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So I installed Arch Linux... Is this it?

I’m a little bit underwhelmed, I thought that based off the fact so many people seem to make using this distro their personality I expected… well, more I guess?

Once the basic stuff is set-up, like wifi, a few basic packages, a desktop environment/window manager, and a bit of desktop environment and terminal customisation, then that’s it. Nothing special, just a Linux distribution with less default programs and occasionally having to look up how to install a hardware driver or something if you need to use bluetooth for the first time or something like that.

Am I missing something? How can I make using Arch Linux my personality when once it’s set up it’s just like any other computer?

What exactly is it that people obsess over? The desktop environment and terminal customisation? Setting up NetworkManager with nmcli? Using Vim to edit a .conf file?

What_Religion_R_They ,

When I went in I had very specific expectations and Arch lived up to them. Had an idea of what I wanted for a DM, and an idea of what I wanted out of an operating system, and it met my needs. I would still be using it like that except for the fact that I had to change it out to be able to run the proprietary software for my university, and I just never bothered to reinstall/reconfig it. If I were to do it again, I would make some script to set it up with all my necessary programs so that it is robust.

Dr_01000111 ,
@Dr_01000111@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

a lot of people base there personality off it because they installed it from scratch and customize it exactly how it fits them. ofcorse that’s not going to be everyone because everyone is different.

scytale ,

You’ll know it when you feel the satisfaction of getting to enter pacman -Syu in the terminal several times a day and a new update or two. lol

Andromxda ,
@Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

The AUR is pretty awesome. If a piece of software exists on Linux, it’s in the AUR. Even software that doesn’t have a native Linux version can sometimes be found these, e.g. repackaged versions of Electron apps for Windows.

And once you start really customizing your system, you’ll see the value of the Arch Wiki. If there’s something you can do on Arch, the Wiki probably has a well-written guide for it.

moody ,

I used the Arch wiki to get gamescope working on Pop OS. It’s a great resource regardless of your distro. In many cases the info on there is not even Arch-specific.

Thann ,
@Thann@lemmy.ml avatar

100% its the Wiki and AUR!

On every other distro, once you want a program not in the package manager, it will likely be broken by the next update. On arch 99.995% of the time it will be in AUR and you can just make a simple PKGBUILD when its not, so your updates will automatically recompile all of your personal projects!

ari_verse ,

Well these days we have flatpak to solve the “not in the repo” (or ‘old version in the repo’) problem.

Andromxda ,
@Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Only for (some) desktop applications. The AUR has everything, including CLI tools, configurations and even some niche scripts

theshatterstone54 ,

Exactly. I hate when people constantly bring in Flatpak, because I’d be happily using Debian, if I could have Qtile Wayland with Qtile-extras and Hyprland in the repos with all their dependencies. But that’s never happening, especially for Qtile. These are window managers, you can’t package them in a Flatpak. And what about niche cli tools, as you mentioned? Or what about the latest Neovim on Debian? Yes, there’s a Flatpak but do you really want to mess with a Flatpaked CLI app? I know I don’t.

Andromxda ,
@Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Yeah imagine having to type in flatpak run io.neovim.nvim to launch Neovim

tmpod ,
@tmpod@lemmy.pt avatar

How can I make using Arch Linux my personality

That cracked me up x)

Anyway, I’d say it’s good that the OS is out of your way once set it up. Even though I don’t use Arch directly, I like how comprehensive the AUR is (even though there may be repositories more packages, like nix and whatnot), think the ArchWiki (like the GentooWiki) is a very useful resource, even if you use a completely different system.

Arfman ,

Uhh, I thought this was just a meme

paperd ,

Good now wipe it and install NixOS. You’re ready.

keyez ,

But I have nvidia hardware :(

paperd ,

nVidia drivers on NixOS are easier and more pain free that on any other distro I’ve used.

SentientFishbowl OP ,

Not too familiar with it, in what way would you consider it better?

paperd ,

It is better in all the ways. Newer packages, no imperative config, reproducible.

theshatterstone54 ,

Replaces the Archwiki with basically 0 docs, a large chunk of your Linux knowledge no longer applies, you can’t compile from source (even if you mostly don’t need to), everything is different, the nix language kinda sucks until you “get” it, etc.

But it has a lot of advantages too if you have the time and desire to learn it.

fxdave ,

I recently installed Nix alongside with Arch. I feel the same. After years of using Arch I spent two days to get everything configured the same as in my Arch, and I haven’t finished it yet.

paperd ,

Replaces the Archwiki with basically 0 docs

Arch wiki is still relevant, I still use it as a reference on my NixOS box.

a large chunk of your Linux knowledge no longer applies

Your pacman and pacur (or whatever the name of the air helper soup de jour is this week) will no longer apply. Most of my linux knowledge was still applicable. You have all the same programs that run in the same way as they do on arch.

you can’t compile from source

Sure you can. Want to compile everything from source? Just turn off using the cache. NixOS is a source based distro.

everything is different

Also no. I use the same programs I can get on most other distros.

the nix language kinda sucks until you “get” it, etc.

If you have ever used another functional language its fine.

mathemachristian ,

After that guix

paperd ,

After nix there is only sadness

Thann ,
@Thann@lemmy.ml avatar

now start using it for a while and you will notice the difference!

you will see you have all of the latest versions of programs, that other distros wont have for 6 months!

you will learn that the AUR has every package you could ever want!

you will see that the Wiki has extremely comprehensive answers to every question!

verdigris ,

The meme is mostly a relic from the days when installing Arch was a very involved and mostly manual process – it wasn’t to the level of LFS, but you had to configure most of the base system, and it would leave you with a pretty bare-bones setup (no GUI by default, etc). So it was a pretty big hurdle and successfully installing it did give you a bit of nerd cred, though even then the “arch BTW” meme was tongue in cheek.

These days it’s just one of the most well-supported rolling release distros, and it’s got automated installers and GUI spins just like any popular distro. The two biggest assets are the AUR and the wiki.

NixOS does kind of feel like the spiritual successor in terms of effort to set up, and in that immutable OSes are kind of the next big thing, like rolling release was fairly unconventional when Arch was taking off.

olympicyes ,

I use Ubuntu but the Arch wiki is top notch and has helped me solved a lot of problems, especially technical issues like VFIO. I think you’re right that Arch love largely started as a meme to celebrate getting it installed, kind of like the jokes about being unable to exit VIM.

Nibodhika ,

That’s like seeing the Otaku gang, deciding to give this Anime a go, watching Dragon Ball and asking “what’s so special about this?”.

Some people make some random thing their personality, others enjoy the same thing without making a big fuzz about it. Arch is great because of the wiki and the AUR, other distros have their own pros and cons.

bismuthbob ,
@bismuthbob@sopuli.xyz avatar

Arch offers a combination of rolling software updates, a simple but easily customized base, pacman for the package manager, the AUR, a barebones installation process by default, good documentation, and active development. That may or may not be a good combination based on your goals.

Other distros offer a different combination of characteristics. Those characteristics are a starting point and you can get to the same destination no matter what you use. The trick is figuring out what starting point is closest to your destination or which starting point makes the journey fun for you. For some people, Arch is that. For plenty of people, Arch isn’t that.

Mango ,

OP forgot the socks. Classic mistake.

vikingtons ,
@vikingtons@lemmy.world avatar

there’s arch socks?

foreverunsure ,

I think they’re referring to the socks you’re supposed to wear when programming :3

vikingtons ,
@vikingtons@lemmy.world avatar

o shit I was expecting merch lol

Mango ,

lemmy.world/c/[email protected]

JackbyDev ,

!unixsocks

Mango ,

Oh yeah that’s better.

Shinji_Ikari ,
@Shinji_Ikari@hexbear.net avatar

I’m gonna comment and say that’s the point.

You start out with bare minimum and install what you need. As you go you generally have an idea of what is and isn’t on your system. It’s not as annoying as Gentoo with all source compiling, not as anal as nix.

If something breaks, you go to ArchLinux.org and 95% of the time it’s mentioned on the front page so you follow the instructions and move on. It’s a very transparent distro, little drama to follow unlike Ubuntu/canonical or fedora/redhat.

It used to be harder to install and which gave some street cred, but they simplified it a bit which is nice.

The Stans give an unbalanced look at arch. I use arch because I want the latest packages, I don’t want to segment my packages between my repos and tarballs when there’s a game stopping missing feature on a package pinned to a 2yo version. I don’t want to learn a whole scripting language to carefully craft my OS like nix either. I want a current OS that’s easy to fix and easy to install packages so I can go back to what I was doing.

okrakai ,

😂

Dirk ,
@Dirk@lemmy.ml avatar

Great, isn’t it? You just set up a system you like for you to use, without any bullshit.

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