I'm on the hunt for a Linux distribution that hits a few key features: it needs to be stable (I'm okay with major updates every couple of years, but I can't stand when KDE or GNOME extensions break mid-work). I also want it to come with minimal pre-installed software—no bloatware, and definitely no telemetry. Ideally, it should support a dynamic tiling manager similar to what Pop Shell provides. I've been using Pop!_OS 22.04 for nearly four years, but I'm starting to run into some issues with certain packages due to glibc. I didn't want to go with Pop!_OS 24.04 since COSMIC has had a lot of bugs.
I'm considering options like Regolith, which is based on GNOME and seems easy to set up, but that's only for Debian or Ubuntu LTS versions. I'm also contemplating going the i3 route and customizing from scratch, but I'm a bit wary of potential stability and security pitfalls. If I set it up myself, can I manage security updates without breaking my configuration? Plus, I'm used to having desktop icons for organizing my work; what's a good method to keep everything tidy without a desktop view? Any advice on navigating this would be really appreciated!
2 Answers
If you're looking for a distro that’s minimal but stable, you might want to consider Debian. It's a solid choice and can be really tailored to your needs. You'll have to put in some effort to set it up, but it's widely trusted for its reliability.
You might want to stick with something that supports GNOME along with a tiling extension like PopShell, but be advised that PopShell isn’t maintained anymore and could break on newer versions of GNOME. Using i3 could be good, but it might take some time to configure it initially. Just be prepared for a bit of a learning curve if you decide to go that route!
I feel you on that! I think if you don't mind spending time on the setup, i3 can be totally worth it. Just remember that it might require more attention to keep everything stable with updates.