Text editor
Tabs, file tree, find and replace, line numbers. Old Big5 files are converted automatically and saved back as Big5.
0.32
Editing PDF content
Light, friendly,
Light, friendly,
a Linux desktop that speaks your language
The login screen, window manager, Zhuyin input method, apps, PDF reader and AI assistant — all rebuilt from scratch in C. Lighter than LXDE and Xfce, and just over 700 MB once installed.
Built-in Zhuyin inputOnly 4 MB extra, no ibus needed
Pomi: "Terminal opened."Quick command · under 0.1 s
Signed — all signatures are validPDF digital signatures, built in-house
700+ MB
installed size
<100MB
of resident memory at idle — lighter than LXDE and Xfce
1.5 MB
total size of all 36 packages
0
GNOME packages required
14
interface languages
Rebuilt from scratch in C
From the login screen to the AI assistant,
every layer is light
Most Linux desktops are assembled from components by different projects — login manager, window manager, input method, PDF reader… each bringing its own libraries. Every layer of Pomelo is rewritten in C as one coherent design, so files are small, it's fast, and it uses little memory.
AI assistant1 package
pomelo-assistant111 KB
111 KBPomi: an AI on your computer, a walking 3D robot
PDF1 package
pomelo-pdf318 KB
318 KBOur own PDF engine: read, annotate, sign, digital signatures, edit
Apps7 packages
pomelo-files40 KB
pomelo-terminal36 KB
pomelo-edit43 KB
pomelo-calc30 KB
pomelo-viewer41 KB
pomelo-player64 KB
pomelo-screenshot28 KB
282 KBFile manager, terminal, text editor, calculator, image viewer, media player, screenshots
Settings10 packages
pomelo-system61 KB
pomelo-display16 KB
pomelo-network25 KB
pomelo-bluetooth18 KB
pomelo-sound14 KB
pomelo-power8 KB
pomelo-storage25 KB
pomelo-language26 KB
pomelo-software20 KB
pomelo-monitor20 KB
232 KBDisplays, network, Bluetooth, sound, power, storage, language, Software Center
Zhuyin input method1 package
pomelo-input13 KB
13 KBChewing engine + our own candidate window, no fcitx or ibus
Windows & desktop7 packages
pomelo-session11 KB
pomelo-wm29 KB
pomelo-panel28 KB
pomelo-launcher18 KB
pomelo-notify11 KB
pomelo-control-center16 KB
pomelo-theme23 KB
137 KBSession, window manager, menu bar and Dock, launcher, notifications, Control Center
Login & security5 packages
pomelo-dm26 KB
pomelo-greeter17 KB
pomelo-lock9 KB
pomelo-polkit11 KB
pomelo-keyring42 KB
105 KBLogin screen, screen lock, administrator password dialog, keyring
36 packages, only 1.5 MB in total
See all packages
These are the actual file sizes of the Ubuntu 24.04 LTS build of 0.32 — smaller than a single phone photo.
Light on resources
Lighter than LXDE and Xfce
Measured on a clean Ubuntu 24.04: installing Pomelo pulls in almost half as many packages as Xfce. At idle the CPU sits at 0% — everything is event-driven, and the menu bar wakes only once a minute to update the clock.
Packages installed along with the desktop
Includes everything a full desktop needs, such as Xorg, PipeWire and NetworkManager. Measured with apt on a clean Ubuntu 24.04.
Resident memory per component
0% CPU at idleMeasured PSS (proportional memory). The calculator, image viewer and media player together add only 4 small libraries; using ristretto + galculator + audacious instead would add 162 packages.
A familiar way to work
Menu bar on top, Dock below —
at home from day one
Press Super+Space to search and Super+A to see all apps. Clean, good-looking, and you can adjust every part of it.
Pomelo menuAbout this computer, Settings, Lock, Sleep and Shut Down. Right-click to edit it and add your favorite apps, websites or commands.
Zhuyin input methodThe "注/英" indicator in the menu bar. Tap Shift to switch between Chinese and English; click it for the input method menu.
Control CenterWi-Fi, Bluetooth, dark mode, Do Not Disturb, brightness and volume — all in one place.
Clock and dateThe calendar and notifications live here.
DockYour favorite and running apps; right-click to pin or remove. The Trash is on the far right.
File managerDouble-click a photo to open it in Image Viewer, music or video in Media Player, and PDFs in the PDF reader.
TerminalCtrl+Shift+T opens a new tab; Super+Return summons it any time.
Click the numbers on the desktop
Pomelo's desktop feels like the computers you already know: a menu bar at the top and a Dock at the bottom.
- Window buttons are at the top right — or move them to the left, effective immediately
- Super+←/→ snaps a window to the left or right half
- Super+Tab shows all windows
- Dark mode, accent color and text size are all under "Appearance"
Launcher Super+A
Every app at a glance — just type to find one.
- Right-click an icon and choose "Edit…" to change its name, icon or category
- "Add" your own apps or commands, such as one that opens a website
- Changes are stored in your account only; "Restore" brings back the original
Search Super+Space
Find apps, files and commands — in Chinese too — or do math directly.
- Can't find it? Type a question and choose "Ask the assistant" to hand it to Pomi
- Choose which places to search in Settings
Control Center
Click the toggle icon on the right of the menu bar.
- Dark mode, Do Not Disturb, auto-hide Dock
- Drag to set the volume; network, Bluetooth and display settings are one click away
Settings
Twenty-odd settings pages, all built in-house — no terminal needed.
- Network: manual IP and DNS; reverts after 30 seconds unless you click "Keep"
- Displays: resolution, rotation, arranging multiple monitors
- Storage: one-click cleanup of the Trash, caches and unneeded packages
- Camera: preview, brightness and contrast — or turn it off entirely
Even the login screen is our own
A big clock, your avatar, and your wallpaper as the background. The login manager uses only about 2 MB of resident memory — no GLib, no D-Bus.
- Background, clock, text size and automatic login are all in "Settings → Login Screen"
- Show a line of text at the bottom, such as "If found, please call 09xx"
- Optional:
tryit first, and replace your current one once you're happy
AI assistant "Pomi"
An AI assistant that
strolls across your desktop
Pomi runs on your own computer, so what you say never goes online. Everyday requests like "open the terminal", "set the volume to 30" or "remind me to take a break in 10 minutes" are done in under 0.1 seconds.
- Runs entirely on your computer: download the model once — no account, no internet
- Gets things done: opens apps, finds files, changes settings, creates folders, appends to files
- Always asks first: never overwrites files, and only moves things to the Trash
- Software 3D: our own renderer, no graphics card needed, under 1% CPU
Pomi・Super+Shift+Space
Web demo
Hi, I'm Pomi! Tap a phrase below or type to talk to me.
This is a web demo with scripted replies. The real Pomi runs on your computer; green means a quick command, purple means the model is thinking.
PDF reader
Even the PDF engine is our own
No off-the-shelf PDF library. Read documents, annotate, sign, apply digital signatures, edit text and remove watermarks — all in one app.
Chinese documents and encrypted files open fine
Documents without embedded fonts use system fonts; vertical text and Big5 work; RC4 and AES encryption are supported and damaged files are repaired automatically.
Annotations and handwritten signatures — just drag and drop
Highlighter, sticky notes, pen and arrows; sign with your mouse or use a photo of your signature (white background removed automatically).
Real digital signatures
Sign with a .p12/.pfx digital ID; documents are verified automatically when opened — green, yellow or red shows at a glance whether anything changed.
Edit the original text on the page
Click a line to edit it; the closest matching font (Ming, Kai or Hei) is chosen automatically, and edited text stays selectable and searchable.
Remove watermarks in one go
Automatically lists diagonal semi-transparent text, images repeated on every page, headers and footers — tick them and remove them all at once.
Built-in Pomelo Zhuyin
Type Chinese right away —
no fcitx or ibus needed
Pomelo comes with its own Zhuyin input method: the Chewing engine plus our own candidate window. Works in Firefox, Chrome, VS Code and LibreOffice.
- Tap Shift or press Ctrl+Space to switch between Chinese and English
- Standard, Hsu, Eten, pinyin and other Zhuyin layouts are supported
- Dark mode and accent color follow the system
Extra disk space needed
Show data table
| Option | Extra packages | Extra disk space | Resident memory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pomelo Zhuyin | 5 | about 4 MB | about 6 MB |
| fcitx5 + Chewing | 49 | about 37 MB | about 30 MB |
| ibus + Chewing | 79 | about 235 MB | about 28 MB |
Built-in apps
The apps you use every day,
ready to go
Also built in-house: quick to open, light on resources. Double-click in the file manager and the right app opens.
Calculator
Type the whole expression and see the result as you go. Scientific mode has trigonometry, logarithms and factorials. 0.1+0.2 correctly shows 0.3.
Image viewer
Phone photos rotated automatically, animated GIF/WebP, slideshows and photo info; even 50-megapixel photos open.
Media player
Playlists, album art and subtitles (Big5 too). Big5 song titles in old MP3s are no longer garbled.
Music library
Automatically organizes your Music folder; browse by song, artist or album and play everything with one click.
Screenshots & recording
Super+Shift+3/4/5 captures the whole screen, a selection or a window; recordings are saved as MP4.
Plus: file manager, terminal (with tabs), Software Center, Activity Monitor, Keyring, storage cleanup… See all features
Multilingual
14 interface languages
Switch in "Language & Input" and log in again. Traditional Chinese is the native language — every word was written with care.
繁體中文
English
简体中文
日本語
한국어
Français
Deutsch
Español
Italiano
Português (Brasil)
Русский
Tiếng Việt
ไทย
Bahasa Indonesia
Simplified Chinese was converted from Traditional and reviewed by hand; the other languages are AI translations not yet reviewed by native speakers — please report any odd wording.
Installs on the Linux you know
No reinstall — it goes on top of your existing system. Your current desktop stays; just choose "Pomelo" when you log in.
Actively developed
Recent updates
Try Pomelo today
Free and open source (GPLv3). It won't replace your current desktop, and you can remove it whenever you like.
curl -LO https://pomelo.fedora.tw/download/pomelo-0.32-ubuntu24.04-amd64.tar.gz