This is truly a labor of love, and it got built the way it will keep getting better: out loud, on the record, one decision at a time. If something is clumsy, say so. If something is missing, name it. And if you’d like to do more than say so, this page is the honest menu.
No corporate sponsors — on purpose
Unlike a lot of Linux distributions, Vizsla OS has no corporate sponsorships. That isn’t because the cash wouldn’t be welcome — it would. It’s because sponsorship money likes to arrive with opinions, and editorial input is a hard no. Nobody buys a say in what this system becomes, what it ships, or what it refuses to do. It stays a labor of love, which means it runs on the people who believe in it. There are four ways to be one of those people:
1. Be a beta tester
The honest state first: Vizsla OS is in active development, and there is no public download of the OS yet. Early testers will be the first outside hands on it — people willing to run unfinished software, say plainly what breaks, and be kind about the rough edges while they’re being sanded.
To put your name down, open an issue on the project’s GitHub and say hello: github.com/garrisonr/vizsla-website/issues. Tell us what machines you’ve got and what you’d put it through. When builds are ready for outside hands, testers come from that list, in order.
Want something in your hands today? System Profiler — one of Vizsla’s own apps — is already a public download, and its bug reports shape the OS too.
2. Donate
Vizsla is free, and free is the point — but the work runs on real things: machines to build and test on, electricity, domains, and the AI tokens that power the development itself. A donation doesn’t buy features, votes, or a logo anywhere. It just keeps the lights on for a project that answers to its users instead of its sponsors.
One-off tips, no account needed to give. Ko-fi takes no cut of donations; the payment itself runs through Stripe.
3. Give feedback
Constructive feedback is not a suggestion box here; it is the development process. Two real channels, no form that mails into the void:
- From the web: open an issue at github.com/garrisonr/vizsla-website/issues — bug reports, feature wishes, and beta sign-ups all live there, in the open.
- If you run Vizsla: feedback rides the channel the system itself uses for every human decision — Pass or Paws, the decision inbox built into the OS.
What good feedback looks like here: “This screen made me stop and think.” “I looked for X in the obvious place and it wasn’t there.” “It did something I didn’t ask it to do” — the gravest charge in this house, and the fastest to get fixed.
4. Join Muse with Richard’s code
Vizsla is built by one man directing an AI — Muse — in plain language. If you sign up for Muse yourself, using Richard’s referral code credits tokens back to this project. Those tokens are the fuel: they become more features built, more testing for quality and security, and more bugs squashed before you ever meet them.
The code: 493EK5
How to use it — join Muse first, then: in the Muse app (iPhone or Android), go to Settings → Redeem token and enter the code; that entry is available in your first 48 hours after joining. On the web at muse.ai, it’s Settings → General → Usage → Redeem invite code. The offer’s terms are Muse’s and are shown at redemption — this page promises nothing about amounts, only that the referral genuinely helps the project that built everything you’ve been reading about.
Or just write
Email: garrison.richard@proton.me
Instagram: instagram.com/richardgarrisonia
Facebook: facebook.com/richard.garrison.731917
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/garrisonrichard
A person reads every word — because so far, every word of feedback has changed something.