Arch Linux

Arch Linux Tux

Member

Registered: 2017-04-01

Posts: 35

Is Arch Linux hard?

Hey Arch Linux community!

I often hear, that the Arch Linux distribution would be harder than others or the most difficult.

I started out using Ubuntu myself.
I didn't really learn much about linux except installing software using apt-get install.

Then two of my instllations broke at the same time and so I tried out Arch Linux because I heard it would be the best choice.

Since my installation runs stable and I learned a lot not about Arch Linux ‒ but about Linux because of the Arch Wiki!

So my opinion is... :
I think it's best to start out with an easy distribution like MINT or Kubuntu.
But yeah for someone wanting to learn linux Arch Linux is the easiest way (on a hard journey)!

And eventually...
yes, doing it the Arch way using grep, find and reading the man pages beside the Arch Wiki is hard.

I did not find a discussion about the question if "Arch Linux was hard" so I dared to open this thread

Last edited by Arch Linux Tux (2025-01-28 11:21:38)

Whoracle

Member

Registered: 2010-11-02

Posts: 76

Re: Is Arch Linux hard?

That depends on what people mean by "hard". You've basically got two camps, as far as I can see:

1. You have to learn about your system. People don't like to learn, by and large, and thus prefer systems where they don't have to. So it's "hard" as in "You have to put in some effort."
2. ZOMG YOU NEED IQ OF 1000. People who like to feel superior and thus go around toting "hard" as a badge of honor.

2 is of course just not true. Arch isn't something where ONLY THE MOST INTELLIGENT AND BEST PEOPLE have a chance of taming it. 1 is the "true" case: You have to learn and think about things you don't need to think about elsewhere. That effort gets rewarded by learning something new. If that's worth it for people depends on the specific case.

sekret

Member

Registered: 2013-07-22

Posts: 291

Re: Is Arch Linux hard?

I'd find distros like debian or derivatives much harder, because what if I want to install some small software within the package manager but that software isn't provided in the official repos? In arch, it's super easy to create a package! So it's super easy to install everything the way it's supposed to be.
After many many years with arch this is the biggest reason to stick with arch. I'd love to give other distros a try, e.g. because they are more secure or because they are based on musl instead of glibc, but then I always think: What if I want a piece of software they don't provide?

ReDress

Member

From: Nairobi

Registered: 2024-11-30

Posts: 90

Re: Is Arch Linux hard?

Everything looks pretty straight-forward to me ... except maybe the part about installation is hard to get around, at first and compared to most other distros

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 8,679

Website

Re: Is Arch Linux hard?

I find it to be squishy and malleable. Kinda like clay?

---

Para todos todo, para nosotros nada

cryptearth

Member

Registered: 2024-02-03

Posts: 1,204

Re: Is Arch Linux hard?

I wouldn't call Arch being a hard distrobution
to it's more that many are overwhelmed with its freedom
look at the install guide:
- no editor because the team doesn't want to favor one - rather: user bring your own
- same for network stuff, partition layout and bootloader
there're plenty of "unable to boot after update" - not because Arch is difficult to setup correctly but because the user has to setup correctly
there's none fixed automated process as on ubuntu or suse - and most issues can be traced back to "the user messed something up in the past" - a working boot setup properly following the wiki doesn't break by itself but implies the user already took some different approach

it happened to me recently with glibc and the locale.gen file: somehow in the past it was reverted back to its raw version with all commented out so no locale was generated
the fix was simple: uncomment en_US and de_DE again - re-run locale-gen and rebooted - all because I got some issue when loggig in via ssh

but as I play around with VMs and are familiar with the install guide for me it was quite easy - others only done one or two installes maybe already had struggle to identify the issue and its cause

if you look at ubuntu or opensuse: it's all tight packed with not so much freedom - but it limits the potential pitfalls - on suse you never deal with grub's config directly - let alone installing it
using systemd-boot or refind on Arch requires you to install it and its config into the correct spot and configure it yourself

Awebb

Member

Registered: 2010-05-06

Posts: 6,683

Re: Is Arch Linux hard?

I think it's best to start out with an easy distribution like MINT or Kubuntu.
But yeah for someone wanting to learn linux Arch Linux is the easiest way (on a hard journey)!

This doesn't make any sense. Is it hard or not? What is actually preferable and why?

ReDress

Member

From: Nairobi

Registered: 2024-11-30

Posts: 90

Re: Is Arch Linux hard?

if you look at ubuntu or opensuse: it's all tight packed with not so much freedom - but it limits the potential pitfalls - on suse you never deal with grub's config directly - let alone installing it
using systemd-boot or refind on Arch requires you to install it and its config into the correct spot and configure it yourself

Documentation seems to be one of the many reasons  a lot of people prefer Arch.... but, it seems to me like OpenSuse/Suse documentation might be equally as comprehensive. If not more comprehensive :-)

cryptearth

Member

Registered: 2024-02-03

Posts: 1,204

Re: Is Arch Linux hard?

if you look at ubuntu or opensuse: it's all tight packed with not so much freedom - but it limits the potential pitfalls - on suse you never deal with grub's config directly - let alone installing it
using systemd-boot or refind on Arch requires you to install it and its config into the correct spot and configure it yourself

Documentation seems to be one of the many reasons  a lot of people prefer Arch.... but, it seems to me like OpenSuse/Suse documentation might be equally as comprehensive. If not more comprehensive :-)

ok - bad example - point is: suse not jzst takes you by the hand but it never will let you go while on Arch even if you reach out for a helping hand chances are to miss it

also - likely debateable - to me many parts of the arch wiki are written more like an extended man page: its a reference that implies you already know it (very like bouncycastle java api doc) - it just throws raw information at you implying you aleady know what you're looking for

ReDress

Member

From: Nairobi

Registered: 2024-11-30

Posts: 90

Re: Is Arch Linux hard?

ok - bad example - point is: suse not jzst takes you by the hand but it never will let you go while on Arch even if you reach out for a helping hand chances are to miss it

also - likely debateable - to me many parts of the arch wiki are written more like an extended man page: its a reference that implies you already know it (very like bouncycastle java api doc) - it just throws raw information at you implying you aleady know what you're looking for

If you prefer an info dump, which is mostly what Arch Wiki is, then that's okay too.

Wiki/Documentation is usually meant for PEOPLE to read and with all due respect, Arch Wiki terribly fails at that.

Edit: As much as I use Arch Linux, I understand that it's not some ultimate gemstone that everyone is dying to have :]

Last edited by ReDress (Yesterday 15:01:29)

duaner

Member

From: Oklahoma City

Registered: 2018-10-13

Posts: 37

Website

Re: Is Arch Linux hard?

There are two basic aspects of any linux distribution -- installation and configuration. You can also divide installation into the initial install and updates. Rolling releases (like arch) make updating easier, in general.

Installing arch or gentoo is no more difficult than installing any other distribution, provided you can read and follow instructions. Unfortunately, a lot of people lack the patience for that. The difference is that with ubuntu, you'll get a lot of useful software immediately. With arch or gentoo, you get a working system, then you have to read up on what you might need to add in the way of other software, but both guide you to documentation that spells out the common choices. (Oh noes! I have to read more?!)

As far as configuration goes, it doesn't really matter which distribution you use. It's all basically the same software on any of them, and you'll have to deal with the same complications, no matter how many training wheels they install. I find the arch documentation much more straight-forward and comprehensive than any other distribution's. When I need to adjust something, it's usually explicitly spelled out in archwiki.

Nobody should try to impress people with the flavor of linux they use, or even that they use linux. It's not that difficult. When I tried out windoze 11, I got lost in minutes and never managed to get much done. Not that I was very motivated. I don't think their documentation is all that helpful.