SentinelOS System Manual

Operate, verify and maintain SentinelOS without losing Debian control.

This manual documents the public v1.0.18-2 system contract: release identity, repository trust, policy packages, hardening, drift controls, exact package cohorts, reports and recovery boundaries.

Begin with identity Conversion Manual

Administrator rule: use sudo only for system-level commands. Launch normal desktop applications as the signed-in user. Read-only audits should be preferred before apply, cleanup or rollback actions.

System identity

Confirm SentinelOS and its Debian lineage.

cat /etc/os-release
uname -m
uname -r
dpkg-query -W 'sentinelos-*' 'sentinel-*' 2>/dev/null | sort

The accepted release identity is SentinelOS 1.0 AMBROSO, ID sentinelos, ID_LIKE debian, Sentinel codename ambroso and Debian base codename trixie.

sentinelctl compatibility

Discover the installed interface before using it.

The v1.0.18-2 converter package and its v1.0.18-final engine do not define a stable sentinelctl subcommand contract. Some installed SentinelOS package sets may provide the command, but this website will not invent subcommands that are not asserted by the installed packages.

if command -v sentinelctl >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  sentinelctl --help
  sentinelctl --version 2>/dev/null || true
else
  echo "sentinelctl is not installed by this package set"
fi

Use the package-owned commands documented below for the accepted v1.0.18-2 baseline. When sentinelctl is present, its installed --help output is authoritative.

Repository trust

Keep Debian sources and the signed SentinelOS source explicit.

cat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/sentinelos.sources
gpg --show-keys --with-fingerprint /usr/share/keyrings/sentinelos-archive-keyring.gpg
sha256sum /usr/share/keyrings/sentinelos-archive-keyring.gpg
sudo apt update

Repository: https://repo.sentinellinux.org
Primary fingerprint: 6D67 428E 0E94 0380 DD9F F23C 4721 26A6 F65B D513
Signing subkey: 26AA 1316 8D20 97E2 1605 BBFD C8C4 AC1F D06C 8483
Keyring SHA-256: cad463ec65676ea8daa59e9edb4eab12e359d7d6568592cf27d7af2472c80cf9

The v1.0.18 final baseline rotates away from the retired primary fingerprint 1367 E6A5 C2B4 A51F 3388 9EA8 B823 1252 8A59 2DB2. Do not reintroduce the retired key.

Software maintenance

Use Debian tools while respecting the coordinated Sentinel package cohort.

sudo apt update
apt list --upgradable
apt-cache policy sentinel-desktop-suite sentinelos-release-baseline
sudo apt full-upgrade
sudo dpkg --audit

Debian base updates remain allowed. SentinelOS package updates should be published as a coherent release baseline so interdependent policy and application packages are not mixed arbitrarily.

Avoid partial manual pinning. Do not force a single Sentinel component to an unapproved version when the release baseline requires an exact cohort.

Policy as Packages

Inspect ownership and versions instead of trusting hidden one-time changes.

sentinel-desktop-suite-status
sentinelos-release-baseline-status
dpkg-query -W sentinel-desktop-suite sentinelos-drift-control sentinelos-release-baseline sentinelos-release-gate
dpkg-query -L sentinelos-hardening-baseline

The final conversion locks 38 public SentinelOS packages. Security, desktop identity, login and boot branding, drift control and the release gate are supplied through package-owned interfaces and versioned contracts.

Read the full Policy as Packages model.

Sentinel Base hardening

Audit, apply, verify and restore through the package-owned interface.

sudo sentinelos-hardening --summaryDescribe the safe baseline and audit-only scope.

sudo sentinelos-hardening --auditRecord findings before applying the safe baseline.

sudo sentinelos-hardening --apply-safe-baseline --confirm APPLY_SENTINELOS_HARDENING_BASEApply only the package-defined safe baseline.

sudo sentinelos-hardening --verifyVerify the applied baseline.

sudo sentinelos-hardening --restore-safe-baseline --confirm RESTORE_SENTINELOS_HARDENING_BASERestore the package-recorded prior safe-baseline values.

Firewall lockout, automatic service disabling, USB blocking, forced encryption migration and browser lockdown are intentionally outside the automatic safe base.

Desktop identity

Verify the default MATE theme, icons, window manager and cursor.

gsettings get org.mate.interface gtk-theme
gsettings get org.mate.interface icon-theme
gsettings get org.mate.Marco.general theme
gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.interface cursor-theme

Expected public defaults are SentinelOS-Light for GTK, Marco and icons, plus SentinelOS-Cursor-Light-Cyan for the cursor. AEGIS gold is excluded from the base desktop and remains conditional on the optional complete public AEGIS suite.

Use the package interface for apply, verification and restore.

sudo sentinelos-release-identity --applyApply package-owned release identity, LightDM, GRUB and Plymouth settings.

sudo sentinelos-release-identity --verify --jsonVerify all required identity files and active selections.

sudo sentinelos-release-identity --restoreRestore the recorded pre-conversion identity state.

The package also registers 24 official wallpapers. LightDM is not automatically restarted during conversion, which avoids terminating the active graphical session.

Drift and release controls

Audit first; remediation remains explicit.

sudo sentinelos-drift-control --audit --jsonCheck exact Sentinel package versions, repository trust, release identity, phase markers and the private boundary without remediation.

sudo sentinelos-drift-control --cleanupRemove defined old APT partials and conversion temporary directories. No apt autoremove, user-file deletion or application-data deletion.

sudo sentinelos-release-gate --verify --jsonRun the read-only final release decision.

systemctl status sentinelos-drift-audit.timerInspect the weekly audit timer.

The latest drift JSON is written to /var/lib/sentinelos-drift-control/latest.json.

Reports and evidence

Know where the system records each decision.

/var/log/sentinelos-conversion/Phase execution logs.

/var/lib/sentinelos-conversion/Completion markers, state and phase reports.

/var/backups/sentinelos-conversion/Recorded backups created by package-owned conversion interfaces.

/var/lib/sentinelos-conversion/reports/phase-99/Final release report, certificate, ISO inputs, evidence and checksums.

Backup and recovery

Preserve user data separately from package state.

Back up home data.
Copy documents, vaults, wallets, application databases and exported records to independent storage.
Record package state.
Save dpkg-query -W, active repository files and the Phase 99 evidence directory.
Test restoration.
Verify checksums and restore a sample into a safe temporary location before relying on a backup.
Use bounded rollback commands.
Rollback hardening, release identity or drift policy only when the affected layer is understood.

Diagnostics

Collect evidence before changing configuration.

sudo dpkg --audit
systemctl --failed
journalctl -b -p warning
apt-cache policy
sudo sentinelos-drift-control --audit --json
sudo sentinelos-release-identity --verify --json
sentinel-desktop-suite-status

APT signature error

Confirm system time, the active key fingerprint and the Signed-By path. Never bypass signature checks.

Package drift

Compare the installed version with the release baseline before upgrading, downgrading or removing anything.

Desktop mismatch

Check package ownership, gsettings and a clean MATE login before copying files manually.

Release gate failure

Read the generated JSON and evidence. Phase 99 deliberately performs no automatic remediation.