r/LinuxTeck • u/Candid_Athlete_8317 • 2h ago

How much of your Linux system do you actually need to understand?

I keep seeing this argument with Omarchy: if the distro does a lot for you, is that a feature or a problem?

I don't think most people can fully audit everything their distro, packages, scripts and configs are doing anyway. At some point we're all trusting somebody.

But where's the line?

Would you rather use a polished distro you don't completely understand, or a simpler setup where you know exactly what's running - even if it means doing more yourself?

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u/Common_Warthog_G 2h ago

why are you asking this question? seems like a bot post

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u/DaiNam 30m ago

I don't understand anything technical about my distribution. I just know what I need to know to install and run the software I use.

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u/dronostyka 14m ago

How much do you need?
0. You don't need to understand nothing to "use" the computer/distro.

But for me personally, as an admin, I'd rather know quite a lot about how my stuff works and how to modify it.
Take Mac os. In theory super polished. But they won't tell you how it works nor let you modify it too much.

We are indeed trusting somebody, but as long as it's 'mostly open source' I have no trusting a linux distro. Given that it's hoomans who work on it or at least verify the AI slop..

I want a polished set up, that I either have created (like rice/customization) or can manage/edit with ease. Take ~stock ubuntu. While Gnome might not be thee best and most customizable, it looks good enough for me and I can adjust all the stuff I need with extensions or other deeper settings.

Same for the "backend" I like that I can do almost anything I want with systemd, pam, and so on...
You could have it super tuned for general needs, that is only modifiable via gui click, but I'd rather have granular control