Collabora has unveiled the Holo Core project, which it developed in collaboration with Valve to develop a version of the Arch distribution. Linux for the AArch64 platform. Holo Core was created to run SteamOS on the Steam Frame, a device that combines a personal computer, a 3D headset, and two 3D controllers. The development of Holo Core was necessary because the Arch distribution LinuxThe SteamOS platform is only available for the x86_64 architecture, while the Steam Frame is built on a Snapdragon 8 chip, which uses the ARM64 architecture. Source code for packages adapted for the ARM64 architecture, as well as pre-built binary packages and a Docker container image, are available for testing.
The key objective of the project is to build a continuous integration infrastructure for organizing automated builds that monitors the state of continuously updated Arch repositories. Linux and defining the required dependencies. In addition to creating patches required for some packages to work on Aarch64 systems, the project required several issues to be resolved.
Some of the problems are caused by the fact that Arch's continuously updated repository Linux The new state of some packages is tied to the old one, and rebuilding requires reproducing the entire chain of states (for example, rebuilding rust 1.91 requires rust 1.90, which in turn requires rust 1.89, and so on). A similar situation is observed for libraries that are tied to the build toolchain (for example, icu and gpgme, used in pacman)—if these libraries are updated, both the old and new versions must be present for a successful rebuild.
Another limitation was the uncertainty with the build order - in the Arch Git repository Linux Packages are often added out of sequence, making automated rebuilding unsuitable without recalculating the entire dependency chain. Furthermore, attempts to build old versions are hampered by changes in the upstream project infrastructure—the source code may be moved, the project may be moved to a different Git hosting service, the Git code checksums may change due to short hashes being replaced with long ones, and automated downloads may be blocked by anti-bot protection.
The CI toolkit developed by the Holo Core project is capable of calculating the full dependency tree and replaying the Arch build history. Linux From the initial bootstrap to the final state, covering all necessary intermediate rebuilds. The published test version corresponds to the package versions in the Arch repository. Linux as of November 18, 2025 and is a kind of prototype demonstrating the readiness of the created infrastructure for the formation of final products.
Once the system is debugged, it is planned to synchronize it with the package versions used in the development of future versions of SteamOS for the x86_64 architecture. The code for the developed CI tools will be published under an open license and offered for implementation in the Arch project. Linux, which currently lacks CI infrastructure. They also plan to contribute work to the main project to create an official Arch port. Linux for the AArch64 architecture.
Source: opennet.ru
