base VS ublue

Like you mentioned, rpm-ostree is meant to be a fallback after non-working options like, in order, flatpak then distrobox/toolbox. But that doesn't mean it can't be used. Keep in mind this is simply a rule of thumb to increase security, stability and rpm-ostree performace, but it's still just a rule of thumb. Silverblue is very flexiible, and I have roughly 600 overlays and while rpm-ostree is slow, the only thing I really do with it is upgrade those packages installed with it, now that my system has the packages I need. Since this can be done automatically (See "man rpm-ostreed.conf") and the system is immutable, the only intervention required is rebooting when necessary (Such as if there's a fixed vulnerability or a new feature update you want). The other nice thing about auto-updates and immutability is that Silverblue is more resistant to breaking while running do to an update of an important system library or the like, since the library isn't even "visible" until the next boot, when those things it depends on are all already setup to use the new version. I also recommend checking out Jorge's flatpak automatic update systemd .timer and .service filese over at https://github.com/ublue-os/base/tree/main/usr/lib/systemd/system and downloading them and using sudo (From a Silverblue terminal) to put them into /etc//systemd/system, doing a "sudo systemctl daemon-reload" and "sudo sytemctl enable flatpak-system-update.timer" . This will update your flatpaks for you. In my opinion, between rpm-ostree auto-updates flatpak updates, you'll have a much smoother experience.

You'll see that the base image installs flatpaks as a post-install step. I really tried to work around this limitation, but haven't been able to via the OCI approach.

I myself use Fedora Silverblue with a https://ublue.it/ -based custom image, and I use home-manager for shell configuration. Sure, my GNOME layout isn't declarative, but basically everything else is. Pair that with one of the best NVIDIA driver experiences and the strong feeling of stability, it's better than most other Linuxes rn.

Take a look at ublue.it

This is a fundamental misunderstanding of immutable systems. You still have full control over what’s on your computer, you just don’t exercise that control by making irreversible changes to your core system while it’s running. You can use e.g. rpm-ostree, or even better, build a custom image with exactly the changes you want that updates and ships directly to your computer whenever you want it to.

Have you considered the Sericea(Sway) immutable Fedora spin at ublue.it?

Have you considered the nvidia images at ublue.it? They make silverblue and nvidia easy.

Try the ublue images, they have one for deepin. It’s a variant on fedoras immutable silverblue image, you could either use their iso on http://ublue.it or install silverblue and rebase to the deepin image via:

ublue.it

This is indeed a blind spot. Thanks for pointing that out! Silverblue -to my knowledge- doesn't do a lot to address this. Though, 3rd-party tools like Home Manager and the suite of applications developed by the folks over at uBlue might be able to limit this to a minimum. Though I'm not sure if it surpasses NixOS in this regard; for the uninitiated. Though, to my knowledge, this requires special attention and depends on the specifics of the NixOS system in question.

This hasn't been for nought as even openSUSE's Aeon (and all their immutable offerings) ship Distrobox instead. Vanilla OS also ships Distrobox instead of Toolbx. Heck, even the folks over on uBlue\1]) always mention Toolbx with Distrobox and vice versa. And it wouldn't surprise me if most of them prefer to use Distrobox instead.