Which Linux distribution would you use now?

[takuma sato]

I have been running the same distro for years and now im basically forced to wipe the install and start from scratch because they stopped rolling updates. I was using Elementary OS version 5 and as you can see the Ubuntu release it's based on doesn't do updates anymore.

elementary OS Version    Released    Ubuntu Release    Ubuntu Maintenance Updates
0.4 Loki                            Sep 9, 2016    16.04 LTS    April 2021
5 Juno                            Oct 16, 2018    18.04 LTS    April 2023
5.1 Hera                            Dec 3, 2019    18.04 LTS    April 2023
6 Odin                            Aug 10, 2021    20.04 LTS    April 2025
6.1 Jólnir                            Dec 20, 2021    20.04 LTS    April 2025
7.0 Horus                            Jan 31, 2023    22.04 LTS    April 2027

I want to ask what people here are using. I want something that is easy to install that has full disk encryption features during the install on the GUI. And basically something without privacy unfriendly bloatware (like Ubuntu).

I would also like something that doesn't force you to wipe your stuff and start from scratch every 2 or 3 years.

I was looking at n0nce's guide on OpenSUSE. I have never tried that one. Not sure if meets the criteria but having a guide is really nice and would save a lot of time. But there's not much documentation in regards to Bitcoin, most of it is Ubuntu or Debian based. Someone commented this:

SUSE is rather painful to get in to in some aspects. I did many custom deployments of OS and post install automatic configuration. Suse frustrated me because they put things in different places compared to  most of the other distros, and have an extremely capable and complicated installation control file. Unfortunately, it is not easily created and the documentation is partially missing. To allow users/admins to make use of control files; ALL the possible valid options must be listed in the documentation and this documentation needs to be in a well known or easily found location. It is only AFTER investing considerable time that I came to appreciate the odd and different over-engineered aspects of SUSE. It is very powerful.

So I would rather use something more common. I want to be able to search for stuff and find answers.

mocacinno has a guide for CentOS, but it hasn't been update in 3 years so probably there's some stuff that changed.

Does anyone maintain any other guides for different distros? Im interested in mostly a Bitcoin Core node to form transaction in a desktop install, and a watch-only wallet to broadcast them and check funds, and do this through Tor with a laptop.

There has to be a simple OS that just works. But I guess im going to need to go with Ubuntu based ones so that will require full updates every 2 or 3 years when LTS versions run out of updates. And since I use full disk encryption im going to need to reinstall the whole think backing up the wallets and resync. I guess I can do that every few years. In that case I would try the new ElementaryOS but I would like to know what people hereare using, please let me know so I decide what to install.

[BlackHatCoiner]

And basically something without privacy unfriendly bloatware (like Ubuntu).

Can you give a little bit more context on this? For what bloatware are you talking about? Ubuntu comes with a variety of open-source programs, some of which you can choose to not install during setup. It does provide full disk encryption.

Look, it isn't as privacy friendly as Tails or Whonix, but it is friendly in the sense that it doesn't spy on you by default (as in Windows).


When it comes to security, use a reputable distro with large community. That's why I use Ubuntu (and because I've used to it). If your computer doesn't fulfill the resource requirements, consider using the alternative Xubuntu, which requires even less resources.

You can also try out Whonix as it comes with Bitcoin Core (and is privacy and security focused): https://www.whonix.org/.

[takuma sato]

And basically something without privacy unfriendly bloatware (like Ubuntu).

Can you give a little bit more context on this? For what bloatware are you talking about? Ubuntu comes with a variety of open-source programs, some of which you can choose to not install during setup. It does provide full disk encryption.

Look, it isn't as privacy friendly as Tails or Whonix, but it is friendly in the sense that it doesn't spy on you by default (as in Windows).


When it comes to security, use a reputable distro with large community. That's why I use Ubuntu (and because I've used to it). If your computer doesn't fulfill the resource requirements, consider using the alternative Xubuntu, which requires even less resources.

You can also try out Whonix as it comes with Bitcoin Core (and is privacy and security focused): https://www.whonix.org/.

You can read up on the whole Canonical-Amazon incident. Basically Canonical (company behind Ubuntu) sent supposedly anonymized telemetry to Amazon. Apparently there's some drama with RedHat as well (Centos). Ubuntu is probably just ok to use, but comes with a lot of stuff that I don't need.
Maybe I should just give Debian a try. Apparently it has now become manageable to install. Back then it was a mess but looks like nowadays it installs like a regular OS. Not sure bout the .deb dependencies and so on, but at least I would have a ton of documentation.

Whonix im assming is something similar to Tails.

I remember Xubuntu and Kubuntu, I may look up what's their current state now.  As long as you don't do anything stupid, you shouldn't get hacked, so maybe a hardened OS is overkill, but I will look into Whonix, but like I said, as long as it just installs fine and can do full disk encryption and run the Bitcoin related stuff and not have bloatware etc, and maintain it secure with updates, that should be enough.

[PrivacyG]

Whonix only runs as a Virtual Machine.  There is no way you can INSTALL it as a stand alone Operating System.

There are two ways of running Whonix.  Qubes or Virtual Machine.  Qubes is kind of hard to get accustomed to if you are not a fan of new UI and if you are unprepared a new, overhauled experience with a Linux distribution.  I like Qubes because it gives you many options.  You create what they call 'Domains' which are pretty much Virtual Machines.  You can create a Windows 'Domain' with no Internet connection.  All Domains are separated.  They do not interfere.  Any USB you insert has to be assigned to Domains you want it to be assigned to.  Any thing you do is pretty much happening in separate Virtual Machines and Qubes is just an offline desktop to manage them.  Think of it as running multiple computers all on the same monitor.

Best part of it is that the main management desktop known as dom0 is offline while you can run online Domains.  With this being said.  If a Domain is hacked it is almost impossible for the virus or hacker to get to dom0 let alone another Domain.  It is overkill like you say however.  Unless you truly care about top notch Security.

Like I said however.  It is hard to get accustomed to it.  You will have to do a lot of documentation.  Reading their install documentation is very important too.  You will learn a ton of important things about keeping high levels of Privacy and Security while running Qubes.

Qubes offers full disk encryption in the Install GUI and is extremely Privacy friendly.  It has pretty big system requirements however.  There is an exhaustive list of computers tested with it.  Maybe it is helpful to you.  https://www.qubes-os.org/hcl/

Now that I wrote this all I realize I sound like a walking Qubes advertising billboard!

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Tails is fun and all but because of its amnesic properties it is not a great Operating System for daily use.  It was not meant to be a daily driver or to be used occasionally with Persistent Storage anyway.  So I do not recomment doing a Persistent installation of Tails.  What I like about it is the amnesic property of it.  But this makes it only a great temporary Operating System.  It is perfect if you need to quickly boot up Tails for an Internet search.

In some cases Tails is more secure and can offer more Privacy than Qubes can.  But for your needs this might not be it.  Would not recommend any body to run a Full Node on Tails.  Defeats the purpose of Tails and probably builds loop holes too weakening the Security you should have.

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Since you are looking at some Debian distros.  Why do you not just install the blank version of Debian?  Download and install only the first CD file from https://www.debian.org/CD/http-ftp/.  That will install the most stripped version of Debian.  Last time I checked, the stripped version of Debian is 100 percent Open Source.  Then you can install any non free driver or package you like by downloading it from https://www.debian.org/distrib/packages.  This is the most hard core way you can go if you do not trust any thing and any body.

What I like about Debian is pretty much ANY issue you will ever encounter with Debian will be about one or two quick searches away.  There is an entire community for this distro.  It is Debian after all.

Warning.  This means you will encounter a lot of problems you will have to fix by yourself one by one until you can get to run the things you need properly.

You will probably not even have Wi Fi drivers after installing the first CD.  Probably will not need that if you are using Ethernet any way.  You can look up drivers for any thing that does not work.  I doubt you will not find a way.  Internet is your friend.

But there is a bit of work to do if you want to keep it as clean as possible and this is the best way to do it.  Who needs display driver which is proprietary.  Who needs Bluetooth adapter.  Who needs all that B S.  I like it raw.

There are many other distributions but I would not trust them.  Fewer contributors and users means more loopholes.  Tails, Qubes and Debian are pretty much Top 3 for people who do not trust their computer and Operating System much.  Ubuntu is probably the most popular distribution across the Linux community but even Ubuntu is based on Debian.  Why run something that has been built on top of Debian when you can run Debian itself.

Other Privacy oriented distributions are more focused on Security than Privacy it seems.  Kali and such.

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Or give them all a try.  See which you like most.  Maybe you fall in love with one and keep it.

[mocacinno]

I got a ping that my name was mentioned... Just as a heads-up: i would no longer recommend centos due to redhat's policy changes. CentOS became a mess, and they're more or less anti-opensource ATM (at least in my humble opinion).

Professionally, i work with SLES for my daytime job (i have about 140 servers running SLES 15 SP4, i've been using sles for about 10 years now and i can vouch for it's stability and useability), and opensuse for my home systems, i think it surpasses most (if not all) requirements i ever had...
I know it isn't as popular in the community as (for example) ubuntu, but this doesn't mean it's a bad distribution. Opensuse is basically the upstream distro of SLES, meaning that there are actually professional engineers vetting the packages that end up in the opensuse repository, and the SLES professional documentation usually also works for opensuse. The opensuse community isn't as buzzying as (for example) the ubuntu community, but the people are friendly and helpfull.

The biggest "downside" for newer users is the fact that most tutorials/walk-troughs nowadays focus on ubuntu, so if you want a distro with the most copy/paste walk-troughs, you're more or less bound to ubuntu (most of those walk-troughs also work on debian tough).

If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[mrust_mobile]

I’ve been using Mint which is a ubuntu (or debian?) fork. It is not as bloated as ubuntu but still has a very friendly user interface. I encountered small problems every once in a while but I somehow solved them all. I use this PC to do some coding, watch movies, surf the web and it fills my needs perfectly fine. Believe it or not I can play many 3D games too. (Thanks to wine/steam) Since I switched to Mint, I never looked back. I am windows-free since 2018.

[LoyceV]

My personal opinion: it's largely a matter of taste. I switch every few years, and I've tried many different distributions. I mostly appreciate a simple desktop without over-the-top animations and with a simple menu button. But most of the time I'm using a terminal anyway.

Does anyone maintain any other guides for different distros?

I don't see the point making them for Bitcointalk, when there are much better guides out there.

Im interested in mostly a Bitcoin Core node to form transaction in a desktop install, and a watch-only wallet to broadcast them and check funds, and do this through Tor with a laptop.

In that case: do you really need full disk encryption? You can encrypt your home directory with one tickbox.

[PrivacyG]

These days Debian include non-free driver by default.

WOW.  This is such a disgrace.  I see this only happened recently as there is a notification posted on June 2023,
https://cdimage.debian.org/images/unofficial/non-free/images-including-firmware/

Well.  Another more Privacy friendly option down the well.  Sucks to live in 2023 dude.

Edit.  I wonder if this works as a workaround.  I have a few CDs with different older versions of Debian on them.  The non free problem seems to be since Debian 12 released.  How about installing an older version and then updating.  You get the choice to download the packages you want.  I can find official versions archived on their website,
https://get.debian.org/images/archive/

Any body has any idea, will this STILL install non free packages autonomously?

[NotATether]

I remember Xubuntu and Kubuntu, I may look up what's their current state now.  As long as you don't do anything stupid, you shouldn't get hacked, so maybe a hardened OS is overkill, but I will look into Whonix, but like I said, as long as it just installs fine and can do full disk encryption and run the Bitcoin related stuff and not have bloatware etc, and maintain it secure with updates, that should be enough.

Xubuntu and Kubuntu are fine, but they do not get LTS releases. Instead, they only get updates for 9 months like the other non-LTS versions.

These days Debian include non-free driver by default.

WOW.  This is such a disgrace.  I see this only happened recently as there is a notification posted on June 2023,
https://cdimage.debian.org/images/unofficial/non-free/images-including-firmware/

Makes you wonder why don't the device drivers just make it easier to make open-source versions of their drivers. Like what is there even to hide inside a driver that will give someone else a competitive advantage? That's all hardware.

[ABCbits]

I remember Xubuntu and Kubuntu, I may look up what's their current state now.  As long as you don't do anything stupid, you shouldn't get hacked, so maybe a hardened OS is overkill, but I will look into Whonix, but like I said, as long as it just installs fine and can do full disk encryption and run the Bitcoin related stuff and not have bloatware etc, and maintain it secure with updates, that should be enough.

Xubuntu and Kubuntu are fine, but they do not get LTS releases. Instead, they only get updates for 9 months like the other non-LTS versions.

You need to recheck these pages, https://xubuntu.org/download/ and https://kubuntu.org/getkubuntu/. Both still offer LTS version. But unlike Ubuntu which has 5 years support (10 years if you subscribe to Ubuntu Pro), those distro only receive 3 years support.

These days Debian include non-free driver by default.

WOW.  This is such a disgrace.  I see this only happened recently as there is a notification posted on June 2023,
https://cdimage.debian.org/images/unofficial/non-free/images-including-firmware/

Makes you wonder why don't the device drivers just make it easier to make open-source versions of their drivers. Like what is there even to hide inside a driver that will give someone else a competitive advantage? That's all hardware.

At least for basic printing, CUPS[1] does the jobs wgere you don't have to use closed-source driver/firmware.

[1] https://wiki.debian.org/CUPSDriverlessPrinting

[LoyceV]

You need to recheck these pages, https://xubuntu.org/download/ and https://kubuntu.org/getkubuntu/. Both offer still offer LTS version. But unlike Ubuntu which has 5 years support (10 years if you subscribe to Ubuntu Pro), those distro only receive 3 years support.

You can just install Xfce on Ubuntu and still get 5 years LTS, right? The few GB size difference for having some unused software on your system shouldn't matter compared to the size of the blockchain.

[NotATether]

You need to recheck these pages, https://xubuntu.org/download/ and https://kubuntu.org/getkubuntu/. Both offer still offer LTS version. But unlike Ubuntu which has 5 years support (10 years if you subscribe to Ubuntu Pro), those distro only receive 3 years support.

Right, I messed up. The LTS versions actually have 3 years support, but it's still less than the 5 years I can get out of the main Ubuntu distro. (And this is confirmed here.)

At least for basic printing, CUPS[1] does the jobs wgere you don't have to use closed-source driver/firmware.

[1] https://wiki.debian.org/CUPSDriverlessPrinting

It's not just printing, so many things have been broken, for years. Audio filters, function key buttons, fingerprint readers, USB modems, and especially video cards all have major problems inside their open source driver implementations.

You can just install Xfce on Ubuntu and still get 5 years LTS, right? The few GB size difference for having some unused software on your system shouldn't matter compared to the size of the blockchain.

Correct, but as you can see in the link I shared, all packages in the repository called main are supported for 5 years. XFCE Desktop is not inside that repository, so it gets support for 3 years.

[NotATether]

It's definitely possible. But since OP said "There has to be a simple OS that just works", there are few things i'd like to point.
1. Conflict possibility between DE or default app comes with DE. You might mention you could just remove GNOME, but there's risk you accidentally remove important application or library.
2. I have doubt there won't be any problem when you perform major update (e.g. 20.04 LTS to 22.04 LTS).

Linux Mint fits the bill nicely, for this reason.

[takuma sato]

It's definitely possible. But since OP said "There has to be a simple OS that just works", there are few things i'd like to point.
1. Conflict possibility between DE or default app comes with DE. You might mention you could just remove GNOME, but there's risk you accidentally remove important application or library.
2. I have doubt there won't be any problem when you perform major update (e.g. 20.04 LTS to 22.04 LTS).

Linux Mint fits the bill nicely, for this reason.

Yeah this looks good:

https://www.linuxmint.com/download_all.php

Has anyone tried Xfce? I've always used this environment, it is the one used by the super lightweight distros, should be the less fancier and thus snappier one.
Not sure why they've blocked their page to Tor tho, had to use a proxy on top to get it.

Does anyone here recommend some "first thing to do after installing" tips?

Something that I always want to be sure is that no temporal stuff is left somewhere. I remember with Elementary OS, it used some sort of temporal backups for unsaved text files for instance, so if you wrote anything you didn't want to keep, and you didn't know this, there would be traces of what you wrote elsewhere. These things are what I really want to keep under control. I want to know that when I delete a file, this file is not saved elsewhere because reasons. This is why I do full disk encryption to begin with, but still, I want to know those things are happening.

[DYING_S0UL]

Those are very tough requirements, i'd just recommend Linux Mint or Debian which tick most of your requirements. You can even choose desktop environment you prefer.

As you mentioned Linux Mint, I needed some suggestion of yours.

So the thing is, I am looking for a distro for a perfect daily use. My requirements isn't that much. Only able to do everything that a daily user does on his windows should be enough. As example, browsing, little editing, writing on Microsoft words(I know it have a alternative version), gaming a little (like, age of empire), using VPN and a VM to run windows just in case if needed. Some customization should be nice, like applying new theme, skin etc. Lastly what everyone needs is performance and have to be user friendly. It also should get updates, not any discontinued distros.

I was thinking of Linux Mint Xfce (21.2 Victoria something) ..What are your thoughts on that? Is there anything better? Like lite but powerful without any blotwares (I hate heavy distros that contains unnecessary packages, apps). I also know there are many app store to install apps on linux. Does mint supports it? I found it difficult to manage, install and uninstall apps sometimes, through the command prompt, when I used it on my friends desktop.

Also, I don't wanna install drivers manually. It should be builtin.

I'll install Linux the moment I get my hands on a laptop, as I don't have any now. I am planning to buy in a month.

Edit: I'll also need to run Microsoft visual studio code or any other compiler for programming purpose.

I know my writing is a mess, but if you were kind enough to guide me, I would be grateful.

[ABCbits]

Does anyone here recommend some "first thing to do after installing" tips?

There are many of such article about it on internet. Since you're not being specific, i'd just recommend you to update the system immediately then install necessary driver/application.

Something that I always want to be sure is that no temporal stuff is left somewhere. I remember with Elementary OS, it used some sort of temporal backups for unsaved text files for instance, so if you wrote anything you didn't want to keep, and you didn't know this, there would be traces of what you wrote elsewhere. These things are what I really want to keep under control. I want to know that when I delete a file, this file is not saved elsewhere because reasons. This is why I do full disk encryption to begin with, but still, I want to know those things are happening.

I don't use Linux mint myself, but usually it can be solved by,
1. Disable "trash" or "recycle bin" feature from your file manager.
2. Disable or uninstall application which manage clipboard locally. For example, Xfce comes with application called qlipper.

Those are very tough requirements, i'd just recommend Linux Mint or Debian which tick most of your requirements. You can even choose desktop environment you prefer.

As you mentioned Linux Mint, I needed some suggestion of yours.

So the thing is, I am looking for a distro for a perfect daily use. My requirements isn't that much. Only able to do everything that a daily user does on his windows should be enough. As example, browsing, little editing, writing on Microsoft words(I know it have a alternative version), gaming a little (like, age of empire), using VPN and a VM to run windows just in case if needed. Some customization should be nice, like applying new theme, skin etc. Lastly what everyone needs is performance and have to be user friendly. It also should get updates, not any discontinued distros.

I was thinking of Linux Mint Xfce (21.2 Victoria something) ..What are your thoughts on that? Is there anything better? Like lite but powerful without any blotwares (I hate heavy distros that contains unnecessary packages, apps). I also know there are many app store to install apps on linux. Does mint supports it? I found it difficult to manage, install and uninstall apps sometimes, through the command prompt, when I used it on my friends desktop.

Also, I don't wanna install drivers manually. It should be builtin.

I'll install Linux the moment I get my hands on a laptop, as I don't have any now. I am planning to buy in a month.

Edit: I'll also need to run Microsoft visual studio code or any other compiler for programming purpose.

I know my writing is a mess, but if you were kind enough to guide me, I would be grateful.

Next time please create new thread since what you're doing might be considered as hijacking/derailing thread. AFAIK by default Linux Mint install open source driver which isn't suitable for gaming. Consider Pop os (https://pop.system76.com/) which already include closed-source Nvidia driver (which suitable for gaming) where they also claim they offer customization and various development toolkits.

[LoyceV]

Has anyone tried Xfce? I've always used this environment, it is the one used by the super lightweight distros, should be the less fancier and thus snappier one.

I didn't like Xfce much. I like a menu bar at the full bottom of my screen, some shortcut icons on the left, active programs in the middle, and some status icons on the right. I had to check what I'm currently using: Marco (MATE) window manager, with Clearlooks Appearance (and some customizations). I want my active window to have a clear different color from anything on the background (which is rare nowadays).
After disabling all animations, I don't think it's very resource demanding (and my laptop is quite old).

[NotATether]

Has anyone tried Xfce? I've always used this environment, it is the one used by the super lightweight distros, should be the less fancier and thus snappier one.
Not sure why they've blocked their page to Tor tho, had to use a proxy on top to get it.

Xfce is short and snappy, but I would not be opposed to using MATE either, provided that it is packaged by the distro I want to use.

I don't use Linux mint myself, but usually it can be solved by,
1. Disable "trash" or "recycle bin" feature from your file manager.
2. Disable or uninstall application which manage clipboard locally. For example, Xfce comes with application called qlipper.

I don't really like clipboard managers (besides providing the the essential copy/paste support), particularly the clipboard history feature which I never use.

Although I fail to see how the trashcan will pose a problem, because you can avoid having to do that by simply deleting your files with rm command.

[seoincorporation]

I would recommend 2 options for you:

1.- If you was under a Ubuntu/base OS, then try direct Ubuntu, i have that OS on one of my laptops because it has an Nvidia card, and is really easy with ubuntu to install the drivers.

2.- If you want to go for something new then i highly recommend Fedora, i have been using that OS for a long time, and try with other variants like CentOS and Red Hat, but in the end i liked more fedora. I feel is more user-friendly.

And another thing i recommend is the right user interphase, I'm old-school and always loved the Mate UI, you can find them on the next links:

https://fedoraproject.org/spins/mate/
https://ubuntu-mate.org/

[takuma sato]

It's definitely possible. But since OP said "There has to be a simple OS that just works", there are few things i'd like to point.
1. Conflict possibility between DE or default app comes with DE. You might mention you could just remove GNOME, but there's risk you accidentally remove important application or library.
2. I have doubt there won't be any problem when you perform major update (e.g. 20.04 LTS to 22.04 LTS).

Linux Mint fits the bill nicely, for this reason.

Does it do any telemetry? Found these comments on this YT video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKggSOKHFZg

5 days ago
Even if that wasn't something you could configure, with the open source nature of Linux someone knowledgeable enough could write a script or app and change it anyhow or at least get the effect they want.  Also if we are afraid of them collecting data we can use Wireshark or a similar program and see for ourselves.  It may be encrypted but we will still see where it is going.  You could set up a spare computer just to monitor the network or at least keep a log of network traffic that way and not have it placing any new load on your main computer.  That would be helpful for those who like to buy low power computers that are often single board or use a mobile Intel or AMD CPU that while usable for its purpose is not great for gaming or other demanding tasks.

1 month ago
Yes they are you can check that data in Kernel logs, I posted on the mint forums, the mods felt it necessary to delete the part that shows Data being sent. I traced that logs origin

This sucks. Has anyone tried building Bitcoin Core from source with Whonix? I was looking at the documents and they have a section for Bitcoin which is nice:

https://www.whonix.org/wiki/Bitcoin_Core

Also I found this article (in German) that says it found unnecessary pings during installation in Arch, EndeavourOS, Manjaro, Garuda, openSUSE, Linux Mint, Ubuntu, and ElementaryOS distros:

https://www.michlfranken.de/linux-distros-dns-tracing/

Not sure why they would try to ping some server during installation, probably no big deal but still. And I still have to figure out how to avoid any software leaking data from temporary files. I found the software that was doing it on ElementaryOS, it's called "Code", it is basically the Scratch text editor. I wish there was a way to disable all of these things by default because I just find it unnecessary.