Why do you use Arch

bodrah · 2024-04-19 14:52:49

I'm curious what attracted people to Arch vs other distros such as Debian (and the varying flavors). For me, it was the relatively unstable nature of Arch with the more aggressive release cycle. I wanted things to break so I could learn how to fix them. And boy I've made so many mistakes and broken I'd say around six Arch installs (and arch flavored distros). But after about a year and a half, I finally think I've learned enough lessons that I can say I do not regret using arch.

ewaller · 2024-04-19 15:38:55

My Gentoo system died and I needed to bring up a system to replace it quickly. I was already sold on rolling releases.

Fuxino · 2024-04-19 16:18:59

I tried it, loved it, never looked back.

MAYBL8 · 2024-04-19 16:51:19

I tried qutie a few Linux Distros over the last 10 years starting with Mandriva. Solyd, LInux Mint, Debian , MX Linux. They all had their pluses and minuses.
After doing some more research on Rolling releases (I liked the idea of installing once and just updating) I settled on Arch. Another reason was I could build it the way I wanted to . Learned allot doing that and still learning.
Forums are a great place to get questions answered. Here you are expected to do allot of reading which is good. Some of the support staff here are tuff on you but just do what they say and you will be fine.
I right now am running Arch as my main OS. I also run a arch based Mail Server (using Mailcow) . I am running a Arch based web server. Just plain NGINX .
I also have a multi boot Laptop running Manjaro and ArcoLInux just to see what these Arch based distros are doing.
Well I hope that answers your question.
Thanks
Dan

fmc000 · 2024-04-19 18:07:40

Linux user since 1996 (kernel 0.8something). During the past 28 years I tried many distributions as you can imagine. I discovered Arch in 2012 (I had a different username at that time) and every now and then I switch distros but I always come back. Nothing is like Arch IMHO.

tho068 · 2024-04-19 19:26:30

Started with Linux back in seventh grade I think, and I was distro hopping a lot. Tried everything from Ubuntu, to Suse and Gentoo before I found Arch. To be honest, I miss the days when Arch was using (sysvinit?) and the rc.conf files, mainly because it was so simple and easy to wrap your head around. I still think Arch is simple, and I do like SystemD, but it is not quite the same.

However, the package manager is far superior to whatever is used on the other distros that I have tried, and the rolling release model is quite nice. I dont like getting stuck on old software on Ubuntu and the derivatives

So the primary reasons for me using Arch, is because of the simplicity and the new software that you get without having to wait for a new release.

Edit: Another reason was that Arch was optimizing packages for new CPUs, one of the first to drop i386 as far as I can remember, but this is not true today, so I am actually running CachyOS now because they optimize packages better. But it is basically Arch, but with more optimization.

Last edited by tho068 (2024-04-19 19:29:13)

natervance · 2024-04-19 19:50:35

I kept having to go to Arch Wiki to fix my Mint install, get wifi working (it was 2013 and hardware support was rough), etc. Ended up making the switch to Arch in 2014 when I had to upgrade stable releases anyway. That way I could be closer to the source of the most reliable holistic Linux documentation available at the time. Since then I run Arch on my desktop and Gentoo on my server.

MS-DTYP · 2024-04-22 16:44:46

It's simple and works more stable for me than Debian. It's easy to install any software on it.

sekret · 2024-04-22 17:08:59

For me the main reason is the ABS in combination with the AUR and it's what really keeps me here in the end. On Arch, I can easily install anything. If it's not available in the repos or the AUR, I can create a package by myself totally easily. And I like to have it clean, so building and installing next to pacman is out of the question!

The second reason is the rolling release model. I prefer this approach even in every day's life. With Arch, you sometimes have to make little adjustments with updates, but hardly any big ones. It's like when you have to keep your house / flat clean: I prefer doing a little bit every day rather than one big cleaning action every once in a while.

Third reason is its simplicity and adjustability. With other distros you have stuff integrated already, e.g. AppArmor. With Arch, you have to do this yourself. What seems to be a disadvantage is really an advantage, because you can do almost everything exactly the way you want it. It's hard work sometimes and you have to be skilled, but it's doable and even beginners (like me in the beginning) can do it. Which leads me to …

…the last reason: education. I switched to Arch about 15 years ago, can't remember exactly unfortunately. Within my peers I was among the last (or THE last) who came in contact with computers and I really struggled! Windows 98 was my first OS and I had no idea what really to do with it or what an OS really is etc. Then after XP I switched to Ubuntu because back in 2006 a friend from university recommended it. I still only used it and had no real idea, what was going on on that computer. But I started to gain interest, so I went to find a distribution that helps me understand computers better. I read a comment somewhere in a tech forum about Archlinux. I tried it, succeeded with the tui based installation (which was a LOT more difficult than Ubuntu's installer) and was SO proud! I fell in love with the ability to customize applications with config files rather than GUIs.

Coming from nothing I taught myself how to make my computer system exactly the way I want it to be. I use dwm, mutt, ranger, dunst, … (shell applications whenever possible and reasonable) and it's the best thing for me! My Tuxedo laptop runs like a dream. I can create simple tools like a password manager based on dmenu and lpcli (cli tool for lesspass) which is extremely beautiful and many other tools based on dmenu (imho one of the best creations ever for computers) and so on and on and on…

Last edited by sekret (2024-04-22 17:14:58)

bodrah · 2024-04-23 13:40:44

Awesome responses!

Archttila · 2024-04-23 14:45:26

Works, stable, the WIKI is awesome!

raphaelabb · 2024-04-23 15:55:56

Beside all the qualities we usually hear about the OS, what I like is the concision and high level of expertise of the mods and active-helper members of the forums.

Xeauron · 2024-04-23 18:24:45

The Wiki, the community and the OS itself.

It's so good, I wanted to use the distro that is directly relevant to the wiki.

Came back to Linux in 2019 (I used it back in 2002 - 2006) to see how things were getting on, tried Garuda but things didn't work properly (sound, peripherals ect) so ended up trying Manjaro because I wanted to try an Arch based Distro and there's a prevailing opinion that Arch itself is this difficult time sink which I now know is nonsense.

I used Manjaro for a while and it worked well, I was amazed at how far Valve and the Wine team have progressed Linux gaming (all mine work), and a few of the other apps I use now work under Wine with minimal jank.
Then my Samsung SSD started quietly destroying my data which I only found out while doing my monthly DD backups.

I managed to salvage my personal files and instead of re-installing Manjaro I went with Arch direct, and it's been amazing. Smooth sailing for the past, what....4 years now.
The community is fantastic as well.

The only issue I've had is with Bluetooth drivers & packages which Timeshift corrected straight away, and I've still got the packages held back because it's working fine still.

So yeah, Amazing documentation coupled with a great community and stable rolling experience. So much so that I nuked my Windows 10 install completely.

Using Arch (and Linux in general) reminded me of what computing was like back in the late 90s when I used to enjoy it, when it was just me and the machine.
Not being told by some asshole in Redmond I need an online account and how my computer will look and work on top of scraping god knows what off my computer and selling it on.

I've found my home and I'm happy.

Last edited by Xeauron (2024-04-23 18:26:48)

jsonv4 · 2024-04-23 18:35:35

So that I could use the infamous"I use Arch btw" flex?

Daerandin · 2024-04-23 19:56:56

I like how Arch generally stick to upstream default configs, making it easier to rely on upstream documentation for whatever I want to do. However, the most important aspect is the fact that there is no default desktop environment or even graphical environment after the install. This makes it so much easier to set up and configure my desktop the way I want it. I have been using Arch now for over 10 years now and has suited my needs perfectly so far.

diegoviola · 2024-04-26 19:50:17

ewaller wrote:

My Gentoo system died and I needed to bring up a system to replace it quickly. I was already sold on rolling releases.

Would you have made the same choice if this was available?

ewaller · 2024-04-26 20:59:53

diegoviola wrote:

Would you have made the same choice if this was available?

Quite possibly. Maybe not. On the other hand, I never look back and wonder what if? There is not much in life I would want to change.

I may go back to Gentoo after I retire. Had this been available at the time, I guess it would have mattered as to which USE build flags they used. USE flags are the one thing I really miss about Gentoo.

diegoviola · 2024-04-26 22:37:26

ewaller wrote:

diegoviola wrote:
Would you have made the same choice if this was available?
Quite possibly. Maybe not. On the other hand, I never look back and wonder what if? There is not much in life I would want to change.
I may go back to Gentoo after I retire. Had this been available at the time, I guess it would have mattered as to which USE build flags they used. USE flags are the one thing I really miss about Gentoo.

Good, I tried it recently and installation time went down considerably (from a couple of hours to ~2 hours). Arch is still a lot faster to get up and running quickly.

vincentkanin · 2024-05-21 10:44:00

The new packages are the main reason i use Arch Linux. For an example i have an RTX 4060Ti in my main pc, and i play games so i need new drivers. Or my thinkpad with an 13th gen i5, it does not function properly on most mainstream distros like linux mint. That means a rolling release distro is the best distro for me.

Retr0r0cket · 2024-05-22 06:27:46

Because I'm a student who likes customization, but also can't afford to spend time doing gentoo levels of customization. Arch is the perfect middle ground between simple and customizable (well not exactly dead-center but that's not the point). I can do customization, but because the entire OS is simple by design, I don't have to spend the time or effort customizing if I don't want to.

I also don't like stable releases as I often benefit from newer software. Rolling release also prevents long update times between versions like Fedora which feeds into the point above.

Also Arch tooling is fantastic. Having the ABS for building my own kernel/AUR packages makes things much easier (and mentioning the AUR, the package availability is insane). It's also easy to develop on (I have things in the works). It makes doing all of that customization, general OS maintenance, and development actually fun.

Edit: somebody else mentioned the docs. I can't live without them (I used them even when toying with gentoo)

Last edited by Retr0r0cket (2024-05-22 06:28:41)

tdriscoll · 2024-05-23 14:32:22

I started an open-source club back in college and one of the other members recommended I check it out - haven't looked back since. Day-to-day though, the package manager / AUR / wiki / customizability keeps me coming back. I use Arch as my main OS and never have problems.

c00ter · 2024-05-24 14:21:50

ewaller wrote:

I may go back to Gentoo after I retire.

Those were my thoughts and I did so, once, before returning to Arch. "Retirement" had and has its own issues. They're enough; I don't want/need "new"" operating system issues. There can be more pressing issues like what battery type do I want for my new mobility wheelchair and why aren't they more open-sourced? Or where in heck did that cat go now?

Nope. No time for anything not Arch-related.

thoushaltnot · 2024-06-06 06:35:14

Minimalism, mostly up-to-date software, aur.

Allan · 2024-06-06 07:20:07

I wanted a package manager to use for my LFS install. I used Arch to check out pacman as an option. I stayed with Arch while I made changes I wanted to see in makepkg... One day I will be done!

Aho Senpai · 2024-06-23 15:43:17

Hmm, that's an interesting question tbh.
Since i started my journey in linux, i tried a lot of various distros. None really "satisfied" me like arch does.
I'm not entirely sure what it is, something about minimalism, knowing exactly what's installed on my system ... while also not going all the way to compiling everything from source all the time like gentoo (i'm not entirely sure how much this is true, i've yet to really try gentoo ... one day)
And many distros i tried! Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, Fedora, PoPOS! openSUSE, NixOS, Kubuntu, Garuda, ZorinOS ... i may forget a few.
And don't get me wrong, most of those distros are really good.
The main repos and the AUR are a big reason, ofc.
I do not want to be forced to use snap (yes you can disable it in Ubuntu, but unfortunately a lot of the packages available on snap are better than the .deb ones so ...)

Overall I think it's because arch is the distro that is closest to what i want it to be. It checks most of my requirements with very little compromises.

Arch Linux

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