Which one(s) and why?
I am now at NixOS. I like the reproducibility and immutability of the distro, but the documentation is far from great and configuring the OS you want is not that straightforward. I also don’t like that even though it has a great number of packages, they tend to be slightly outdated.
I am not sure if I will stick with it, but I really like that I can create very specialised configurations that are also portable. I am currently using KDE but I am thinking of switching to Hyprland once I get more comfortable around NixOS and home manager/flakes, as nothing beats tiling managers in my opinion.
I also settled on NixOS after Ubuntu -> Arch -> Debian -> Fedora -> Silverblue -> NixOS. Couldn’t be happier and no plans to leave.
NixOS/hyprland is the perfect blend of practicality and fun for me
It works pretty solidly, sometimes doing something others can do imperatively in a single command can be a pain though
Did you have to learn the Nix language? I like the idea but I found all the different commands you have to use confusing…
Another vote for Nix!
Fedora.
(Specifically Workstation - i.e. the Gnome variant, but I’ve used other spins and they’re also great)
Pretty up to date, reliable, spearheads new developments that go on to benefit the Linux desktop as a whole, they don’t make a bunch of crazy alterations to the DEs they ship.
And to think I was reluctant to try it for ages because the name sounds like it’d be some neckbeardy distro.
I settled on openSUSE Tumbleweed because it’s rolling and reliable. I chose KDE Plasma long before I chose my distro.
Same. Although I am running Debian on the server.
same!
Using this right now. It’s been a little less stable then I’ve heard other people claim, I had about a day and half where I was consistently freezing up 5 minutes after login. After that was patched it has been fine.
The real test for me is if I can walk away from it for 3 weeks and update the system without the world exploding. That was what always broke Arch for me.
All my problems have been of my own making. Also I updated one computer after 18 months or thereabouts and it was fine although I wouldn’t recommend leaving it that long on a computer you actually use!
I used to use Leap but I switched to the Tumbleweed repos and updated with no issues. It did take a while though.
How is Arch “making things difficult for oneself”?
I set it up once 8 years ago and have since migrated my install across several SSDs.
Still runs like butter.
Fedora atomic GNOME aka silverblue
- It has very good defaults, works out of the box, I can switch anytime to another de or a ublue image without messing around with my setup
- selinux
- podman
- flatpak centric
- auto updates
- widely used
Current Cons:
- openssl is not installed by default (for gsconnect)
- gnome-tweaks is not installed by default
- uses toolbx instead of distrobox. Toolbx is better for servers, distrobox better for desktop, imo.
- flatpak firefox isn’t used
Opensuse micro has distrobox as the default shell. It still needs some work before i daily drive it tho
And it uses firefox flatpak and iirc it installes gnome tweaks by default. Opensuse does right what fedora missed until today.
But, ostree is incredible. There’s no ostree on opensuse and what do I want with btrfs snapshots if I can have ostree’s image based approach? I love opensuse for tumbleweed but fedora rocks with ostree. I could switch to a ublue image but I can also just overlay the packages which isn’t that bad. It’s just bad for newcomers. And no newcomer should have to use ublue because the official image lacks stuff. But it is what it is.
Arch. Minimal, fast, rolling and it doesn’t break. Plus, the AUR and the Wiki are unvaluable.
Had been on: RedHat (199something), Mandrake, Slackware, Ubuntu and Debian before.
Oh I completely forgot about RedHat! Yes, that was my first one too. Then Ubuntu was kinda the thing to go to and it worked for a good while until it just didn’t work for me anymore.
Today I’m on Mint because it was the first distro I tried that was able to get the Wifi working on my super old/bad HP Laptop. I started to like it and then also moved to Mint on my desktop. Running it for a year now and since my PC isn’t the youngest anymore, I doubt I will switch distro again anytime soon.
I learned, and learned, and learned, and every step led me to simplify, simplify, simplify.
Now, I’m a Debian man. If I didn’t install it, it probably isn’t on there, just like I like it.
Mint unironically. I’ve reached a point where I’ve got a lot of things going on in my life that I don’t have the time and just need something that works and I don’t need to fiddle around with much.
This makes me feel better. I had the entire intention to distro hop around but mint was the first one and it just worked lol
EndeavourOS.
I’m naturally a tinkerer and an avid gamer, with very recent hardware so an Arch based distro fits really nice.
It has just the right amount of pre-installed stuff. Not quite as bloaty as Manjaro or most ubuntu-based distros, but not quite as DIY as vanilla Arch. I know I can install and uninstall anything on Linux but when a distro already comes with just the right baseline for me, work smarter, not harder.
Ubuntu/Debian based distros didn’t quite suit me, I love the AUR to death, I love the Arch wiki (even if a lot of it can be used just fine on other distros), I love rolling release and having the latest everything. I do use PopOS on my laptop since I use it a lot less and therefore I want to update it less often.
Only issue is when they ship dumb defaults sometimes that break my workflow but I can diagnose and undo them I guess.
Was on Fedora for 3 yrs now and decided to distrohop to EndeavourOS like yesterday. Reason: jc141 releases were finnicky on Fedora; very very probably my fault lol.
Gotta say, I’m impressed with the system and makepkg is just so comfy to use wtf.
Might go back to Fedora eventually but EndeavourOS has been a smooth sailing so far. I think I’ll stay a while.
Arch btw
Same, though I’m (sorta) not using it now, and I don’t know that I could’ve been considered a hopper.
I started with Ubuntu then gave Gentoo a shot. Got tired of the maintenance and went with LMDE. Switched back to Windows when I switched my gaming from console to PC.
A few years ago I read about Proton and decided to check my Steam library against ProtonDB. All the games I still played (and most that I had stopped) were rated gold or higher. At that point I was done with Windows, at least for machines I own, and gave Arch a shot.
I stuck with that until my power supply died and will be going back to it once I can afford to build a good PC. For now I’m just using my Steam Deck and hooking it up to a dock when I’m at my desk. It runs SteamOS which is Arch-based but a different experience for sure. I can still use Pacman and the AUR, but with some hefty caveats that almost make it not worth it.
EndeavourOS. I like the simplicity and minimalism of stock Arch, bloated distros bother me. I have been thinking of trying out Linux Mint again though, I used it for years and it was really good.
Debian. It always works until it doesn’t and when it doesn’t there’s information at my level of understanding that allows me to correct it.
Like everyone i started on Windows.
From there -> Mint -> Ubuntu 16 -> Fedora -> Ubuntu 18 -> elementary -> Ubuntu 18 (again) -> Ubuntu 22 -> EndeavourOS
I’ve god damn I love EndeavourOS. Now just hop between the supported DEs instead :)
Linux Mint, I wanted Manjaro with KDE to work so much. But the issue I had with it, and no not the in general complaints about Manjaro, was how annoying it is to set up again. Rebuilding a machine or an install was just such a hassle, that I wanted to move to a Ubuntu/Debain based distro, where everything was already made for it.
If my current build of Linux Mint dies, then I’d probably move to the Mint DE and remove the Ubuntu part.
Troubleshooting is easier, finding apps is easier, and outside of advance user packages like MangoHud and XPadNeo where I needed to build from source (not fun). It’s been a painless experience.
Age. I’m old now.
I do it once in a while, to feel young, but not benefit all that much. (Having said that about my daily desktop, I do have multiple machines and VMs that run all sorts of distros)
