August 2, 2026
Patch notes and pain notes
Show HN: Bor – Open-source policy management for Linux desktops
Linux admins are cheering, traumadumping about Intune, and begging for kid-control features
TLDR: Bor’s new release makes it easier to control settings on Linux laptops from one place, including email, browser, and firewall rules. Commenters were into it, but the loudest reactions were equal parts Intune trauma, cautious questions about whether it really keeps users from changing settings, and one parent eyeing it as kid screen-time control.
A niche Linux desktop tool somehow turned into a very relatable group therapy session. Bor just dropped version 0.8.0, adding ways to control Thunderbird email, Microsoft Edge, and even firewall settings across Linux computers, plus a slicker web dashboard and tighter admin controls. In plain English: it helps someone manage a bunch of laptops without walking around fixing each one by hand. And the crowd reaction? A mix of relief, curiosity, and one very loud anti-Windows scream.
The biggest mood came from people who’ve clearly been burned by existing office tech. One commenter said they manage laptops for a non-profit manually because they’d “kill” themselves before using Windows Intune again — which is less a product review and more a cry for help. Another user basically showed up saying, finally, this is close to what I actually need, then immediately started asking for Linux Mint support, custom scripts, and how user accounts map to settings. Translation: people are interested, but they want proof this thing can survive messy real life.
Then came the practical paranoia. One commenter zeroed in on the eternal admin nightmare: if a user changes a setting, does Bor smack it back into place, and how fast? That question got to the heart of the drama — shiny features are nice, but people really care whether the tool can stop chaos. There was also a wholesome curveball: could this be used for children’s laptop screen-time better than iPhones and Androids? So yes, the release is about policy management, but the real story is the comments section turning it into a referendum on bad IT tools, household digital discipline, and admin trust issues.
Key Points
- •Bor v0.8.0 adds new policy types for Mozilla Thunderbird, Microsoft Edge for Business, and Firewalld zones.
- •The Thunderbird and Edge policy implementations generate managed policy files, clean them up when policies are removed, and include web-based editors with validation features.
- •The Firewalld policy type writes zone XML files, validates them with `firewall-cmd --check-config`, reloads firewalld, and tamper-protects managed files.
- •Polkit support now includes variable conditions via `action.lookup()`, and a bug affecting multiple action IDs in one rule was fixed.
- •The release overhauls the web UI with PatternFly 6, introduces per-action RBAC, improves routing and scalability, and adds accessibility and destructive-action safeguards.