I have been using Mint for about six months now and while I am not going to start distro hopping, I slowly want to start exploring the rest of Linux.

Originally I was looking at Arch based distros such as Manjaro and EndeavourOS, during which I found out Manjaro is somewhat pointless because you pretty much should not use the AUR on Manjaro or else you will break the system inevitably. EndeavourOS looked solid though.

However, I got a few suggestions regarding OpenSuSE Tumbleweed as a better alternative to Arch based distros and just wanted to know what are the pros and cons of OpenSuSE compared to Arch based distros from your experience?

  • dino@discuss.tchncs.de
    ·
    1 year ago

    pros:

    • very good defaults, btrfs with snapper integration like no other distro (i know of)
    • up to date packages
    • zypper is amazingly easy to use and understand (zypper dup, upgrades your whole system, one command done)
    • if you need GUI tools to configure stuff, YAST

    cons:

    • worse documentation compared to Arch
    • not the fastest packet manager
    • a lot of unnecessary packages (not as lightweight)
    • solutions for problems are not as widespread on the internet (a bit similar to first con)
    • imo weird naming of official repos, also packman being almost required
    • https://build.opensuse.org/ is kind of like AUR with automatic QC, but you have to add repos for each package which makes keeping track a hassle

    Still if you want to hop around I think you HAVE to try Tumbleweed for an extended period of time, because you will come only to appreciate something like rolling release + seamless integration of snapper once you hit those road bumps. I also think arch is the way, be it in its vanilla form or something like endeavouros. But maybe you should gather some experience beforehand. Btw. I am using Tumbleweed on my personal (gaming) desktop for almost 10 years now. I am at a point where I want to switch, but at the same time feel so comfortable that I am not sure its worth the effort.