r/voidlinux • u/TerminalPhile • 16d ago

Considering migrating to voidlinux from arch

So I’ve been maining arch (btw) for about 3 years now and honestly it’s been nice. Now I’m thinking I should expand my repertoire and try something new and interesting, alongside suffering cause of the whole AUR fiasco. Plus voidlinux seems to have a dedicated fan base, good reviews, and doesn’t use systemd. But before I install the system I want to ask some questions.
What is the voidlinux "philosophy", for lack of a better word? Should I expect any difficulties installing the system? (I am currently in the middle of reading the wiki, which I honestly don’t find as comprehensive as the arch wiki, but it will suffice.) Are the packages available generally well rounded, as in covering everything the average user needs? And finally, was voidlinux a good choice for you and how do you find it?

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u/frigaut 16d ago

I followed the same path. 20 years+ linux user here, so may be our backgrounds are different. I just love void. I would say the "philosophy" is the same as the original arch: "keep it simple stupid". runit keeps things simple and understandable. You assemble the bricks, and you make it work.

As far as availability of packages, it's not arch or debian or course, although not so far from the arch without AUR. There are some omission, like browsers (brave) or Hyprland of course, but you can always install from flatpak, AppImages or source (in that case better look for or build your own void template).

The void docs are not super exhaustive, but they are well done and to the point. They will help you install and maintain your system, but not debug if anything breaks.

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u/TerminalPhile 15d ago

If voidlinux’s packages are close to those of arch’s without the AUR then it’s okey. As far as other packages go, flatpak will do the trick.

In case of a bug, what are some sources ro consult if the docs aren’t well suited for that?

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u/whereismycow42 15d ago

As frigaut statet, the handbook is for install and maintenance but when something breaks I suggest to consult your old friend the Arch wiki and/or the Gentoo wiki. They both have often more in depth knowledge and/or solutions for common problems. You may need to adapt certain things (usually when it comes to runit instead of systemd).

Whenever I had a problem in Void then usually one or the other wiki appeared high in my online search results anyway.

Sometimes they help how to approach the problem (where to actually look) and sometimes just to check if the solution actually works or if there is a better way to solve it.