Screenshots

Groundwork's Essentials page, headed 'What a desktop needs for things to work.' Each row has a tick box, a status and a plain description. 'Bring the system up to date' is ticked. Media codecs and Flatpak and Flathub say 'already done'. The NVIDIA graphics driver, Sound firmware and Broadcom Wi-Fi rows are greyed out and say 'not needed here', each with the reason, such as 'No NVIDIA graphics card was found.'

Groundwork's Nice to have page, headed 'Extras. Each one is its own choice.' A list of apps, each with a tick box, a status and a one-line description: Google Chrome, Brave, VLC, Discord, Spotify, Steam and Build tools say 'already done'; Zoom and Bottles are ticked and say 'not done'; VSCodium is not done and not ticked.

Groundwork's Ready to apply page, headed 'These run in this order after one password.' It lists three jobs with what each does: bring the system up to date, install Zoom, and install Bottles. Back, Apply and Cancel buttons sit at the bottom.

Groundwork's welcome page: 'Groundwork sets up this computer the way you want. Each page offers a level of choices, from essentials to extras. Nothing changes until you press Apply.' A language menu is set to English, and the line 'Checking this computer…' shows it is looking at the machine before offering anything.

About Groundwork

Groundwork sets up a fresh openSUSE install the way you want, in one sitting.

What it does

It checks the computer first, then offers choices level by level:

Essentials: system updates, media codecs, Flatpak and Flathub, and hardware drivers only where your hardware needs them.
System setup: snapshots, firewall, firmware updates and laptop power.
Configuration: computer name, remote login, and the clock for dual-boot.
Extras: popular apps, gaming, developer tools, a backup tool and fonts.

Nothing changes until you press Apply, and it asks for your password once.

Where it stands

This is its first public release. It comes as a single AppImage file that runs without installing anything, on Tumbleweed and Leap 16. It speaks English and fourteen other languages, each marked as a draft until a fluent speaker has checked it.

What's new · v0.1.0 10 October 2026

Theme: Every level, from essentials to extras.

Added

Languages nobody fluent has checked yet are labelled as drafts. (GRND-0041) The language choice says so, and so does the first page while a draft is in use.
Translation files for fourteen languages, built into the app. (GRND-0038) Each language is offered once it has been translated.
A step-by-step setup window: choose a language, pick items level by level, review, then apply with one password (GRND-0008) Items start ticked only where they are essential and not yet done. Ticking an item ticks what it needs, and the row says why.
groundwork --check lists what is and is not set up, and changes nothing (GRND-0005)
Setup runs as its own process that asks for the password once, re-checks each item first, and stops safely between items (GRND-0006)
Groundwork's own password box, so it works on any desktop (GRND-0007)
Essentials: system update, media codecs from Packman Essentials, Flatpak and Flathub (GRND-0011)
Hardware support where it is needed: NVIDIA driver, laptop sound firmware, Broadcom Wi-Fi (GRND-0014)
System setup and configuration: snapshots, firewall, firmware updates, laptop power, computer name, remote login, dual-boot clock (GRND-0017)
Extras, each its own choice: popular apps from Flathub, gaming, developer tools, a backup tool, command-line programs, Microsoft fonts (GRND-0025)
Language support, including right-to-left layouts (GRND-0032)
A single-file AppImage that runs without installing anything first (GRND-0012)
Items that accept a licence (the NVIDIA driver, Microsoft fonts) never start switched on. (GRND-0039) You switch them on yourself, so nobody accepts a licence by accident.