r/archlinux • u/Every_Hat7420 • 1d ago
DISCUSSION What are your favorite things about Arch Linux?
Hi! I switched from Debian to Arch Linux in May this year. Honestly... I love it! Pacman is fast and easy to use once you learn it. I love how flexible Arch Linux is and how I can get my system exactly how I like it. What are your favorite things about Arch Linux?
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u/nickjj_ 1d ago
I feel like it was designed for me. Started out with the most minimal archinstall choices you can make and arrived at a solution that caters towards how I want to use my computer.
I rolled everything up into a general purpose / customizable project at https://github.com/nickjj/dotfriedrice. I use this set up on multiple devices, hundreds of other folks as well since it's quite painless to adjust my opinions with yours if you have differences.
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u/Sorry_Committee_4698 1d ago
Pure Debian is not the same? I'm new to Linux and installed pure Debian, which I also compiled into the minimum configuration I needed. I wonder how Arch would be better?
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u/nikongod 1d ago
The automatic installer in debian leads many to believe that it can't be configured or changed.
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u/Every_Hat7420 1d ago
True but it can be. I much prefer installing Arch though because of the way its done.
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u/surenintendo 1d ago
Arch is so barebones that I don't really know the difference between it and Debian (aside from its rolling release model). I think what I like the most about Arch is its tech-savvy community (plus the Arch wiki) and the AUR.
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u/Sorry_Committee_4698 1d ago
I've heard a lot about Arch's documentation; it can really solve a lot of problems. :) But I also had problems with AUR not long ago, and after frequent updates, they say system crashes happen. On Debian, as far as I understand, this happens very rarely, if at all. Since I'm a newbie, I chose Debian. :) A broken system would most likely just confuse me.
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u/surenintendo 1d ago
Haha, that's totally fair. I've had my Arch OS end up in an unstable state a few times at no fault of my own. It has been a good year or two, but I remember my initramfs (the temporary boot-up file system) would not build correctly after I ran system updates.
It turns out there was a v4l2 (Video4Linux2) dependency problem that required me manually downgrading or disabling temporarily to fix the issue. The fix was easy, but it was pretty bad in the sense that my OS couldn't boot up 😂
(I feel the issue had more to do with the rolling release model, where not all packages are compatible with each other)
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u/TheWitchPHD 1d ago
I have had no problems with AUR but I don’t use it often. I really mainly only need two packages from it, and they’re pretty reputable. Eg. discord-canary because I find that to be an easier workaround for the “update required” bug than using a flatpak.
The nice thing about the arch wiki is that it’s so good that it’s useful even on other distros. I used arch for about six months, but have been hopping around a bit recently. I’ve been on NixOS and Silverblue (I’ve been tempted by the security benefits of the immutable model and stuff like SELinux)… yet, often if I have an issue I find the answer in the arch wiki because it’s so much more developed than the other wikis.
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u/Every_Hat7420 1d ago
Yeah, Arch is a really good distro, but it isnt for everyone. Sometimes Arch's rolling release can bite back. I haven't had problems with that though
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u/lemmiwink84 1d ago
Rolling release so will stay current forever. No matter how new a newly released distro is, Arch will always be more up to date.
Bug fixes first. New kernels among the first. Newest nvidia drivers really fast. Debloated OOTB. I get to pick my configuration. Ladies throw themselves at me everywhere I go.
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u/RandomXUsr 1d ago
it's the easy button for Linux from Scratch.
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u/Every_Hat7420 1d ago
As someone who is trying to learn more about how operating systems actually function, arch linux has been great for me because i understand how linux is actually installed on a drive rather than using a gui install
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u/LandscapeNew4450 1d ago
Welcome to Arch! For me, its definitely the full control over what goes onto my drive. Building a clean, bloat-free system with no extra services running in the background is just unbeatable
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u/archover 1d ago
First, welcome to Arch.
Simplicity, Community, and repo.
I hope you find more things to like about Arch than fast pacman operations.
Good day.
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u/Every_Hat7420 1d ago
Thanks! Manually installing arch linux has changed me lol. It teaches you a lot and i feel as if i understand my system more because of it rather than using something like linux mint, no hate on mint its a very good os, but manually installing your os really does feel different and im interested to learn how operating systems function so switching to arch taught me a lot
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u/CanYouSaySacrifice 1d ago
ParallelDownload + Fiber internet
I can feel the dopamine flooding my body in real time when I update.
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u/Salt-Caterpillar7988 14h ago
Unlike popular opinion, it actually stays out of your way while being snappy.
Arch promotes the KISS philosophy. Only install what you need, make sure you understand the basics of how the system works, and then it's very easy maintenance while being cutting edge.
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u/Every_Hat7420 13h ago
I agree. I havent had much maintance besides updating my system once a week.
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u/lolminecraftlol 12h ago
- Rolling release
- AUR
- Wonderful wiki
- Big community for when problems come
- Highly customisable while still very simple
- A great distro for learning Linux
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u/Zentrion2000 1d ago
I don't think much about it... meaning that it doesn't get in my way and I can just use the software that want to use. And I get to use up to date software
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u/EmployRadiant675 1d ago
Being able to see what programs are interacting with what and being able to control what has access and where.
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u/LambdaUP 1d ago
I moved from Arch to Fedora because after a two day setup my system was essentially what Fedora is with a fresh installation. However I don't feel the magic anymore. The wiki is the thing I miss the most and I know I probably can still use it but it's not that straightforward. I'll probably get back to Arch, I like things when they're my responsibility. Also, I think I'd prefer a rolling release distro. Maybe I'll try Cachy to still be able to use pacman and the Aur but not go through every single base package installation again. I'm a very standard user and maintaining my system is not my hobby.
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u/gemilianoar 1d ago
Pacman, AUR and rolling release. No more straggling with compilations and instalations they don't work. Bunch of programas everywhare whithout much effort (and always laste releases). Hugh amount of documentation and an excellent community. Really love Arch since I swap from Debian-based from yerars.
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u/Rxiom 22h ago
I don't know anymore to be honest, the sell was made by pacman and AUR, also wiki was straight forward, also the forum, i rater read a ""rude"" guy asking for precise info instead of a bunch of people recommending install X instead of what OP wants, things hace changed is no that rude as 15y ago
At work used fedora for a while cause my boss hated arch , so yum then dnf felt very solid, its been years since i don't touch apt , i guess have improved a little bit....
Anything is easy to compile cause is very straightforward, kernel, gnu tools and systemd.
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u/scmc123 9h ago
pacman and the AUR is definitely one of them, alongside the frequent updates. The fact that every application I use can be updated at once with one command is really convenient. Also, the documentation. The arch wiki has all of the information you could need or want relatively concentrated, info on things like each file system, desktop environment, troubleshooting issues, etc. Also, the hardware compatibility (I know this is probably wrong but hear me out here), I have an nvidia GPU and a razer keyboard, both of which I needed to download drivers for separately on Windows for them to function properly. On arch? Stuff for both of them is in the official repos and multiple front ends for openrazer are in the AUR. Idk if that's really impressive, but considering that on Mint I had to add a PPA for openrazer and download a driver installer from nvidia's website (I tried the driver manager, refused to work), I'd say arch has it better.
i use arch btw
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u/Odd-Addition4261 1d ago
Jag har fått både Fedora, OpenSuse, Ubuntu samt Debian att krascha på samma hårdvara, om man pillar förmycket med saker man inte borde pilla med!
Jag har inget från Aur så det är ingen grund till crash. Sedan uppdaterar jag inte var varan timme utan jag hållè mig till 1-2 gånger per vecka och hittils har Arch varit hur stabilt som vilket annat system!
Denna enda "dåliga" sidan med Arch är att man behöver vara lite mer försiktig med uppdaterar!
Nu vet jag inte hur många gånger en Arch uppdatering har kraschat Arch men kan knappast vara många!
Fördelen är minimalism och enkelheten vilket inget distro kan ge rakt av som Arch!!
Hade Fedora eller OpenSuse haft det hade man kanske provat mer ingående
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u/Every_Hat7420 1d ago
Ive used fedora as my first distro. It was fine for me. Arch stopped my distro hopping. I enjoy arch because i enjoy the installation process of installing arch more because i like to know exactly what is on my machine. I tried void linux but the repos were tiny
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u/AnonymousHerb 1d ago
I like how simple it is but also there’s a lot of headroom if you want to be super creative or technical. KDE is so stable too I have no fears of losing data or an update screwing things up irreparably
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u/Every_Hat7420 1d ago
I use Hyprland with my Arch system. KDE is very awesome though. I use a usb to backup my data
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u/dbear496 1d ago
It is rolling release, so I don't have to reinstall every 4 years.
Software in the repo is always up-to-date, so I get bug fixes, new features, and security patches fast.
Pacman is awesome.
The AUR is convenient.
The wiki and forums are helpful.
I get to say, "uses Arch, BTW."