Build “Jade Lubuntu Learning” ISO & Boot USB

This guide is written to be opened inside the Lubuntu VM (in UTM on the Mac).
You can copy–paste commands from here into the Lubuntu terminal.

High–level: you will customize a Lubuntu 24.04 ISO using Cubic,
install all of Jade’s apps into it, add the jade user,
build a new ISO, then burn that ISO to a USB stick on the Mac and
install it on the HP laptop.

0. Prerequisites

• Lubuntu 24.04 installed in a UTM virtual machine.
• You are logged in to your admin user in Lubuntu (inside UTM).
• Internet access in the VM.

1. Update Lubuntu (inside the VM)

In Lubuntu, open the terminal (Menu → System Tools → QTerminal) and run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade -y
sudo reboot

Log in again after the reboot.

2. Install Cubic (ISO customizer)

In a terminal:

sudo apt install cubic -y

3. Download the official Lubuntu ISO (inside the VM)

Download the same Lubuntu 24.04 ISO that matches your system. In your
home directory:

cd ~
wget https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/lubuntu/releases/24.04/release/lubuntu-24.04-desktop-amd64.iso

4. Start Cubic & Load the Base ISO

1. Run Cubic:

sudo cubic

2. In the Cubic window, choose a project directory, for example:
   /home/<your-user>/custom-lubuntu.
3. Click Next.
4. On the “Original ISO” page, select:
   ~/lubuntu-24.04-desktop-amd64.iso.
5. Click Next again. Cubic will extract the ISO and then open a terminal
   inside the ISO (a chroot environment).

5. Install All Jade Apps into the ISO (Cubic terminal)

Everything you run in this Cubic terminal modifies the installer ISO, not your host system.

First, update package lists inside the chroot:

apt update

5.1 Install core education, creativity & tools

apt install -y \
  gcompris klettres khangman tuxmath tuxtype \
  kwordquiz parley \
  geogebra numptyphysics \
  stellarium celestia \
  kolourpaint mypaint krita scribus ktuberling \
  vlc audacity \
  libreoffice \
  foliate \
  scratch \
  sonic-pi \
  thunderbird \
  kdeconnect \
  nextcloud-desktop \
  curl wget git build-essential

If any package says “not found”, it’s fine; the others will still install.

6. Create Users inside the ISO (Cubic terminal)

Still inside the Cubic terminal, create an admin account builder:

useradd -m -s /bin/bash builder
echo "builder:builder" | chpasswd
usermod -aG sudo builder

Now create Jade’s account with the agreed password:

useradd -m -s /bin/bash jade
echo "jade:123456789" | chpasswd

7. Create Jade’s Desktop Folders & Shortcuts (Cubic terminal)

Create category folders on Jade’s desktop:

mkdir -p /home/jade/Desktop/{Reading,Math,Art,Coding,Science,Music}
chown -R jade:jade /home/jade/Desktop

Copy app shortcuts into those folders:

# Reading & language
cp /usr/share/applications/gcompris.desktop   /home/jade/Desktop/Reading/  2>/dev/null || true
cp /usr/share/applications/klettres.desktop   /home/jade/Desktop/Reading/  2>/dev/null || true
cp /usr/share/applications/tuxtype.desktop    /home/jade/Desktop/Reading/  2>/dev/null || true
cp /usr/share/applications/kwordquiz.desktop  /home/jade/Desktop/Reading/  2>/dev/null || true
cp /usr/share/applications/parley.desktop     /home/jade/Desktop/Reading/  2>/dev/null || true
cp /usr/share/applications/foliate.desktop    /home/jade/Desktop/Reading/  2>/dev/null || true

# Math & logic
cp /usr/share/applications/tuxmath.desktop    /home/jade/Desktop/Math/     2>/dev/null || true
cp /usr/share/applications/geogebra.desktop   /home/jade/Desktop/Math/     2>/dev/null || true
cp /usr/share/applications/numptyphysics.desktop /home/jade/Desktop/Math/ 2>/dev/null || true

# Art & creativity
cp /usr/share/applications/kolourpaint.desktop /home/jade/Desktop/Art/    2>/dev/null || true
cp /usr/share/applications/mypaint.desktop     /home/jade/Desktop/Art/    2>/dev/null || true
cp /usr/share/applications/krita.desktop       /home/jade/Desktop/Art/    2>/dev/null || true
cp /usr/share/applications/scribus.desktop     /home/jade/Desktop/Art/    2>/dev/null || true
cp /usr/share/applications/ktuberling.desktop  /home/jade/Desktop/Art/    2>/dev/null || true

# Coding & music-coding
cp /usr/share/applications/scratch.desktop     /home/jade/Desktop/Coding/ 2>/dev/null || true
cp /usr/share/applications/sonic-pi.desktop    /home/jade/Desktop/Coding/ 2>/dev/null || true

# Science / space
cp /usr/share/applications/stellarium.desktop  /home/jade/Desktop/Science/ 2>/dev/null || true
cp /usr/share/applications/celestia.desktop    /home/jade/Desktop/Science/  2>/dev/null || true

# Music / media
cp /usr/share/applications/vlc.desktop         /home/jade/Desktop/Music/   2>/dev/null || true
cp /usr/share/applications/audacity.desktop    /home/jade/Desktop/Music/   2>/dev/null || true

chown -R jade:jade /home/jade/Desktop

The 2>/dev/null || true pieces just silence errors if a shortcut file
doesn’t exist, so the script keeps going.

8. Finish in Cubic & Generate the Custom ISO

1. Exit the Cubic terminal by typing:

exit

2. Back in the Cubic GUI, click Next to go to the ISO configuration page.
3. Set the new ISO name, e.g.
   jade-lubuntu-learning.iso
4. Click Generate.
5. Wait for Cubic to finish; it will show you the ISO location (inside the project directory).

By default the ISO will live somewhere like:
/home/<your-user>/custom-lubuntu/jade-lubuntu-learning.iso

9. Move the ISO Where You Can Reach It

For simplicity, copy it into your home folder inside the VM:

cp /home/<your-user>/custom-lubuntu/jade-lubuntu-learning.iso ~

You now need to get this ISO from the VM to the Mac. Options:

• Attach a shared folder in UTM and copy the ISO there, or
• Use SCP/SSH to copy it to the Mac (if you’re comfortable with that).

10. Burn the Custom ISO to USB on the Mac

This part is done in the macOS Terminal (outside the VM).

1. Plug in the USB stick you want to turn into the installer.
2. List disks:

diskutil list

Find your USB device, e.g. /dev/disk4 (size will match the stick).

3. Unmount the whole USB device:

diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk4

Replace disk4 with the correct disk number.

4. Write the ISO to the USB (this will erase it):

sudo dd if=/path/to/jade-lubuntu-learning.iso of=/dev/rdisk4 bs=4m conv=sync

Replace /path/to/jade-lubuntu-learning.iso with the real path on the Mac,
and rdisk4 with the right disk number (use r for faster raw write).

5. Wait until dd finishes and returns to the prompt.
6. Eject the USB:

diskutil eject /dev/disk4

11. Install on the HP Laptop

1. Plug the USB into the HP laptop.
2. Boot and use the HP boot menu (usually Esc or F9) to boot from USB.
3. Install Lubuntu as normal using the installer.
4. When it’s done, you should be able to log in as:
   • jade / password 123456789 — Jade’s account.
   • builder / password builder — admin account.
5. On Jade’s desktop you’ll see the organized folders: Reading, Math, Art, Coding, Science, Music, each with shortcuts.

From here you can tweak anything on the installed system, and if you ever want a new
“snapshot,” you can repeat this process and build a fresh ISO with updated tools or
desktop layout.