closed.

• The selected input ISO is not modified in place.
• Changes are staged before they are applied.
• Unknown or unsupported target capabilities are not silently treated as verified.
• Host Windows/WSL state is not substituted for missing target-image evidence.
• Security-sensitive configuration is separated into explicit gates.
• Passwords, API keys, signing keys and similar secrets are not intended to be stored in project files.
• AI-generated code is treated as reviewable source, not trusted merely because AI produced it.
• Static evidence does not prove runtime, hardware or deployment behavior.
• Final release acceptance still requires the relevant real-world runtime tests.

See SECURITY.md for vulnerability reporting and security expectations.

The release build is a native Windows GUI. Linux-native ISO operations are delegated to WSL2.

1. Install/enable WSL2 and a supported Linux environment.
2. Download ChromaPress.exe from the GitHub Releases page.
3. Start ChromaPress normally from Windows.
4. Select or open the Linux ISO you want to analyze.

The source ISO remains referenced in place; ChromaPress does not require an upload step.

Download the .deb release asset and install it with your normal package manager, for example:

sudo apt install ./chromapress_1.0.0~a72-1_all.deb

The Debian package uses the Linux engine directly rather than routing through WSL.

python -m venv .venv
python -m pip install -e .
python -m chromapress.app

On Windows, create the virtual environment with your normal Windows Python installation and ensure WSL2 is available for Linux-native image operations.

The final release regression gate can be run with:

python -m pytest -q final_testpack/tests/test_final_release_gate.py

Windows release build:

.\packaging\build_windows_release.ps1 -SkipInstall

Debian release build:

./packaging/build_deb.sh

A successful build is not, by itself, a complete release acceptance. The produced artifacts must also be tested as the actual installed/distributed programs.

ChromaPress was created through an extended human–AI collaboration between Janus Rokkjær and ChatGPT.

The program's architecture, implementation, interface work, debugging, testing, localization, documentation and release preparation were developed with ChatGPT as the primary development assistant. The product direction, requirements, acceptance criteria and hands-on testing were controlled by Janus Rokkjær throughout development.

Rather than hiding the use of AI, ChromaPress is published openly as an example of what can be achieved when AI-assisted development is combined with continuous human review, testing and correction.

ChatGPT and OpenAI are not affiliated with or endorsing ChromaPress.

Programs and ISO images created with ChromaPress are user output. ChromaPress does not automatically add deployment branding, telemetry identifiers or a shared ChromaPress runtime to applications created through AI App Studio.

The next ChromaPress development cycle is planned to explore two major additions after the initial release has had time for real-world use and feedback.

Create a bootable recovery ISO from an existing Linux installation while preserving the original system during capture.

Planned goals include:

• safe, read-only system collection
• explicit include/exclude review before capture
• SquashFS-based system image
• bootable recovery ISO generation
• manifest and SHA-256 integrity verification
• preservation-first handling of user and custom system content

Write a ChromaPress-generated ISO directly to removable USB media.

Planned safety requirements include:

• explicit removable-device selection
• no automatic selection of the first disk
• system/internal disks blocked by default
• destructive-write confirmation
• write, flush and read-back verification
• final PASS/FAIL evidence

These features are planned for the next development build after the initial ChromaPress release.

Implementation ideas, platform-specific experience and security recommendations are very welcome.

Ideas, bug reports, documentation improvements and focused code contributions are welcome.

Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request. ChromaPress has strict preservation and verification rules around ISO handling, staged changes, privilege boundaries and security-sensitive operations, but contributors do not need to be experts in every part of the project to propose an idea or improvement.

The original alpha-by-alpha development record is preserved in docs/DEVELOPMENT_HISTORY.md.

A shorter release-oriented history is available in CHANGELOG.md.

ChromaPress does not intentionally collect, store or transmit personal user data.

Read the Privacy Policy