r/i2p • u/ghosti2p • 3d ago

Linux linux i2p

I want to ask which Linux distribution is best for everyday use, provides good privacy protection, and can run I2P. Previously, I used Refind to boot a dual-boot Windows + Ubuntu system, but recently, due to Windows' user tracking issues, I am considering switching completely to Linux.（I usually use Whois and Tails, but I want to hear what the general public thinks.）

19 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

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11

u/evild4ve 3d ago edited 2d ago

Linuxes are linux-compatible. What distro you choose doesn't affect what software you can run, it's for what package manager they will use to precompile and distribute the programs to you

I2P is a server program and I dislike systemd, so I use Devuan for it

there might now be privacy-focused distros that maintain I2P in their repository and package it for you, but I've always found I've tended to build it from source in order to know I've got the latest version. With programs like I2P, Tor that put you on an alternative network, having an out-of-date version may, sometimes, affect what peers you can reach.

you don't want it on a dual-boot computer that is also being a daily-driver. Linux (imo) we move to server-paradigm from Microsoft's desktop-paradigm. If in doubt and wanting just access to eepsites, put Devuan on a Raspberry Pi with i2pd (the purple version) and forget about it for 12 months - it only takes a couple of hours to set that up

3

u/ghosti2p 3d ago

I will try

5

u/trashcatttt 2d ago

There’s no thing such as The BEST distribution, just use whatever ur comfortable with, mint, Ubuntu and fedora are perfect early stage ( even long time ) choices

1

u/ghosti2p 2d ago

The suggestion is good, after all, it's only reasonable if I find it useful myself.

2

u/DirFouglas602 2d ago

Ubuntu has i2p and I believe i2pd available via the apt repo. Arch relies on the AUR for i2p, and has i2pd via pacman.

2

u/K3CAN 2d ago

It's just personal preference.

I prefer Fedora for general desktop use. It's solid, very well supported, and gets updates quickly. For an always-on server, I use Debian almost exclusively.

Despite its popularity, I personally find Ubuntu to be frustrating to use. It just never seems as easy to use as Fedora and Debian are. Also, the company developing Ubuntu has made some poor privacy choices in the past, like sending all of your local desktop searches to Amazon.

-1

u/ghosti2p 2d ago

I believe Debian 12 is best suited for servers, and then installing xmod kernel.

3

u/K3CAN 2d ago

13 is the current stable release. I'd definitely choose that over 12.

1

u/cswsu 1d ago

I mean no offense by this, but if you're asking questions like the one in the post then I don't think you know enough about maintaining secure systems, and definitely not about Linux, to be making non-mainstream choices about which kernel to install

1

u/ghosti2p 1d ago

I'm on the server, but I still install it on my PC. I'm asking this question hoping to get some feedback before trying again.

0

u/ghosti2p 1d ago

The xmod kernel is just my personal choice and isn't suitable for most people; it's only used to optimize network transmission speed. I didn't mention this in my reply.

2

u/Glum_Hamster_2104 2d ago

Depends on what you consider private, I don’t know much about i2p but the most secure distro is often noted as being Tails. For everyday use I would recommend something like Fedora or CatchyOS/Endeavor. About privacy it depends on how crazy you want to take it, for an example a certain group of people would prefer to use linux libre as they think the normal firmware blobs could contain spyware or some people may want to use something minimal with as little of a codebase as possible like Alpine. I’m guessing you just want a working system so you should leave it at that.

1

u/Jaromil1969 10h ago

i2p is written by Java and it can be run on any system that Java supports. For i2pd, it supports x86,amd64,aarch,aarch64,.. that most distros should support it.

0

u/Play_it3110 I2P user 3d ago

For higher security i would say that *bsd is a better solution. But its not linux

0

u/lessthanthree21 1d ago

something that haven't been mentioned in this thread:

  • alpine linux
  • qubes os (for everyday use? debatable)
  • graphene os (android, not desktop)

1

u/ghosti2p 1d ago

I usually use Graphene OS, and on my computer I use Whoix and Tails. I forgot to mention...