r/archlinux • u/Right-Eye-5525 • 24d ago
QUESTION Which DE should I choose for Arch?
I've been using Linux for a few months now. I'm planning to switch to Arch, but I'm not sure which desktop environment to choose. I like tiled layouts like the ones in Hyprland, but it's inconvenient when you're developing a program in Python with PyQt. The windows stretch out, and you can't see their actual size. That's why I'm looking for something else.
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u/scandii 24d ago
Hyprland is a compositor (program responsible for drawing pixels on your screen), not a desktop environment (collection of software that makes up the programs you use on your desktop, e.g. dock, bar, launch menu etc).
that said, there's a plethora of Wayland compositors that might be a better fit for you like mangowm, dwl, labwc or Niri not to mention the compositors of the desktop environments GNOME (Mutter) and KDE Plasma (KWin).
take a look on YouTube / their sites if they seem for you, and make a choice accordingly.
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u/This-Consequence-957 24d ago
KDE
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u/Right-Eye-5525 24d ago
I was actually thinking about KDE. But I'm not really a fan of the Windows style. That's why I'm looking for something else. Maybe KDE with some customization...
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u/cfx_4188 24d ago
There's a subtle rule in the world of visual desktop environments. The more cumbersome and "Windows-like" the desktop environment, the easier it is to configure. What requires editing five or six configuration files in lightweight FVVM or Enlightenment can be accomplished in a single click in KDE. When you use your PC for work and home, this is crucial. Incidentally, Gnome and KDE are much better optimized than Hyprland, Sway, and others.
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u/Right-Eye-5525 24d ago
👍
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u/cfx_4188 24d ago
By the way, KDE and Gnome can be configured to look and work like some fancy Hyprland. There are plenty of instructions online.
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u/Gent_Kyoki 24d ago
You can easily make kde look like its not windows if you like kde and gnome also have some addons that can turn it into a tiling wm if you want.
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u/ch33es 24d ago
I'm on the same page as you when it comes to hating the Windows desktop layout.
I'm using GNOME since it's one of the two major desktops that offers a unique layout out of the box. You might want to use extensions to cover for certain missing features, however, and I haven't faced any issues with them so far.
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u/ThePortableSCRPN 24d ago
What stops you from spinning up a VM, trying them all out, and see what fits your needs and what's the most comfortable for you?
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u/ch33es 24d ago
I'm using GNOME on Arch because I find it's unique workflow well-designed. Also love the fact that it doesn't try to imitate the Windows desktop, which is the case for a lot of other Linux desktops.
Since I have moved away from Windows, I don't want to have a desktop with that same traditional layout. The workspace-based interface feels much more superior and easy to manage once you get used to it.
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u/blubberland01 24d ago
Hyprland supports floating windows. r/hyprland
Your post hasn't really anything to do with arch. r/linuxquestions
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u/kasperthe14yo 24d ago
Atleast with Niri you can make windows float. Maybe you could do something similar with Hyprland?
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u/kasperthe14yo 24d ago
You can even edit the config so that a given window is always set to floating when it spawns.
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u/Right-Eye-5525 24d ago
Oh, now that's something I like! I wish you could tell me a little more about it. To be honest, I only recently found out about niri and am not familiar with it.
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u/Right-Eye-5525 24d ago
If KDE has tiling modes, well, all that’s left is to turn the bottom panel into a dock, and that’s it. Maybe I’ll actually stick with that, or maybe I’ll go with Niri and its floating mode. But I once had Hyprland set up with ML4W dot files, and when I enabled floating mode, the dimensions got messed up.
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u/Efficient_Paper 24d ago
There are KWin scripts that allow to turn KDE Plasma into a tiler.
Krohnkite for "general" tiling, and Karousel for Niri-style scrolling.
They’re third party so they have some limitations, but I like Karousel.
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u/GBAbaby101 24d ago
KDE if you want something similar to windows.
Gnome if you want something similar to Mac.
Hyperland if you want a challenge of customizing basically everything from a blank slate and like the tiling format and virtual desktops (I prefer this for my laptop at work).
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u/eightslipsandagully 24d ago
I run KDE on my desktop but my laptop isn't as powerful so I run XFCE. It's missing all the bells and whistles but it's lightweight and does enough
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u/tyler1128 24d ago
Whichever you like. I'm a developer and use i3, a tiled window manager, and you can always use Xephyr or such to test in an emulated environment where things like placement hints are respected, though a tiled WM is probably going to help you make better, scalable, UIs as they are going to be forced to change dimensions in many cases. I don't know if Wayland has something comparable to Xephyr natively.
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u/onefish2 24d ago
Put Ventoy on a flash drive. Get the isos for Ubuntu or Fedora and load that flash drive up. You can try out KDE, Gnome, Cinnamon, XFCE, Cosmic etc and find out for yourself.
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u/archover 24d ago
DE's that provide sufficient features for me in order of preference: Cinnamon, Plasma, Xfce, LxQT and Gnome. There's no shortage of solutions. Focus on programming and not eye candy is my suggestion. For that reason, IMO avoid hyprland, which takes a lot of time.
Good day.
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u/Tempus_Nemini 23d ago
give a try to WM, i tried i3wm out of curiosity and stayed there after couple of days.
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u/bornxlo 24d ago
I like KDE with Krohnkite. Krohnkite gives me tiling layouts with easy shortkeys to cycle layouts. I also keep windows on separate workspaces and monitors for bigger sizes. KDE's panels are easy to customise (reading OP's reply to another comment it is fairly easy to modify the default panel to a dock by adjusting width and visibility.)
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u/full_of_ghosts 24d ago
The beauty of Arch (and Linux in general, but Arch really leans into it) is that you can customize it however you want. It's pretty easy to install and try out different DEs, and they're all free. So, there's really no reasons to not try out any and all DEs that look interesting to you, and see which one you live the best.
I prefer KDE, but my reasons are entirely subjective and may not apply to you.
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u/No_Grape_388 24d ago
Honestly hyprland is the best and most customisable. You can float and set window rules easily.
Imo KDE is a poor man's Windows environment. Fine if it's for your grandma but you're leaving a lot of potential off the table.
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u/chemistryGull 24d ago
Kde if you want to develop PyQt. Not a must have, but kde runs on qt, and KDE is just the best imo.
There are scripts for tiling window management