Debian Testing (laptop, workstation and RPIs) since it works best for me. Tried Gentoo, Arch, OpenSUSE and several others. Also, I've been using FreeBSD for some time.
this post was submitted on 15 Nov 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Alpine Linux. It's pretty lightweight (uses ~250MiB on idle with sway), is easy to install and is super stable. My only criticism is that there is quite a lot of software not available in the repos, but this is mainly fixed by flatpaks.
from the comments, there's a split between
- linux as a tool: debian, mint, fedora, opensuse, etc.
- linux as a toy: arch, gentoo, nixos, etc.
i wish this split was made more explicit, because more often than not someone comes looking for recommendations for linux as a tool, but someone else responds expecting they want linux as a toy. then the person will try out linux and will leave because it's not what they want, not knowing that there is a kind of linux that is what they want
Yes! Great way of putting it. It's hard to explain how just using an OS can be a fun hobby in itself.
OpenSUSE Tumbleweed does it all for me. I work and play games on it and stuff, but my laptop is less mission critical, so I run EndeavourOS on it and experiment with fun layouts and everything is all "frutiger-aero-esque". It feels like how I nostalgicallyremember those WinXP-7 days!
Snapper rollbacks with BTRFS are incredible for letting you play around with an OS you actually use, and still giving you a cushion to fall back on. :D
My little media streamer / guest PC has Mint. Nice, maybe a little boring, predictable, reliable. Ahhh simplicity. :)
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Because the logo is cool :)
Endeavour OS because once you go rolling you can never go back.
I loved EndeavourOS, but I'm just not sure bleeding edge is for me. Mostly because I will forget to update for a week, and suddenly there are 500 updates, all with interconnected dependencies and pacman is just like "wtf dude?"
I'm not sure I really gained any benefit from that over using a more stable release. I switched to Bazzite a few months back, and it's been amazing. Immutable is very interesting, and it's made for the most stable PC I've ever owned.
Highly recommend Bazzite for gamers (or I guess it's good for multimedia too), or if not, one of the other Fedora-based immutable distros.
This is one of the little things I love about Gentoo. It's rolling, but not bleeding edge.
Plus, you can opt into bleeding edge either per package or for all packages. It's honestly a flexibility that doesn't even require a source-based distro, so Arch could do it too.
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Void because I don't like gnome, primarily because it uses more than 50% of my resources, so I need something lightweight and have had bad experience with arch. I've had some hiccups with void but it wasn't something I couldn't fix. The downside is that it there are no package repository mirrors in my region, and sometimes I have to change mirrors to install packages, and some applications are not packages for void, so I have to look for open source alternatives that I have to compile.
I use Bazzite so that it matches with my Steam Deck since SteamOS still isn't an actual distro to play with yet...
I use NixOS for my desktop because ~~I hate myself~~ you can configure everything without needing to edit a bunch of different config files that use different configuration languages.
I use Arch btw for my Minecraft server because I am crazy.
btw i use Arch, i use it because i found lot less effort it takes to do anything and it's stable, i do think there is some bug with QTcreator, gotta see it's os issue or QT issue.
Nix because I have a bad memory and hate doing things more than once
Guix SD because i like editing declarative ((`scheme)) config for my system in emacs
Man gnu endorsed distros are quite rare here.
Debian and Linux Mint.
Debian for mission critical stuff like servers or things I don't want to futz with, like HTPCs, work machines, etc.
Mint for my gaming desktop because it's a bit newer on kernels and such.
For devices I need to be productive on, I have LMDE 6. It is rock solid being based on stable Debian, but with the niceties you expect from Mint.
For my gaming PC, I've got Bazzite on it and so far so good. Just used it for entertainment and gaming but if I were doing coding or app development I'd either have to adjust how I do that to suit an atomic distro, or I'd just use LMDE as I feel I have easier control of what I'm doing on there
Arch. I need the AUR for certain applications, and the high degree of customizability and opportunity for learning appeal to me as a relatively new-ish Linux user (going on a few years now, most of that time having been on Arch).
openSUSE Tumbleweed. I've tried switching to Aurora and Bazzite, but ended up using openSUSE again and now I love it even more.
EDIT: Typos.
EDIT 2: I also love tinkering with Void and Alpine on VMs.
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Mint for my desktop system. It just does exactly what I want it to, has good compatibility with software and Cinnamon is my DE of choice.
NixOS for my server, because being able to use one config repo and format for everything is so nice.
Linux Mint, because I don't like to tinker with the system, I like good defaults (and Mints has them).
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EndeavourOS. It's just easy to install and I basically use it like Arch
Ubuntu because I'm old, uncool, and tired
Hilarious to have to look this low for it, but who want to stand up and declare themselves mainstream.
Polished, reliable, and solid, and snaps are not a big deal or an insidious evil, and neither is Canonical. They make missteps for sure. But with containers etc stability is more important than immediate updates and it's excellent about kernel updates for new hardware. It's slick Debian, and if the fuckery ever gets real switching to Debian is easy.
Me too. Rock solid, with KDE. So easy to learn, make it mine.
Mint, because it seems like the easiest OS for someone who doesn't know wtf a flatpak is
The other hard drive has Windows, because Fusion360 doesn't work on Linux. Hey Autodesk, can you hear me? Make it happen please
Try solvespace or openscad or blender depending on your use-case.
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Fedora Silverblue
- I like Gnome
- I like that Fedora adopts new technology quickly
- I like how it makes updates more reliable
- I like flatpak
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I use Debian on my server and Arch on my gaming PC and laptop. Both distros offer minimal installs so I can just add the packages I need and avoid the ones I don't. Debian offers a nice stable base for running my services with minimal downtime and Arch has the most up to date packages for all the cutting edge features I want on desktop.
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