# Supported Operating Systems

# Supported Operating Systems

## Linux

The Linux installer identifies your distribution from `/etc/os-release` and only proceeds on an explicitly supported combination:

| Distribution | Supported Versions |
|---|---|
| Ubuntu | 20.04, 22.04, 24.04 |
| Debian | 11, 12, 13 |
| Linux Mint | 20, 21, 22 |
| Pop!_OS | 20.04, 22.04, 24.04 |
| Zorin OS | 16, 17, 18 |
| elementary OS | 6, 7, 8 |

Any other distribution ID causes the installer to stop immediately with an unsupported-OS error, rather than attempting a best-effort install.

Additional Linux requirements:

- **apt-based systems only.** The installer uses `apt-get` for package management and Docker's Ubuntu/Debian repositories (with derivative distributions falling back to the underlying Ubuntu codename). RHEL/CentOS/Fedora/openSUSE/Arch and other non-apt distributions are not currently supported.
- **systemd is required.** GateBeacon's background services (tunnel client, terminal access, route sync) run as systemd units.

## Windows

There is no hard-coded Windows version check in the installer, but functionality depends on the **Windows OpenSSH Client** optional feature, which is available starting with:

- Windows 10, version 1809, or later
- Windows Server 2019, or later

Earlier Windows releases are not supported. The installer will attempt to enable the OpenSSH Client feature automatically if it is not already present, but this requires the underlying Windows version to support it.

Additional Windows requirements:

- Administrator rights are required to run the installer.

## Known Limitations

- **ARM devices are not officially validated.** There is no documented ARM-specific packaging for either platform. If you plan to enroll ARM hardware (for example, a Raspberry Pi), check with support before relying on it in production.
- **Platform-specific catalog apps.** The **IIS Web Server** catalog application is Windows-only. Most other catalog applications are Docker-based and Linux-only. **App Publishing HTTPS** is the one catalog entry that works identically on both platforms. See [Other Catalog Applications](/books/gatebeacon-documentation/page/other-catalog-applications) for the full per-app platform matrix.

## Next Steps

Confirm your device matches the table above, then continue to [Enrolling a Linux Device](/books/gatebeacon-documentation/page/enrolling-a-linux-device) or [Enrolling a Windows Device](/books/gatebeacon-documentation/page/enrolling-a-windows-device).