this is my hunt for the perfect linux distribution.

arch

i’ve been a long-time arch user since 2020. i loved it, and i loved the arch wiki and i still do. that’s my go to place to read anything linux.

but arch is a rolling release. you get new updates all the time. and not always but every once in a while it keeps breaking things, sometimes your bluetooth won’t work, sometimes your system won’t boot. it’s mostly fixable, but it’s still little annoying.

despite arch having so many great features, like the aur (where you can literally find anything. proprietary software? you got it. that obscure linux driver for your bleeding-edge hardware? no problem. the love of your life? maybe), i had to move on.

debian

if you look up the definition of “stable” in the oxford dictionary, you’ll find the debian logo right next to it. yes, that’s true.

however, after setting up my homelab, i found out that the latest debian 12 uses a linux kernel that does not support intel raptor lake cpus yet. so i’d have to wait until the next debian release in 2025.

hack to this was to use debian testing or unstable release. i tried that too for a while, but one of the kernel updates broke bluetooth auto-connect for me. and they said, “you’ll have to wait until the next kernel update.” well, i had to move on.

ubuntu

i tried ubuntu basically server version of it, to install fresh packages from scratch. but, this too has snaps, which i’m not a fan of. removing them and pinning the apt repo is a pain, and i don’t want to deal with it.

nixos

i had such high hopes for nixos. i love its declarative approach, but its lack of proper documentation led me to give up. making it work is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

fedora

fedora has 6 month release cycle, so it does have the latest software. but also, like arch it does update frequently (at least some packages). anyways, i gave it a try, and it was not that bad. i had to do workarounds to downgrade the kernel and it was pretty stable since.

final verdict

so, right now my daily driver is fedora. but, i’m waiting for next debian release to switch completely to it. i don’t mind outdated packages, cause these packages are mostly system packages and development packages are mostly installed externally.

i just want a stable system.