When I started my Linux journey back in 2018, I just went with the most recommended distro at the time: Ubuntu. I didn’t stick with it long though, due to many things that just didn’t click with me. Things like the DE, colors, and overall feel of a Ubuntu system made it feel clunky. Plus I didn’t like how restricted I felt using it, though that may have been my limited knowledge of Linux at the time. Fast forward to 2020, I decided to give Linux another try as Windows was getting on my last nerve. I did some research into different Distros and I just so happened to come across Arch Linux.
I immediately fell in love with it once I got it installed. The flexibility that Arch allows is everything I hoped it would be more! What if I need a robust desktop that can handle heavy gaming? Arch can do that. How about an extremely lightweight desktop install with only the tools required to do work on drives of any kind that can fit on a flash drive? Arch can do that! But this flexibility is just one of the reasons I love Arch Linux.
One of the things I take for granted with Arch Linux is the rolling release model of updates. Rolling release means the updates to packages are pushed out as soon as they become available. This means there is no version of Arch Linux to choose from, and updating your system is as simple syncing with the Arch Linux mirrors. How is that accomplished you may ask? By using the best package manager ever created: Pacman.
Pacman is the default package manager for Arch Linux, and it is amazing! Not only does it allow parallel downloads, lets you setup conditional actions (hooks), and enables easy downgrading through the package cache, it also makes updating as easy as typing out sudo pacman -Syu! All of these features are awesome, but the best part is how well it pairs with the ace up Arch Linux’s sleeve: the AUR (Arch User Repository)! The AUR allows users of Arch Linux to upload build scripts for application not in the main repos. The amount of times the the AUR has saved me from manually installing a package is ridiculous. And when paired with an AUR helper like yay, you can seamlessly integrate the ease of pacman with the power of the AUR for the ULTIMATE Arch Linux experience.
Beyond that, Arch Linux provides something that Windows can never compete with: transparency. Since every thing is installed by hand, you are in control of what goes onto your system and in this day in age I believe that is one of the most important things to consider when choosing an operating system.