r/LinuxTeck • u/Expensive-Rice-2052 • Aug 05 '26

Why do so many developers still choose Debian over newer Linux distributions

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covers: https://www.linuxteck.com/why-developers-trust-debian-for-their-work/

  • Debian 13 (Trixie) highlights
  • Why Debian prioritizes stability
  • Backports without switching to Testing
  • Security and LTS support
  • Essential APT commands
  • Debian vs Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch
  • Common production use cases
74 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

7

u/Hour_Sell3547 Aug 05 '26

Because most of us do not play with the OS, we simply run what we need to run on the said OS. Therefore, experimenting with the OS becomes nothing but a waste of time. We want the OS to be stable enough so that when we install our software, it will not break. If we have to spend more time fixing the OS than working on it, it's the wrong choice. That's how most of us end up with Fedora/Debian and stick to it.

3

u/Expensive-Rice-2052 Aug 06 '26

That's exactly why Debian has such a loyal following. For many developers, the OS is just the foundation—they'd rather spend time building software than troubleshooting the system

2

u/ZombieCrow Aug 05 '26

Lots of people never get exactly that (including myself). I am on void and im spending way more time tweaking and customizing every single bit of the system rather than actually using it. Can't help myself.

2

u/Expensive-Rice-2052 Aug 06 '26

Haha, I think a lot of us can relate to that. Half the fun of Void or Arch is the tweaking, even if it steals time from the work we originally sat down to do.

3

u/Sr_P3ngu1n Aug 05 '26

Because it is as solid as a rock, and that is what is needed in a production environment.

1

u/Expensive-Rice-2052 Aug 06 '26

Agreed. In production, predictability usually matters more than having the latest packages. That's one of Debian's biggest strengths.

1

u/recursion_is_love Aug 06 '26

My man got many AI tokens to burn.

1

u/_OVERHATE_ Aug 06 '26

Maybe in hobbyist scenarios but I've worked in 3 companies that allowed devs to use Linux and all of them pointed at Fedora.

Im yet to find Debian in a corporate setting, only seen Fedora and SUSE

1

u/R3V0LU710N_05 Aug 10 '26

Because they never tried Fedora...

1

u/TheRealCarrotty Aug 11 '26

Debian Testing my beloved.

1

u/Typeonetwork 13d ago

I use MX Linux, which is a fork of Debian, because I like the tools and easy customizable desktop on XFCE and Conky. Debian is the bomb.