Greia turns an old laptop into a small learning computer for young children.
🌐 Website · ⬇️ Download the installer · 💬 Join us on Discord
A child switches it on, picks their own picture, and chooses something to play, draw, write or learn. There is no desktop, no terminal and no web browser to get lost in. Greia works without the internet, keeps each child's work on the computer, and lets a grown-up manage everything from a phone.
Greia is free and open source. It runs on a Linux base, but children never see it. It is built for very modest machines first: the reference computer is the first-generation Acer Aspire One netbook. Raspberry Pi 400 and 500 are planned targets, but there is no Raspberry Pi image yet.
Big pictures, friendly voices, and one Home button that always brings them back.
 Home: pick something to create, play or learn |
 The Magic Aquarium: care for sea creatures |
 Magic Orchestra: play notes and instruments |
 My Cute Pet: feed, wash and play |
 Number Express: first sums with apples |
 Greia Encyclopedia: explore animals, space and the world |
Six friends guide the way, in English, Italian, Spanish and French.
Status: technical preview (
0.13.1-preview.1), not a family release. An Acer Aspire One technical-preview installer is listed on the downloads page. Hardware testing and release certification are still incomplete. Try it on a spare computer, not one you rely on.
The instructions below apply to the current technical-preview installer.
Installing Greia erases the whole disk of the computer you put it on. Use a spare computer, and copy off anything you want to keep.
- Download the Greia installer from the
downloads page. It is
one big file ending in
.img. - Put it on a USB stick. Use a stick of 4 GB or more with nothing important on it. A free program called balenaEtcher does this for you on Windows, Mac and Linux. The stick will be erased.
- Start the computer from the stick. Plug it in, switch on, and tap the boot-menu key (often F12) until a list appears. Choose the USB stick.
- Follow the pictures. Pick a language, a keyboard and the disk. Nothing is erased until the last screen, and only after you hold the button down for two seconds.
- Take the stick out when the installer says it is finished, then start the computer again. Greia opens with a screen where your child picks a profile.
Step-by-step with screenshots and fixes for common problems: Install Greia from a USB stick. Greia installs on PCs, not on Macs, and the Raspberry Pi is not supported yet. Your Windows PC or Mac is only used to prepare the stick.
 The installer explains every step in plain words. |
 The Parents app, on your phone or laptop. |
- Open the parent settings on the computer itself: on the profile screen, hold the S and T keys together for five seconds. Greia Parents guide
- Manage Greia from your phone or laptop on the same home Wi-Fi. No account and no cloud. Greia Parents guide
- Choose what each child sees, with separate profiles, language and play-time limits. What parents can manage
- Keep Greia up to date without losing your child's work. If an update goes wrong, Greia goes back to the last working version. How updates work
- Backups of a child's work are planned but not finished yet.
- Privacy: no ads, no tracking, no account. Everything stays on the computer. PRIVACY.md
Greia comes with 45 Activities for roughly ages 3 to 7: painting, writing, numbers, letters, music, stories and more. You can choose English, Italian, Spanish or French.
You do not have to be a programmer. Artists, translators and voice reviewers are welcome too. Start with CONTRIBUTING.md, and come say hello on Discord: questions, ideas and "it works on my old laptop!" stories are all welcome.
| I want to... | Read this |
|---|---|
| Make a new Activity (game, tool, story) | Create an Activity |
| Add or translate a language | Add a Greia language |
| Record or review voices | Voice production skill and voice tool |
| Draw art and icons | Art and graphics system, SVG rules |
| Build an installer image | Build a Greia image |
| Test an Activity on my desktop | Activity Simulator |
| Work on the Shell, Parent API or installer | OS work skill, engineering foundations |
| Report a bug | Open an issue with your computer model and what you saw |
| Report a security problem | Privately, as described in SECURITY.md |
| Find my way around the docs | Documentation map |
To try the Simulator, you need Python 3.11+, git and make:
git clone https://github.com/frozenpepper/Greia.git
cd Greia
python3 -m pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
python3 tools/greia_simulator.py # run the real Shell on your desktop
make verify # run all tests and checksThe Simulator and desktop tests do not prove anything about real hardware. Say where you tested when you open a pull request.
- Start at AGENTS.md: the rules and product contracts.
- Then SETUP.md: what to install for your role.
- Then the matching skill in skills/. The agent index lists which manual fits which task.
- Code is under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. Documentation is intended for CC BY 4.0. Fonts and media from others keep their own licenses, and the audit is still under way: see NOTICE.md.
- The Greia name and logo are covered by the trademark guide. You may truthfully say a product "runs Greia OS".
- Privacy: PRIVACY.md. Security: SECURITY.md. Conduct: CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md.
- Website: https://www.frozenpepper.it/greia/ · Discord: https://discord.gg/TWuT3z7BVu · Contact: greia@frozenpepper.it. History: CHANGELOG.md.