Arch Linux

Zé_Embaixadinha

Member

Registered: 2026-08-06

Posts: 2

[SOLVED] I'm new to the world of Linux

Hi, I'm starting to use Arch Linux simply because I can fully customize the operating system and because I'm studying programming. I'm not very familiar with Linux yet, but I'd like to know how I can learn more (I'm reading the documentation), how I can customize it to my liking, and how you guys learned more.

Last edited by Zé_Embaixadinha (2026-08-14 10:30:16)

Cryptic Indium

Member

Registered: 2026-07-14

Posts: 13

Re: [SOLVED] I'm new to the world of Linux

Hi there, and congrats on switching to Linux! I myself switched over recently(2 months).

Make sure you don't make these mistakes that i made-
1) Using archinstall- You need to know how to get around the system and what you're actually running- use manual commands.
2)Using Hyprland- Just... don't. Not worth it, and you'll probably spend a week trying to get the keyboard to work. Use KDE or xorg, i personally use KDE due to  easy customization.
3) Blindly following youtube tutorials- Absolute NO. Sure, use the videos, but review everything and figure out what and why they do something.

Of course, here are some tips-
1- Archforum is your friend: Don't get discouraged if no one replies to your posts. I myself waited quite a bit for getting a reply.
2-Read Arch wiki app documentation- There is a plethora of apps to choose from, no matter what your task. You should always read the description of the app you download.
3- Learn by messing around- As long as all your important data is there, the best way to learn is by doing 

 sudo rm -rf /root 

  (don't actually do that, it nukes your entire system). Basically, mess about your system in the terminal and fix it when something breaks, you'll get more knowledge than watching a youtube video on "Become an arch linux god" . Also, most commands will have a help argument, for instance, 

 sudo pacman -help 

will give you info on how to use the command

Last edited by Cryptic Indium (2026-08-07 11:29:21)

Trilby

Inspector Parrot

Registered: 2011-11-29

Posts: 30,530

Website

Re: [SOLVED] I'm new to the world of Linux

Cryptic Indium, do you realize that the 'rm' command would actually be mostly harmless and on many systems would have no detectable effect at all?  The "root" user's home directory is not the same as the root directory: /root != /

Also why would you use 'sudo' to see pacman's help output?  Important lesson: do not randomly prepend sudo to commands for no reason.  In this specific case it'd be harmless, but it is a horrible and dangerous habit.

EDIT: I should clarify, these are meant as constructive feedback.  I couldn't agree more with the rest of Cryptic Indium's post and think it is about the best response that could be provided to this topic.

Last edited by Trilby (2026-08-07 12:04:36)

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"UNIX is simple and coherent" - Dennis Ritchie; "GNU's Not Unix" - Richard Stallman

Cryptic Indium

Member

Registered: 2026-07-14

Posts: 13

Re: [SOLVED] I'm new to the world of Linux

Trilby, thanks for the clarification, I meant it as a joke as I've seen it multiple times in memes. also yeah, don't use sudo for all commands, its a bad habit i need to fix.

Last edited by Cryptic Indium (2026-08-07 14:12:56)

5hridhyan

Member

Registered: 2025-12-25

Posts: 1,105

Re: [SOLVED] I'm new to the world of Linux

but I'd like to know how I can learn more

It would be easier to give advice if you knew what area you want to focus on. Linux is a huge topic, and "learning more" can mean many different things.

You probably wouldn't go to a teacher and just say you want to study without mentioning the subject or topic you're interested in. Start by exploring what interests you, then dig deeper into that area...

Zé_Embaixadinha

Member

Registered: 2026-08-06

Posts: 2

Re: [SOLVED] I'm new to the world of Linux

Thank you very much for the tips

aminepro

Member

Registered: 2025-01-31

Posts: 124

Re: [SOLVED] I'm new to the world of Linux

I'd recommend installing the same setup as the archiso https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Zsh#Sa … shrc_files for a beginner, primarily for auto completion, colors make it easier to read too, though for colored man pages you can install mandoc.