this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2025
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I made the unfortunate post about asking why people liked Arch so much (RIP my inbox I'm learning a lot from the comments) But, what is the best distro for each reason?

RIP my inbox again. I appreciate this knowledge a lot. Thank you everyone for responding. You all make this such a great community.

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[–] procapra@lemmy.ml 2 points 7 hours ago

Debian just works.

[–] chronicledmonocle@lemmy.world 1 points 6 hours ago

I use Debian and Mint. As others have said, it's because it just works and I don't have to screw with it.

[–] coralof@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I am using Bluefin, based on Fedora Silverblue. I realized that I was already exclusively using flatpaks for everything except one random app, so I thought why not go all-in?

Haven't had to worry about updates or system breakages since, and it's been great so far.

I used to use Debian Stable, but since doing SysAdmin work I've just become used to the way Fedora / RHEL does things.

[–] sakphul@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 day ago

For me it's openSUSE Tumbleweed on my Desktops/Laptops and openSuse Leap on my Servers. The killing Feature for me was the propper BTRFS integration with Snapper for seamless rollbacks in case I borked the system in some way.

One "downside" for me is the mix of Gnome Settings and Yast on my Desktop. But I like yast on my servers for managing everything (enabling ports in firewall, network config, enable autoamtic isntall of security updates, etc.). Also openSuse is not that common, so sometimes it is hard to find a solution if you have a distribution specific question.

Personally never looked to closely into openSuse Build Services (OBS). But I know some people who really like it.

[–] kaidezee@lemmy.ml 3 points 1 day ago

Gentoo, because if it exists - compile it.

[–] Azzk1kr@feddit.nl 3 points 1 day ago

I've been using (X)Ubuntu for ages. I just wanted something that "just works". Tired of too much tinkering and there's plenty of (non commercial) support. Mixing it with i3 as my window manager.

Roast me ;)

[–] Drito@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago

Since I was tired of distro hopping I just use MX Linux.

[–] eruchitanda@lemmy.world 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)
  • The fricking AUR

  • Nothing I don't _actually_ need

  • Pacman

  • Everything is the latest version available–ALWAYS.

  • ArchWiki

[–] BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Since I mostly use computers for entertainment these days I keep coming back to Bazzite. It’s fast, stable, kept up to date, reliable, and “just works”. I’ve created custom rpm-ostree layers to faff around, but it’s not actually necessary for anything I need.

I used to keep a second Kubuntu Minimal partition around but I realized I just don’t need it. If I wasn’t so happy with Bazzite, I would probably go with openSUSE or Endeavor.

[–] HouseWolf@pawb.social 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

EndeavourOS is the best because.

It's currently on my system and said system hasn't burst into flames yet, so I'm too lazy to change it.

Also, its space themed which makes it automatically the coolest.

[–] ragas@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Gentoo because it is as stable as Debian, less bloated than Arch, has more packages than Ubuntu, is rolling release, can mix and match stable, testing and unstable on a whim.

Even its one downside, compile times, is now gone if you just choose to use binary packages.

[–] kaidezee@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

And less stable than Arch, and more bloated than Ubuntu... If that is something you want for whatever reason! It is the most versatile distro in existance because it's literally anything you want it to be - clean and nice, or total chaos. What is there not to love?

Gentoo <3

[–] fin@sh.itjust.works 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I use debian cause it just works.

I was a Nix user (more specifically, nix-darwin user) but after being away from the computer for like one year (to study for the university entrance exam), I completely forgot how to use it and resulted in erasing the computer. Nix/NixOS is fun, but it was too complicated for me.

[–] monovergent@lemmy.ml 32 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Debian. Truly the universal operating system. Runs on all of my laptops, desktops, servers, and NAS with no fuss and no need to keep track of distro-specific differences. If something has a Linux version, it probably works on Debian.

Granted, I am a bit biased. All of my hardware is at least 5 years old. Also came from Windows, where I kept only the OS and browser up to date, couldn't be bothered with shiny new features. A package manager is already a huge luxury.

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[–] WILSOOON@programming.dev 69 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

Arch is the best, the arch wiki is massive, pacman is just amazing, no nvidia drivers bullshitting, and rolling release has only broken one thing once, life under the arch is pretty great

[–] D_Air1@lemmy.ml 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Also PKGBUILD's are the superior packaging format. Back in the day people use to talk about preferring debian or redhat based distros based on how much they liked debs or rpms. Building packages on Arch is easier than pretty much any distro I have ever tried to build packages on.

[–] UnityDevice@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 days ago

I recently needed to build newer versions of some packages for Debian. Now, they're go based so the official packaging is super complicated and eventually I decided to try and make my own from scratch. After a few more hours of messing with the official tooling I start thinking "there must be a better way."

And sure enough, after a bit of searching I found makedeb which allows you to make debs from (almost) regular PKGFILEs. Made the task a million times simpler.

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[–] malwieder@feddit.org 4 points 2 days ago

Tumbleweed. Rolling release with automated testing (openQA), snapper properly setup out of the box.

Honestly the entire openSUSE ecosystem. Tumbleweed on my main PC that often has some of the latest hardware, Slowroll on my (Framework) laptop because it's rolling but slower (monthly feature updates, only fixes in-between), and Leap for servers where stability (as in version/compatibility stability, not "it doesn't crash" stability) is appreciated.

openSUSE also comes in atomic flavors for those interested. And it's European should you care.

With all that being said, I don't really care much about what distro I'm using. What I do with it could be replicated with pretty much any distro. For me it's mostly just a means to an end.

[–] Guenther_Amanita@slrpnk.net 31 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Fedora Atomic because I don't fucking care what package manager and whatnot sits underneath.

I just wanna relax in my free time and not worry about all this fucking nerd stuff.

Touching grass > Troubleshooting a broken system

[–] swab148@startrek.website 21 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Arch users here, just touched grass for the first time. Felt like bloat, had my lawn paved.

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[–] data1701d@startrek.website 10 points 2 days ago

As with others, I love Debian Stable.

Most packages have sane defaults, and it's so stable. It's true that it sometimes means older software versions, but there's also something to be said for behavior staying the same for two years at a time.

If hardware support is an issue, using the backports repo is really easy - I've been using it on my laptop for almost a year with no problems that don't exist on other distros. If you really need the shiniest new application, Flatpak isn't that bad.

It also feels in a nice position - not so corporate as to not give a darn about its community, but with enough funding and backing the important stuff gets maintained.

[–] jaykrown@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

Linux Mint because it's extremely simple and has caused me no issues for over a year. It's the best distribution to get someone who is afraid to switch from Windows or MacOS to understand that using Linux can be just as easy.

[–] Photuris@lemmy.ml 17 points 3 days ago

Fedora, because it just works, it’s familiar, and I’ve got things to do.

[–] utopiah@lemmy.ml 18 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Debian stable.

Everybody think they are a special snowflake who needs bleeding edge, or a specific package manager or DE or whatever. Truth is 99.99% do not. They just like to believe they do, claim they do, try it, inflict self pain for longer than they need, convince themselves that truly they are, because of the pain, special.

Chill, just go with stable, it's actually fine.

Edit: posted from Arch, not even sarcasm.

[–] Allero@lemmy.today 10 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (5 children)

As someone who ran Debian Stable for a while, this is not a distro for "99.99%".

First, Debian, while very stable in its core, commonly has same random issues within DE's and even programs that may likely just sit there until the next release comes along.

Second, a release cycle of 2 years is actually a giant and incredibly noticeable lag. You may love your system when it just releases, but over time, you will realize your system is old, like, very damn old. It will look old, it will act old, and the only thing you can do is install flatpaks for your preferred programs so that they'd be up to date.

This isn't just programs. It is your desktop environment. It is Wine (gamers, you're gonna cry a lot unless you work it around with flatpaks like Bottles, which will feel like insane workaround you wouldn't have to have with a better fitting distro).

It is the damn kernel, so you may not even be able to install Debian on newest hardware without unsupported and potentially unstable backporting tricks.

Don't get me wrong, Debian is absolutely great in what it does, and that is providing a rock solid environment where nothing changes. But recommending it for everyone? Nope.

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[–] mat@linux.community 29 points 3 days ago (6 children)

I (maybe) ended distrohopping last year when I gave NixOS a shot. I can't recommend it for beginners but once you understand generally how things work on Linux (and have an interest in programming) it's a superpower to be able to define your entire setup as a single git repository. If something ever breaks, I can reboot into an older commit and keep using my computer, or branch off in a different direction... I've only scratched the surface of NixOS and yet I can already make a live USB containing my setup with a single command, or deploy it ("infect") to another machine and manage e.g my work desktop and my personal laptop sharing most settings. Also it taught me about Nix (the package manager, which also runs on any distro and macOS independent of NixOS) which I now use to set up perfect development environments for each of my projects... if I set up dependencies once (as a flake.nix shell), it'll work forever and anywhere.

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[–] besmtt@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

Bazzite.

Super easy install and setup. Ready to start installing games at first boot. Just a wonderful OS to use.

[–] Fecundpossum@lemmy.world 28 points 3 days ago (7 children)

EndeavourOS Bcause:

It’s Arch with an easy installer, with all of the most common administration tools already installed

With the Arch repo, AUR, and flatpak I have a wide breadth of software to choose from

I can easily install it without a desktop environment to install and set up Hyprland without the clutter of another DE

Not to mention it’s active and friendly community and excellent documentation

[–] Nico_198X@europe.pub 2 points 9 hours ago

this. and incredibly sane defaults. for me, basically the perfect "traditional" distro and it ended my distrohopping.

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[–] Matriks404@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago
[–] Prismaarchives@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago

Arch, because I get to say that I use Arch. /s

[–] Pirate@feddit.org 4 points 2 days ago

OpenSUSE tumbleweed: Up-to-date, unbreakable due to Btrfs+snapper, very secure defaults (firewall), based in Germany. It works perfectly on my Thinkpad, so I couldn't ask for better.

[–] TheCynicalSaint@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Fedora is quite unremarkable, no issues of late. Or ever, for that matter. It's glorious.

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[–] Underwaterbob@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 days ago

Mint Cinnamon. All my hardware works, and it can do the few things I require my work PC to do. It even remembers things like my default audio device - something Ubuntu refused to do for years.

[–] bbleml@lemmy.ml 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

NixOS. I've gotten so used to the declarative nature of NixOS, that I simply cannot go back to a "normal" distro anymore.

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[–] kittenroar@beehaw.org 1 points 1 day ago

Ubuntu because they provide kernel live patching and they fix issues quickly and my system doesn't go down if I procrastinate in doing system updates

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