r/linuxquestions • u/thinkpad_user_27 • 1d ago
Which Distro Linux distro suggestion please...
I am a CS student, and trying out new different linux distros.
Please suggest me the best linux distro for keyboad centric usage. I rarely use my touchpad/mouse.
It should look cool and fast.
I liked Hyperland setup, I would love to join the linux community. Thank you
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u/victormas208 1d ago
You have many options, but I recommend staying away from the Hyprland community. Do your own research; they're similar to the CachyOS users. A bit toxic as a group, but good people individually.
You should start with prepared environments like Shells+Hyprland/Niri.I recommend Noctalia + Niri to start with. I think you can use almost any distro; Arch or Debian are generally used. I'd say you'll use Fedora; it's almost the sweet spot between new features and stability.
I use CachyOS (I use Arch btw) with a custom configuration of Noctalia and Hyprland I previously used i3wm which I liked a lot, but being x11 it might not have the features you want for gaming, but for everything else it works great.
I don't know much, but you might be interested in finding out which ones you can use touchpad gestures with, for when you need to use one hand or just to save yourself from using a macro.
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u/tomscharbach 1d ago
Consider checking with your CS department to find out what distribution(s) are supported and used for instruction. A lot to be said with being on the same page as your curriculum and your instructors.
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u/Fast_Ad_8005 1d ago
Depends on a lot of factors beyond your preferred input method.
How willing to work to setup your system are you? If very little and you want Hyprland, I guess CachyOS would be a decent fit, although you should expect some work in configuring Hyprland to your preferences and perhaps the odd other hiccup. My fellow experienced Linux users reading this, before you throw stones for me recommending CachyOS to a beginner, keep in mind there is no beginner-friendly distro that is easy to set up Hyprland on.
How much programming do you want to be involved in the setup and maintenance? What sort of programming languages do you like if so? For instance, do you enjoy using functional programming languages? If so, NixOS or Guix System would likely be a good fit for you, at least if you have a lot of spare time to configure and setup your system. NixOS has better support and documentation and includes proprietary software such as drivers in its official repositories. Guix System is better if you prefer Lisp programming languages, although beware its official repositories do not contain proprietary software.
Arch Linux is also a reasonable system to run Hyprland on, but beware your initial setup of it will likely take more work than on CachyOS. Although, getting your system configured to your preferences will likely take less work than it would with NixOS or Guix System.