Install Liquorix Kernel on elementary OS 6.0/6.1

Liquorix Kernel is a free, open-source general-purpose Linux Kernel alternative to the stock kernel with elementary OS. It features custom settings and new features and is built to provide a responsive and smooth desktop experience, especially for new hardware. Liquorix Kernel is popular amongst Linux Gaming, streaming, and ultra-low latency requirements and often boasts the latest Linux Kernels, having multiple branches to choose from the stable, edge, and development.

For users seeking to have their elementary OS system kernel up to date and not wanting to manually install kernels or use the testing/unstable repositories, installing a third-party kernel that may be for you.

For more information on Liquorix Kernel before installing, visit the Liquorix Kernel features information page.

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to import the Liquorix Kernel PPA and install the latest Linux Kernel on elementary OS 6.

Prerequisites

• Recommended OS: Any elementary OS 6.xx distribution.
• User account: A user account with sudo or root access.

The tutorial will utilize the terminal for the installation found in Applications (Top Right Corner) > Search > Terminal.

Example:

Update Operating System

Update your elementary OS system to make sure all existing packages are up to date:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

The tutorial will be using the sudo command and assuming you have sudo status.

To verify sudo status on your account:

sudo whoami

Example output showing sudo status:

[joshua@elementaryos~]$ sudo whoami
root

To set up an existing or new sudo account, visit our tutorial on Adding a User to Sudoers on elementary OS.

To use the root account, use the following command with the root password to log in.

su

Install Dependecies

To complete the installation, you will need to install the following software packages by using the following command in your terminal.

sudo apt install software-properties-common -y

If you are unsure, run the command; it will not harm you.

Import the Liquorix Kernel PPA

The first task is to import the Liquorix Kernel PPA. For elementary OS users, this is relatively easy with using PPA’s, and this one is maintained by the same team behind the Liquorix kernel so it can be safely trusted.

In your terminal, use the following command to download the bash script.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:damentz/liquorix -y

Next, refresh your APT repository to reflect the new addition.

sudo apt update

To verify, you can use the grep command to check the file contents.

grep liquorix /etc/apt/sources.list.d/damentz-ubuntu-liquorix-focal.list

Example output:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/damentz/liquorix/ubuntu focal main
# deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/damentz/liquorix/ubuntu focal main

As above, the repositories have been successfully imported by the PPA.

Install Liquorix Kernel on elementary OS

Next, with the bash script downloaded and repositories now updated, you can begin the installation of the Liquorix kernel.

In your terminal, use the following command to begin the installation.

sudo apt-get install linux-image-liquorix-amd64 linux-headers-liquorix-amd64

Example output:

Type Y, then press the ENTER KEY to proceed with the installation.

Once the chosen repository Linux kernel has been installed, you will need to reboot your system to complete the installation.

sudo reboot

Once you have returned to your system, verify the installation.

cat /proc/version

Example output:

Remember, this version number will be different in time, and the Liquorix kernel receives updates constantly.

How to Update Liquorix Kernel

To keep the Linux kernel you installed with Liquorix up to date, you will run the standard apt update and upgrade commands.

To check for updates.

sudo apt update

If an upgrade is available.

sudo apt upgrade

How to Remove (Uninstall) Liquorix Kernel

To remove Liquourix Kernel, use the following command.

sudo apt-get autoremove linux-image-liquorix-amd64 linux-headers-liquorix-amd64 --purge

Example output:

Type Y, then press the ENTER KEY to proceed.

This will remove all traces of Liquorix Kernel’s possible and unused dependencies.

Ideally, you can remove the PPA repository as well.

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:damentz/liquorix -y

Alternatively, you may need to remove the Liquorix additional packages with the following.

First, you will need to use the exact name of the Linux image and header package. This can be found by using the following command dpkg –list command.

dpkg --list | grep `uname -r`

Example output:

As above, the names are highlighted in red now remove the kernel packages.

Example:

sudo apt-get autoremove linux-image-5.15.0-16.1-liquorix-amd64 linux-headers-5.15.0-16.1-liquorix-amd64 --purge

Remember to replace the 5.15.0-16.1 with the version printed out in the dpkg –list command.

Alternatively, you could take a shortcut using this command as follows, but be careful not to remove any existing kernels.

sudo apt autoremove linux-headers-5.16.* linux-image-5.16.*

Example output:

Type Y, then press the ENTER KEY to proceed with the removal.

Next, update-grub and initramfs.

sudo update-grub && sudo update-initramfs -u

This should result in the original Linux Kernel present before installation in the output logs.

Example output:

update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-5.13.0-27-generic

Now restart your PC to finalize the removal of Liquorix Kernel.

sudo reboot

Once you have returned to your system, verify the installation rollback.

cat /proc/version

Example output:

As shown above, you have rolled back to the default Linux kernel, thus successfully removing Liquorix from your system in full.

Comments and Conclusion

In the tutorial, you have learned how to install Liquorix Kernel on elementary OS. Liquorix Kernel is designed for desktop users with the latest hardware. However, it is advised to research before upgrading, and it is ill-advised to use it on critical or production-type systems.

There is some debate amongst Liquorix vs. XanMod or other similar alternative kernels. Ideally, Liquorix does not push for the latest bleeding-edge kernels like XanMod but instead focuses on some of the newest kernels that are very stable and perform well, which gives users more confidence, stability, and in the end, performance compared to more unstable alternatives. This, however, is debatable, and different setups will experience other pros and cons.