What Is Your Distro?

hhh · 2026-08-30 02:02:30

I'm curious what makes one choose a distro. I use Debian, either stable or forky/sid, because I think apt/dpkg is the best package manager and stable is stable and forky/sid is brave enough. I had to go 5 months without updates once, everything broke when I finally upgraded and I'll always use Debian stable as my daily driver as a result. It's familiar, it's light but solid, it has a crap-ton of solid packages, and it has gotten a lot better about getting upgraded packages in earlier. If I wanted to use Openbox, I'd use BunsenLabs carbon because it's all configured and great.

@PackRat posts a lot of Void Linux scrots, @Döbbie03 has gone from Arch to NixOS to building his own packages on Gentoo, and Colonel Panic has been attempting to install every distro ever released, it seems. What's the reason? What made you settle on a distro?

Döbbie03 · 2026-08-30 02:37:03

Gentoo. Why? Because I was bored of Arch. I wanted a challenge.

I have this voice in my head that has come about since my ArchLabs days that if I haven't done it myself then I can't call myself a real Linux user. Using pre-made distros like Endeavour just don't cut it for me.
I don't judge anyone else's choices, this is something I judge myself by.

hhh · 2026-08-30 03:06:49

Good explanation. I should mention that @Sector11 is "X11, please." and several forum members have been loyal to sysvinit via Devuan.

WizardofCOR · 2026-08-30 03:58:57

For me, it's all about purpose & usability, really.
I'm not beholden to any particular underpinnings, although I'll readily admit that I do prefer Debian-based distros over others.

darknetmatrix · 2026-08-30 05:20:20

Always have a debian or debian-based (forky-sid)distro because it just works for me. I'm also happy to use Arch or Arch-based distributions, since they've become quite stable in recent years.

happycamper · 2026-08-30 09:47:20

My last one was Linux Mint Cinnamon, which came with the starlabs laptop I bought some years ago, but I had such fun with crunchbang some years ago on my home desktop that I opted to put bunsenlabs on it a year ago - macbook is set up with multiple screens in my office and is rarely moved and I regularly use the little 12 inch linux laptop on the go ... sharing to my mac: code via guithub and docs via dropbox

Colonel Panic · 2026-08-30 11:20:09

Thanks for the excellent question! Hope you've got the patience to read my
answer.

I have an old computer (a Dell Vostro 460 desktop) that I want to keep
running as long as I can; and that largely limits my choice of distros to
lightweight ones.

I lean heavily towards Debian-based distros, especially Debian Stable,
because compared to others I've used they're very simple to update and
maintain (they are also in my experience very stable and reliable)

I also have a liking for non-SystemD distros, though it's not a deal
breaker for me if one does have SystemD.

I've got a couple of editions of antiX on my hard drive, and I appreciate
the way I can make a snapshot ISO of each of them and burn this off to a
DVD so that I can preserve my settings from the moment in time when
everything worked as it should.

Similarly, I have MX 23 on my hard drive, which I installed from a
magazine cover disk and prefer to the latest version of MX (25) as I find
it more reliable. MX has a good and very comprehensive toolkit which I
find I often rely on.

I also have Spiral XFCE, which is based n a very old version of Debian
(11, Bullseye). I really should upgrade it to Debian 12 (Bookworm), but as
it's working flawlessly at the moment I see no need to. It's the one I'm
currently posting from.

I keep Slackware Current on my hard drive too, as unlike most distros I've
tried I've never had any problems with the internet connection in
Slackware and I know more or less how Slackware works (the first distro I
used was based on Slackware 3.5, over 20 years ago). Because Slack also still
allows you to log in as root, it's the main distro I use when I want to do
any admin (file copying / moving, partition changes etc.) on my computer.

I sometimes think I should try one of the BSDs again, but the last couple
of times I've tried GhostBSD I've run into major problems - either the
sound or the internet connection doesn't work.

Similarly, I used to use OpenSuse Leap because I found it very stable and
reliable, but I ran into problems the last time I tried it (in its defence
it was one very early in the release cycle).

I sometimes use Manjaro or Mabox, but I don't have either installed at the
moment. Likewise, Ubuntu or anything based on it.

Last edited by Colonel Panic (2026-08-30 13:59:38)

ratcheer · 2026-08-30 11:44:14

I've mostly been on Arch Linux for more than a decade. I have dabbled with Fedora and Gentoo, but always gone back to Arch.

I try to keep it "light". I run the Awesome window manager. I don't run a filesystem manager nor a network manager. I was brought up with UNIX way back in the day (early 80s), and I like the old ways of doing things. Actually, Arch is getting a bit too new fangled for my tastes.

Sector11 · 2026-08-30 12:47:15

Since #! I've been an OpenBox fan. I like, need stability, stability. Two of us use this computer, I lose my wifes stuff I'm dead meat. I switched from BL to BearDog, LilyDogs bare essentials. But that's coming to an end. So I see my selfgoing back to BL OR a Debian Net Install with OB.
I ran SID years ago and at the time I was convinced as were many that Sid is more stable than testing if done right and it was a User Error that FUBARed that setup.
So I'm thinking when I have to move it will be Debian Net Install or BL without the BL Repos.

12 - Bookworm
2023-06-10 - Release Date
My install:

   $ stat --format=%w /|cut -c1-19
2023-12-19 12:21:58
 
2026-07-11 - End of Life (EOL)
2028-06-30 - End of LTS
2033-06-30 - End of ELTS

The ELTS might just outlast my EOL.

chroot · 2026-08-30 14:45:14

I basically run two distros, Arch (CachyOS) and Debian. I have been using Arch (converted to CachyOS recently) on my laptops and Debian stable on my home desktops/servers. I started my Linux journey by using Redhat, and actually learned Linux from the Slackware days. Had used Gentoo for some time and eventually gave up compiling from source. I like Arch because of its simplicty and rolling nature. CachyOS is optimized for new CPUs and has some packages I use in their repos. I try to eliminate my AUR installations as much as I can. I only use Debian stable, because it's stable.

Last edited by chroot (Yesterday 18:56:07)

WolfeN · 2026-08-30 15:06:49

Bunsenlabs Boron on desktop.

I have an old laptop that was running Crunchbang++, very good distro with similarities to BL. I recently installed Debian Cinnamon on it and was really surprised how quick and refined it is.

I have used and tried many distros over the decades (Fedora, SUSE, Ubuntu, and many more derivatives), and have settled on Debian-based ones for stability/reliability, and familiarity.

Martin · 2026-08-30 15:16:57

Debian based at home since CrunchBang. Currently SpiralLinux.

Other distros only for test/play and hardly that. FreeBSD has been the most interesting one so far.

/Martin

johnraff · Yesterday 04:31:11

BunsenLabs Carbon + xfdesktop4 so I can throw files on my desktop till I decide what to do with them.

Being closely involved with BL development means I know how it works which is a plus I suppose.

Like others, I very much appreciate Debian stability. Very few times when I need to deal with a sudden weirdness, and then it's usually one of my own scripts, or else some website that I like to pull data from has changed...

Pinhead · Yesterday 06:33:58

Today it's all about security. The situation is different than ten years ago. Debian is stable but old. Fedora, SELinux, Red Hat support, atomic desktop, containers.

mcarni · Yesterday 18:37:53

debian on servers and laptops/desktops that cannot have issues/failures (less techy family members)
arch on other laptops/dekstops (other family members)

M

PackRat · Yesterday 20:29:36

chroot wrote:

CachyOS is optimized for new CPUs and has some packages I use in their repos.

Are you seeing some performance increases with CachyOS? They do a good job with that distro, and their forum is good.

I use Void btw.

Except the old, semi-retired HP. That has Debian Stable on it now.

chroot · Yesterday 20:44:21

PackRat wrote:

chroot wrote:
CachyOS is optimized for new CPUs and has some packages I use in their repos.
Are you seeing some performance increases with CachyOS? They do a good job with that distro, and their forum is good.
I use Void btw.
Except the old, semi-retired HP. That has Debian Stable on it now.

Yes, if you have a modern CPU which supports at least v3/v4 (Mine supports V3), CachyOS runs faster. A DMQ/BORE/EEVDE based kernels, plus optimized packages generally produce slightly higher FPS rate and make the interactive workloads a little snappier. See benchmarks https://www.phoronix.com/review/cachyos-linux-perf

hhh · Yesterday 21:05:15

PackRat wrote:

I use Void btw.

I mentioned it, I'd love to know the pros and cons.

PackRat · Yesterday 21:49:34

hhh wrote:

PackRat wrote:
I use Void btw.
I mentioned it, I'd love to know the pros and cons.

Stable - Void has a QA/QC that is on par with *BSD world and Debian. In 12 years, Void only borked when I borked it (twice to be exact).

Rolling release - Install once and keep it updated. Packages are up to date; but not released unless they are stable. That includes kernels. All the dkm modules etc .. need to work before the new kernel is released. Void has actually skipped releasing some kernel upgrades because they were sketchy. Installation is nice and lean.

The void-mklive scripts ( https://github.com/void-linux/void-mklive ). Void's best kept secret. I can roll an installation iso whenever I need to. If you have basic bash skills, it's easy to make a customized installation media; rescue disk, server-oriented etc ..... And I believe the scripts will work with any distro to build a Void iso (like Linux from Scratch). All you need is git to clone the repo; the scripts pull from Void's repos and build. Takes 30 minutes to 1 hour on newer hardware with a good internet connection.

Those are the main reasons. Void uses runit as the default init systrem so if you want to avoid systemd there's that.

Main cons - The Void Handbook documentation is a bit thin, and the repos may be missing some packages you're used to having available in Arch/AUR or Debian.

The first time I tried Void it was because they were one of (if not the) first disto to go with systemd only; no systemVinit shim. It was solid, but I was working with vastone on the VSIDO project so I went back to that. When Void dropped systemd and went with runit, the dev that handles their hardware infrastructure had an excellent blog about why they were dropping it. Echoed some of the criticism coming from Slackware, suckless (of dwm fame) and Artix Linux.

Went back to Void in 2014 and have not distro hopped since. I'll check something out like ArchLabs (good times!), Alpine, EndeavourOS, or Cachy (all solid distros) but Void is the daily driver on this laptop and the desktop downstairs. The desktop runs an nfs-server and ftp-server (ftp is easiest if I have to copy to a Windows computer).

Debian Stable will remain on the old HP laptop. Runs well and I don't have to worry about updating it too often.

#1 2026-08-30 02:02:30

What Is Your Distro?

#2 2026-08-30 02:37:03

Re: What Is Your Distro?

#3 2026-08-30 03:06:49

Re: What Is Your Distro?

#4 2026-08-30 03:58:57

Re: What Is Your Distro?

#5 2026-08-30 05:20:20

Re: What Is Your Distro?

#6 2026-08-30 09:47:20

Re: What Is Your Distro?

#7 2026-08-30 11:20:09

Re: What Is Your Distro?

#8 2026-08-30 11:44:14

Re: What Is Your Distro?

#9 2026-08-30 12:47:15

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#10 2026-08-30 14:45:14

Re: What Is Your Distro?

#11 2026-08-30 15:06:49

Re: What Is Your Distro?

#12 2026-08-30 15:16:57

Re: What Is Your Distro?

#13 Yesterday 04:31:11

Re: What Is Your Distro?

#14 Yesterday 06:33:58

Re: What Is Your Distro?

#15 Yesterday 18:37:53

Re: What Is Your Distro?

#16 Yesterday 20:29:36

Re: What Is Your Distro?

#17 Yesterday 20:44:21

Re: What Is Your Distro?

#18 Yesterday 21:05:15

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#19 Yesterday 21:49:34

Re: What Is Your Distro?

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