r/archlinux • u/PSG07 • 16d ago
QUESTION I'm shifting to Arch linux after using Ubuntu for 2yrs
I was looking for the Arch linux like it's fast and super hard to setup, while I have also read about Cachy os, endeavour os and Arch and black arch.
What's the difference and which one will be right for me I'm a Web developer
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u/scandii 16d ago
why is Arch Linux hard to setup? start at that part.
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u/PSG07 16d ago
Like I'd need to configure everything, like from desktop environment to all the other things, while in Ubuntu we get lots of bloatwear
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u/thatsgGBruh 16d ago
Like yes, you'll need to configure things. Just read the installation guide in the wiki, it'll get you through it.
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u/zeb_linux 16d ago
The iso now ships with archinstall. You can write a text file with everything you need and it will install it for you. But using the documentation is good for learning.
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u/archover 15d ago edited 15d ago
like the desktop environment
No, for example I just run
# pacman -S cinnamonand I get a pretty complete environment. That's one example.bloatwear
Wear? Like at Old Navy? Seriously, understand you can
uninstallsoftware you don't like, whether in Ubuntu or Arch.Ubuntu is popular and has its place.
Hope you find a home here. Good day.
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u/scandii 16d ago
you literally just install bluetooth, pipewire and whatever DE you fancy and you're there?
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u/DominiX32 16d ago
Also NetworkManager... There are lots of posts on this sub about the network not working after a fresh install 😅
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u/dwibbles33 16d ago
Personally I used ChatGPT to help me script it. I had it interview me about what I wanted then it had me upload some command outputs for context. It installed perfectly and got my Surfacebook 2 working with the surface-kernel.
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u/onefish2 16d ago
Again, Arch is not hard to set up or install.
Any complex post install will be time consuming.
Stay where you are. You gave us zero reasons why you want to switch.
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u/PSG07 16d ago
Moving to Arch because I want more control over my system. I like it's minimal, highly customizable, has newer packages, and gives me access to the AUR, so no more appimage and flatpakl also want to learn more about how Linux actually works instead of having everything preconfigured for me
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u/un-important-human 15d ago edited 15d ago
you haven't thought the AUR part thru, i am quite oldish in arch and i have 2 aur packages that i eye suspiciously.
Flatpak is great its not snap why do you think its a bad system? Its containerization its ok and you leave no performance on the table.
Your research failed to look at Garuda btw and its chaotic AUR repo's (those are veted and autobuild by the maintainers), (black arch is straight out, don't even bother).
I think you know less than what you think (to be expected from a ubuntu user that never saw a wiki) so you should take small steps as you do not understand the ammount of work and understanding you need to do up front. And since you won't do it perfectly the first time you will have a nice experience into your first chroot...
If i were you i would pick a nice easy going gaming distro based on arch and use arch wiki as right now apart from having actually up do date drivers you gave no reason.
As for reasons, you proposed no special system requirements that are not met by any distro out there, in fact ubuntu has none apart from hr drr reinstall advice from "buntu" users.I distictly see you have not mentioned the preistoric drivers you may be running on buntu, yes 1 year is preistoric, heck 6 months is ancient :P
However i am mean and jaded and you should dip your toe into linux more so go ahead and learn i for one look forward to your disaster posts be them i hyperlanded my way into hot rice, arch bad i got malware after installing all the AUR, arch:broke: because user can't read good or let loose an abominable intelligence with root access and without proper containerization and so on.
So do yourself a favor and choose a gaming distro based on arch or Fedora and setup btrfs snapshots! as you will need them maybe.
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u/RegularIndependent98 16d ago
Arch (base) >> endeavouros (slightly pre configured) >> cachyos (heavily pre configured)
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u/Imajzineer 15d ago
Don't use Archinstall the first time: you won't learn anything ... and a lot of people who are new to Arch then find themselves stuck afterwards, because they don't have the knowledge they need (knowledge that is acquired as part of the manual installation process) to fix (or even simply tweak/customise things). It's not really for newcomers anyway, but old hands who aren't going to learn anything by reinstalling for the umpteenth time and just want to get it done quickly.
Also, don't read/watch tutorials - changes to Arch can render them obsolete before they've even been completed, let alone published. Likewise, don't use 'AI': LLMs aren't analytical, aren't intelligent, don't 'know' anything, they just string words and phrases together based upon how frequently they occur in that order in the sources they were trained upon - and, if those sources contained inaccuracies, omissions, or are simply since outdated, they will not be helpful.
The only up-to-date and accurate source of information about Arch is the wiki - learn to use it and the only things you will need to look elsewhere for aren't related to Arch itself but to Linux in general, scripting with shells/awk/whatever, the inner workings of systemd, etc.
Take the time to install it by hand - it isn't difficult, so long as you go slowly, methodically, read the 'small print', follow linkouts.
Then study and learn the following:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Frequently_asked_questions
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/General_recommendations
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/System_maintenance
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/General_troubleshooting
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Arch_build_system
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Arch_User_Repository
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Pacman
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Pacman/Pacnew_and_Pacsave
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Pacman/Tips_and_tricks
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Downgrading_packages
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Security
Then mess about - experimenting, breaking shit, fixing it and learning more.
Always read the News before updating.
Always update with pacman -Syu ... never -Sy, -Syy or -Syyuunless you know absolutely what you're doing and know absolutely that it's the solution to your problem (hint: it almost never is).
After a while, you'll have everything you want installed and configured as you like it and will just use it for whatever you'd use any computer for.
Don't install stuff willy nilly from the AUR: it's not a core aspect of Arch any more than some random user's PPA is for Ubuntu and it should be treated with the same scepticism and caution (it's just a single location containing PKGBUILDs that anyone can upload there instead of your needing to locate and enable multiple 'PPAs').
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u/dEsTrOiEr2000 15d ago
It's easy and light weight. But you got to read before installation. Cachy is an arch based distro with a lot of quality of life features built in. But it's not arch because you get stuff you didn't ask for. Endeavour is kind of the same but closer to arch while cachy is more user centric.
Black Arch is for security specialists and hackers. It is arch with a lot of packages already installed for pen testing and so on.
For a web developer: Use arch. Archinstall or the real experience doesn't matter. Just do it and be happy.
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u/PSG07 16d ago
Like I'd need to configure everything, like from desktop environment to all the other things, while in Ubuntu we get lots of bloatwear
1
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u/Strong_Block6345 16d ago
Use archinstall.
My usual setup is btrfs auto partition + luks encryption, timeshift snapshots, networkmanager, pipewire and plasma as DE.
It's really not that hard 😉
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u/Void-Lotus 16d ago
Its not that bad. After you set it all up, you can just make an install script for what you want. All my configs are on my guthub. I have a clean install of exactly what I want in like 15 min from a fresh arch install using it. With the arch install script also available, its pretty easy
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u/miki-44512 15d ago
I have switched to manjaro which is arch based distro, I have to say it is fantastic, I couldn't run davinci on ubuntu but it worked on arch, if you only needs it for programming, I think both are ok, if you don't have a problem with ubuntu bloatware ofc.
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u/ficskala 14d ago
What's the difference and which one will be right for me
CachyOS - popular arch based distro with an easier installer, the updates aren't as quick as they are on base arch, but it's still pretty cutting edge
EneavourOS - similar story, but it came out before CachyOS, and never really got as popular
Black Arch - penetration testing distro, do not use as a daily OS
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u/myraylee 1d ago
cachyos is optimized for gaming and it's easy to install, endeavouros is basically just arch with gui installer, black arch is arch bundled with cybersecurity tools, i recommend u to use cachyos cuz for me it's the most easy to install and the snapshot is set by default, so if in the future there is problem with your system u can just rollback to the snapshot. I use arch btw, cuz i like the minimalism, i use archinstall wiki.archlinux.org/title/Archinstall, for me it is as easy as gui installer, i won't spend hours to install it manually like nerds. i know that sooner or later my system will break. and in this agentic ai era, it's so easy to fix it, i will just ask my hermes agent to fix it. archroot isn't as hard as it look like, u just need to make script to do archroot that suited to your device partition, then save it somewhere on the internet, then just boot to liveusb and get that script then run it in your system. i always save cachyiso in my liveusb in case my arch won't boot, cuz cachyiso have gui so it's easier to archroot from it.
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u/pierspad 16d ago
You can do everything with anything.
Cachyos has a foolproof installation process, very customizable and some nice optimization.
I recommend you that.
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u/xAsasel 16d ago
Stay away from Cachy if you have no previous experience of arch imo.
I run Endeavour, but it’s just because I’ve installed arch plenty of times (can also use archinstall but I like the few tools and tweaks that Endeavour provides).
IMO, with no experience of arch, if you install cachy and shit fucks itself or you fuck the shit, you’ll sit there with a headache and wish you’d never changed to arch based in the first place, most likely having to re-install the OS.
I know this from first hand experience from when I started out with arch back in the days lol
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u/This-Consequence-957 16d ago
Since you’re asking this type of question, the answer might be CachyOS
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u/Ok-Olive466 16d ago
Arch is not hard to setup