Talos OS

Talos OS is a minimal, secure, and immutable Linux distribution purpose-built for running Kubernetes clusters. It eliminates traditional management interfaces like SSH and the shell, relying entirely on an API secured with mutual TLS for all system operations. Designed to reduce the attack surface, Talos mounts its root filesystem as read-only, applies CIS security guidelines by default, and incorporates Kernel Self Protection Project recommendations for hardening. The system runs ephemerally in memory, leaving the primary disk available for Kubernetes workloads, and delivers atomic updates to prevent configuration drift and ensure predictability. Talos supports deployment on cloud platforms, bare metal, and virtualization environments, and is open source, maintained by Sidero Labs and the broader community.