User:LinixTree/Sandbox

Distributions

A text color will represent how easy it is to use each Linux distro. Beginners should stick to the easy ones:

• Green - Easy
• Yellow - Medium
• Light Red - Hard

There are two types of release models which distros are using, both have their pros and cons.

Fixed Release

Offers stable packages

Most distros which use it are beginner friendly

Very little maintenance

Package versions are usually tied to the distro version, so to get the recent packages, you need to update your OS

Stable packages don't contain the newest features. This is especially important in case of GPU drivers

Manual intervention is required in order to add user-made repositories in some distros.

Updating the distro to the next version doesn't require a fresh install and is easy to carry out but might take up to few hours (but usually below an hour)

//TODO: add official support column

Distribution	Based On	Desktop(s)	Release cycle	Supported by	Description
Ubuntu	Debian	GNOME	6 months, 2 years for LTS	Steam, GoG, many commercial developers	The most popular distribution. Ubuntu LTS (Long Term Support) is officially supported by Steam. If you don't know what to choose, pick this one. Ubuntu non-LTS is updated more often and contains newer packages and functions and is also a great option.
Ubuntu flavours	Ubuntu	Plasma, LXQt, Budgie, MATE, Xfce	6 months	same as Ubuntu	Flavours offer different Desktop Environments, but when it comes to compatibility, they are vitually the same as Ubuntu. Choose if you prefer distinct workflow or art style.
Linux Mint	Debian, Ubuntu	Cinnamon, MATE, XFCE, KDE Plasma 5	Up to 2 years	same as Ubuntu	The most popular beginner-friendly Linux distribution. LMDE 2 Edition is based on Debian.
Fedora	Independent	GNOME, KDE Plasma 5, LXQt, MATE, XFCE, Cinnamon	1 year	some commercial developers	An independent distro created by the community -supported Fedora Project and owned by Red Hat. Compared to the likes of Debian and Ubuntu, it provides latest but stable packages. Be warned that if you are a NVIDIA user, Fedora does not have any proprietary driver for it, you must use one of the community repositories. See List of 3rd-party repositories.
Debian	Independent	Almost all	Varies	some commercial developers	A distribution with a very large database of packages. By default it uses the Stable version which offers applications and libraries that are very stable, but outdated. Can be changed into Testing which offers somewhat latest but a little less stable packages or into Unstable, which allows you to use bleeding edge packages, however as the name suggests, it may be unstable. The distro also supports older architectures. If you decide to use Debian as your Linux gaming system, consider using the Testing or Unstable branch. The Stable one contains very outdated libraries and should be reserved for servers only.
openSUSE	Independent	KDE Plasma 5, GNOME, Cinnamon, LXDE, XFCE	Up to a year	some commercial developers	Project created by the community and sponsored by SUSE Linux and other companies which promotes using Linux on almost anything. It provides exclusive tools which allows you to set up your Linux environment much easier (Yast), provide packages for other Linux distributions (OBS), automated testing for "any" operating system (OpenQA) and even create your own Linux image (Kiwi). It also provides the best installation setup ever made. Not supported by stores, but the community is willing to help any newcomers.
KDE Neon	Debian, Ubuntu	KDE Plasma	Up to a year	none	A distro created by the KDE community, compared to the Kubuntu (A KDE flavoured Ubuntu) it provides the latest version of KDE Plasma, while at the same time being able to use packages from Ubuntu.
SteamOS	Debian (Stable)	GNOME	Varies	Steam	Linux distribution made by Valve Corporation specifically for Steam Machine or for gaming from couch. It currently provides the latest stable Linux kernel along with newer drivers for GPU. Not recommended for the desktop use.
ZorinOS	Debian, Ubuntu	GNOME, LXDE	Up to a year	none	An extremely beginner friendly distro for users who wish to use Linux system who are used too much to the Windows. It provides exclusive features which allows you to set up the appearance ranging to Windows XP, Windows 7 or the Default GNOME while providing its own futuristic theme. As the system uses Ubuntu database and it's based on it, it is pretty much supported by digital stores such as Steam, GOG etc.

Rolling Release

Provides the latest version of the package once it’s available

No distro upgrade is required, as most distros have only one version.

Distros following the fixed release have an option to enable this type of release. Mostly under the name of Testing or Unstable

An update for the package may cause stability issues, so it is recommended organize an update by yourself in case a revision gets a release, which fixes stability issues.

In some cases, manual intervention is required.

Some distros offer a semi-rolling release, meaning that the package will be tested before the release, it mostly takes less than a month, often a week depending on distro.

Distribution	Based On	Package Manager	Desktop(s)1	Description
ArchLinux	Independent	Pacman, AUR	Text Mode, but later on you can install any desktop environment	Simple and very lightweight distro. The Pacman (Package Manager) is a powerful package manager which is much more simple to use thanks to the simplified command arguments which, while the AUR (Arch User Repository) allows the user to install community-made packages without requiring to manually add additional repositories. It's documentary wiki is extremely useful for getting around the system and explain how things work, it can be used as a base for other Linux distributions. Each package from the official repository are tested and released when it is considered stable.
Manjaro	ArchLinux	Pacman, AUR	KDE Plasma 5 and XFCE. The community manages other versions with their own desktop environment	Also known as "Ubuntu for Arch", it provides its own official repository compared to the distro it's been based on and has exclusive tools for installing various Linux kernels and managing your hardware drivers. The packages are semi-rolling meaning that it takes longer for the new version of the application to be released (Up to 2 weeks) until it's absolutely stable enough.
Antergos	ArchLinux	Pacman, AUR	You can choose GNOME, Cinnamon, MATE, KDE, OpenBox, XFCE or text mode	Formerly named CinnArch. Compared to Manjaro, Antergos combines both its own repo along with official ArchLinux ones. Be aware that the setup installer is still in beta and may have some issues.
Solus	Independent	EOPKG	Budgie, GNOME, MATE	Created and managed by one of the staff members from the Intel in 2016, despite following the rolling release model it provides stable packages and features great hardware compatibility with any GPU. Due to the fact it is a new distro, the number of packages that are available are somewhat small, but still growing (and packages can be requested) and includes a special Steam edition called Linux Steam Integration (LSI) which allows you to more easily customize Steam ranging from using the libraries from your system (Native mode) or force 32-bit mode.
OpenSUSE Tumbleweed	Independent	RPM (Zypper)	KDE Plasma 5	A separate rolling release version of OpenSUSE, despite having the same exclusive features, it provides packages that are bleeding edge, updated enough where the ArchLinux won't keep up with it.
Gentoo	Independent	Portage	Text mode, later on you can install any DE	A distro aimed only for experts. Unlike other Linux distros, Gentoo's Portage compiles the application from its source code instead, which can offer the most bleeding edge version of the software, but very unstable. Distros based on it do exist and slightly lowers the difficulty in using it. It's wiki can be used to explain in a simple detail every compilation option you can use on other distributions.
PCLinuxOS	Independent	RPM (APT)	KDE Plasma, MATE	PCLinuxOS is a semi-rolling release fork of Mandriva which provides an out-of-the-box support for many graphics and sound devices, along with other peripherals. It contains a special software dedicated to maintaining and configuring your system.
Deepin	Debian (Unstable)	DEB (Apt)	Deepin	Based on Debian (Unstable), Deepin is a rolling release distro which formerly was based on Ubuntu 15 which also uses its own desktop environment with the same name.

¹ - Bold ones are default