Ubuntu -> Debian -> arch (6 years) -> Garuda (3-4 years)
Still use Debian on some machines but Garuda is just smooth and more just-works than Arch.
this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2026
519 points (98.5% liked)
linuxmemes
32986 readers
133 users here now
Hint: :q!
Sister communities:
Community rules (click to expand)
1. Follow the site-wide rules
- Instance-wide TOS: https://legal.lemmy.world/tos/
- Lemmy code of conduct: https://join-lemmy.org/docs/code_of_conduct.html
2. Be civil
- Understand the difference between a joke and an insult.
- Do not harrass or attack users for any reason. This includes using blanket terms, like "every user of thing".
- Don't get baited into back-and-forth insults. We are not animals.
- Leave remarks of "peasantry" to the PCMR community. If you dislike an OS/service/application, attack the thing you dislike, not the individuals who use it. Some people may not have a choice.
- Bigotry of any kind will not be tolerated. This is an LGBTQ+-friendly community -- if that is a problem for you, you should leave.
3. Post Linux-related content
- Including Unix and BSD.
- Non-Linux content is acceptable as long as it makes a reference to Linux. For example, the poorly made mockery of
sudoin Windows. - No porn, no politics, no trolling or ragebaiting.
- Don't come looking for advice, this is not the right community.
4. No recent reposts
- Everybody uses Arch btw, can't quit Vim, <loves / tolerates / hates> systemd, and wants to interject for a moment. You can stop now.
5. π¬π§ Language/ΡΠ·ΡΠΊ/Sprache
- This is primarily an English-speaking community. π¬π§π¦πΊπΊπΈ
- Comments written in other languages are allowed.
- The substance of a post should be comprehensible for people who only speak English.
- Titles and post bodies written in other languages will be allowed, but only as long as the above rule is observed.
6. (NEW!) Regarding public figures
We all have our opinions, and certain public figures can be divisive. Keep in mind that this is a community for memes and light-hearted fun, not for airing grievances or leveling accusations. - Keep discussions polite and free of disparagement.
- We are never in possession of all of the facts. Defamatory comments will not be tolerated.
- Discussions that get too heated will be locked and offending comments removed. Β
Please report posts and comments that break these rules!
Important: never execute code or follow advice that you don't understand or can't verify, especially here. The word of the day is credibility. This is a meme community -- even the most helpful comments might just be shitposts that can damage your system. Be aware, be smart, don't remove France.
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
i've never used a distro other than arch
Ubuntu (like 100 years ago) > Debian > Mint (for several years) > a bunch of things > Kubuntu > PikaOS (GNOME)
Cinnamon Mint is almost perfect as a daily driver, but had hangups in gaming (frame stutter, controller disconnects, etc...)
Tried PopOS! for a hot minute, Cosmic is pretty but very clearly still WIP
Rode the plasma train for a little while on Kubuntu, but everything felt a little half-baked and games crashed pretty regularly.
I've settled on PikaOS GNOME for now as my daily driver. Things seem generally solid, but I've only been using it for a few weeks, TBD on the long-term stability, but I'll probably hang here at least until whenever Mint reaches stable Wayland support, at which point I'll give that a go.
Early on I went from mandrake to gentoo, been on gentoo forever but decided as I was building my docker swarm that I wanted to go easy so I went with Ubuntu server on my 2 additional nodes, and then for my wifeβs machine I went Linux mint. When windows is no longer needed for anything I think I will probably do gentoo on my primary machine. The programmer in me likes seeing compiles
Gentoo will always be there when you want to settle down knowing exactly what you want.
Hmmm. My hopping stared long ago. I think it was something like:
MINIX > Slackware > RedHat > Gentoo > LFS > RedHat > Ubuntu > Bazzite
MINIX isn't technically Linux, but I'm including it for fun. And Ubuntu was by far the longest stretch. Probably close to 15 years on that one.
Ubuntu, then Pop OS, and now still on Mint. It really just works and is still really easy to customize.
I'm thinking of trying Cachy OS though, but I'm not sure
artix has been my goto for older computers, void
in future maybe guix?
From 2004-2008, I lost count how many tall spools of CD/DVD I tried, before I moved to USB pendrives for my distro surfing and distro hopping, for 2008-2012, and even more lost track how many many many more done ephemerally so, leaving no trace.
in 2012, I found a way I did not need to wrestle the compromises to try to find "the one", and embraced the many, with bedrocklinux's 2nd alpha release, and stopped all the rabid distro-hopping.
But...
Me on my way to distro hop for the 72th time
... Never needed be the corporate psycho though. You distro-hop differently to how I distro-hop. To me, it's a joy of exploration. To you, it's an inconvenient strategic means to power. We are not the same. ;)
Also... I'd say "72nd".
Edit:
Okay... I'm going to try answer this a 2nd time, in similar style as how others answered.
Suse > Sabayon > Crunchbang & Gentoo > Bedrock
Suse and Sabayon were basically my homebases from which I distro-surfed (1000s? 100s of distros). ... Though that didn't stop them getting hopped from and back to several times in each their aprox 4 years tenure.
I suppose I should at least make it this much more accurate, to give Devuan its due too.
2003 Suse > 2007 Sabayon > 2009 Crunchbang (on thinkpad) & 2010 Gentoo (on workstation) > 2012 Bedrock > 2018 Devuan > 2020 Bedrock
And all the spray of others don't get a mention. n_n
Almost never used systemd. Did not like the exceptions.
It's nice that on gentoo (and decent gentoo respins), you can choose. It's not leaning on you, with the "we don't support", the impression it has to be either systemd, or anything but systemd, respective of which camp that distro is in. But still, it is nicer to be in one of the distros that [purport to offer "init-freedom" but really] do "anything but systemd", for the range of choice and freedom that affords, contrast to the dogma of the one true way that all must follow. Systemd! Systemd! Systemd! Come, join the cult! Hehe. But, no, more choice is better. ... And not just a choice of which one true way (as in whatever the distro tries to decide for you), but choice within that distro too.
Okies... Let me just wipe the mouth froth away, and come to my senses again, out of that little gentoo gushing rant... What was this comment about again? Oh right... which distros... Yeah, answered. Now I'm just in overkill, burying the lede again, as pre usual. Meep.
distros i have been distrohopping on so far:
TailsOS (somewhat for the LuLs,multiple times),Linux Mint(twice, i think),NixOS,Arch (twice),CachyOS (or Distros based on ARCH),OpenSUSE(Twice)
i stuck to CachyOS
I settled on Solus but I broke the laptop itself somehow. Now I'm back to using NixOS with my new thinkpad with trackpoint disabled...
Interesting, I was also using solus on my main machine for a couple of years before switching to NixOS. Good choices.
Mint -> Manjaro -> Arch
I also have absolutely broken Mint install that I'll probably keep using until it stops booting. I thought it would be simpler to put Mint on a headless computer and use GUI over VNC.
Then come issues with permissions/dbus or whatever is going on.
Couple days ago I tried to do version upgrade, but couldn't use GUI anymore due to broken permissions. One of the python scripts that do the upgrade managed to at least partially work (GUI wouldn't run as root), by which I mean the GUI package manager complaining about "corrupted" repo list or something like that. But at least it updated the repo names, and what is Linux OS other than a bunch of packages, so I just rolled with it and ran apt upgrade.
I mean, it's running Linux mint, but the main method of connection is SSH and in case things go bad, serial port. This is already cursed.
I am just too used to Arch. I have no idea what versions even do aside from keeping major package versions separate (which sounds like I should be able to just change version name in sources list).
But I do cursed things often. I also have a laptop with Proxmox that I put KDE Plasma on, and pass windows from VMs using Waypipe. Yeah, similar to Qubes OS, but also unstable and less secure.
Ubuntu, Manjaro, Endeavour.
Played a bit with others before I settled, but XFCE feels like home and not having to do a system update that breaks everything every year has been great.
load more comments
(1 replies)
Setlled on bazzite out of laziness, preferred cachyos
It's a journey and I tested a lot of distros but these are the ones I actually used in 20 years:
Pardus >> Ubuntu >> Crunchbang >> Bunsenlabs >> Manjaro >> EndeavourOS >> Void
I also used MeeGo on my netbook when its prime time. Crunchbang will always have a special place for me. The OG Pardus was fun too.
at this point just pick a fucking main branch and install the rest of the shit on top. It's all just fucking linux + package manager + DE.
Fedora, Arch, Debian, Suse, Slack, Gentoo. Pick one. KDE, LXQT, Gnome, XFCE, Cinnamon, or one of those newfangled WM only DEs.
Fucking done.
If you keep jerking off that hard drive , it'll get hairy.