It’s been around six years since I accidentally installed a Linux distro. However, it was a fortunate mistake… My knowledge on various topics such us programming, system administration and others has dramatically increased. But now, I feel like it is time to move a step further by switching to Arch Linux!

From Ubuntu to EndeavourOS

The first Linux flavor I tasted was Ubuntu, a distro supported by Canonical. Ubuntu is a very popular distro for newcomers to the Linux world as it is easy to install, configure and use.

Ubuntu was the perfect place to start using the so-called Linux CLI. It was in this particular distro where I learned how to code using Python and create beautiful documents via LaTeX.

However, as yeas passed, I realized that the OS was kind-of “blocking” me to acquire new skills. Not only that, the fact that Ubuntu came with an Amazon app was something I didn’t like quite much… By that time, I was using a tiling window manager called i3wm and therefore, the desktop environment was something to not care about.

After considering various options, I decided to install the EndeavourOS distro, which is an Arch Linux based one and provides a graphic installer. Furthermore, it shipped with i3wm, so I thought this would be the perfect distro for my needs in those days.

From EndeavourOS to Arch Linux

Some months ago, I decided to go one step further again: I wanted to understand in deep how the Linux kernel interfaces with hardware, how to administrate and manage my system… Not only that, I also wanted to give a try to some of the available suckless tools, in particular to the dynamic window manager dwm and the terminal emulator st. Finally, I was running out of memory space after all the content I downloaded and generated for writing my bachelor thesis, which you can find in the publications section.

Therefore, I decide to buy a new SSD and perform a clean installation of the Arch Linux distro.

Why Arch Linux?

I considered four distros: Arch, Gentoo, Void and Emacs¹. But, why Arch Linux among those? Simple: because its ArchWiki.

People complains and claims about the fact that Arch Linux is difficult to install. My point of view: not at all!. As long as you read its powerful wiki, you can face and successfully solve lots of issues you encounter during you the installation process and your daily workflow.

The ArchWiki is a very powerful resource of information, not only for Arch users but also for any GNU/Linux user.

Final thoughts

At the moment, I am still getting used to the new set of tools I installed on this distro and cannot say if the migration was a success in terms of productivity. However, the installation process gave me a new vision on how to install Linux on a computer from scratch by partitioning the disks, mounting them, adding users and groups, installing GRUB…

My next step is to rice (customize) all previous tools and create a custom installer so I can easily propagate my custom configuration across various personal machines.

Stay tuned for more info about my experience of being an Arch user!

References