Collabora shares with us today a new project that lets you install and run the Debian GNU/Linux operating system on the open-source OpenWrt One router.
Collabora’s Sjoerd Simons has developed openwrt-one-debian, a set of scripts and tools that make it easier for one to install a full Debian GNU/Linux operating system on the OpenWrt One device, leveraging its NVMe storage and giving you the freedom to enable custom services, support for containers, development tools, and more.
“This project provides a Rust-based flasher to install Debian on the OpenWrt One, opening the door to standard Debian tooling, packages, and workflows. For developers and power users, it transforms the OpenWrt One from a network appliance into a compact, general-purpose Linux system,” said Sjoerd Simons.
yeah… I’ve been wanting to upgrade home WiFi and the markups suck.
There were some rumors of an “OpenWRT Two” with WiFi 7, sometime mid-2026, but idk if those are credible so take with a pound of salt.
I hope they do come out with it, since WiFi 7 would be cool, and I hope it can stay at a reasonable price (though with the DRAM market explosion I doubt this).
Alas, it seems that open source driver support for the newer standards is lagging. My OpenWRT One has only been in service for a couple of months, and it ended up being a trade-off I made intentionally for the flexibility.