What Linux distribution or distributions do you personally use?
I myself am a daily Void user. I used to use Devuan, but wanted to try rolling release and ended up loving Void!
KDE Neon on desktop. I want to be on the latest Wayland I can for feature support (and Waydroid), without being on the bleeding edge for stability, and it checks all those boxes. Based on Ubuntu LTS, with latest Wayland and KDE software.
For my home servers I like to try out different distros. I have a thin client on openSUSE Tumbleweed running Portainer, a couple Armbian SBCs for reverse proxies, my main Unraid storage server, and a thin client running NixOS at my parents’ house for backup storage and remote troubleshooting access.
Arch Linux. Always very up-to-date and the AUR is huge. No dealing with PPAs or snaps or flatpaks or appimages. Just
paru -S any-software-ever-made. Also very streamlined (systemd for everything lol) and well documented. I tried NixOS for a bit but it was very inconvenient in comparison and I felt like it was impossible to tinker with or understand if you weren’t good at Haskell. Terrible documentation.For servers it’s definitely Debian + docker.
I tried NixOS for a bit but it was very inconvenient in comparison and I felt like it was impossible to tinker with or understand if you weren’t good at Haskell.
You don’t need any haskell knowledge to configure a NixOS system. It’s mostly just researching the right options and setting the desired values. Pretty simple. For more advanced stuff like custom modules, functional programming experience helps a lot but that’s not necessary for installing packages and enabling services.
Documentation isn’t great but what it does have going for it is that it’s right in the place where you configure it: In the NixOS options. Wanna configure systemd-boot? Just search for it: https://search.nixos.org/options?channel=23.05&size=50&sort=relevance&type=packages&query=systemd-boot
It’s self-documenting.
Using Garuda (basically just Arch with some bloat) because I’m 1) too lazy to install Arch myself and 2) on an Nvidia card and Wayland WMs still seem buggy for me. Once (if ever) Wayland is stable on Nvidia I’ll probably look for an alternative
Fedora on the desktop. I got my start on Red Hat Linux so I’ve stuck with it since.
For servers I use Debian. Lightweight, widely used, and gets the job done.
openSUSE Tumbleweed, it just works for me.
Been switching between Arch and Linux Mint for a while now. I run Arch and EndeavourOS on my laptops (Arch on my daily 2-in-1, Endeavour on my TV laptop) but I can’t decide which is better for VR on my main rig… probably because VR on Linux is kinda in a pathetic state anyway lol. Next week I’m getting a second GPU for simple display-out so I can use my 6800XT to run VR in a Windows VM, probably on Arch
Edit: landed on EndeavourOS, basically just Arch with a GUI installer, DE by default, and some other tweaks. It’s what I kept turning Arch into pretty much lol
Fedora. Used to use Arch but it broke and I moved to Fedora, it’s a way more polished experience. I like how Fedora is stable but not “stale” like Debian. Want to try Fedora Silverblue as well.
I highly recommend silverblue! The only thing that can be frustrating is Steam and other game related things, particularly with wireless controllers it seems. But overall it makes it very hassle free imo.
Arch.
I’ve done a reasonable amount of distrohopping, but I always come crawling back because I’ve never found anything that can compete with the AUR.
Haha yes, I have to stay out of arguments involving Snap vs Flatpak for this reason. I ended up leaving Mint through issues with my HTPC install - with Plex, the ‘Home Theater’ app died it’s death, and options were tough to install - so I went for Arch, failed to get that working well, then tested KDE with Manjaro - bingo!
Until a couple of months ago, I was installing PlexHTPC via AUR which unpacked the snap and installed it - that’s so awesome… though now it’s dead so I had to jump onto the newly opened Flatpak option (AUR stuck at 1.30.1-1 whilst Flathub is up to 1.39.2).
After the PPA nightmares I had with 'buntu, and later with Mint (PPA’s made for 'buntu often don’t work) it’s like a dream.
I haven’t experienced an issue adding PPA’s in about four years. The package manager simply does what it’s meant to do and things just work.
Xubuntu for over ten years now. It was the first thing I landed on when in a panic that my store-bought, WinXP -preinstalled PC was failing and I couldn’t afford to be without it nor replace it. Even after being so grateful for it rescuing me, it’s also taught me, and worked flawlessly for all I need from my computers since.
Linux Mint. Nothing beats your computer just working when you have shit to get done.
Same. Mint, because n00b.
Linux Mint with Mate DE.
Mint with Cinnamon is my daily driver on my desktop and laptop for almost 3 years now. I ran a company for a while using Linux and managed to find everything I needed for software to run administration. It was great. I still have a windows tablet for troubleshooting and equipment specific requests, but I always feel weird logging into it.
I’ve used Mint since I started using Linux, and never had any major issues. I’ve therefore just stuck with it. I don’t always have the time to tinker with my machine if something should break, and Mint usually just works when I need it, while still providing flexibility when I want it (and Timeshift to fix it when I break stuff)
I use Linux Mint XFCE on my laptop and desktop. And the standard Steam OS on my Steam Deck.
Linux Mint for desktops/laptops (Cinnamon if the hardware can handle it, MATE if it’s a bit long in the tooth), and Debian for servers.
I’ve used several distros (yes, even Arch btw) through the years but I just keep finding myself coming back to the Debian-based ones. I guess I just feel most at-home with the way it has things set up, or something.
