I've been using CachyOS since around December, but I'm getting tired of dealing with occasional breakage and am considering switching to Debian for a more stable experience. I'm mainly wondering how to handle the transition. Personal files are easy enough to back up, but I'd also like to preserve things such as my KDE configuration and other application settings. I realize that some application configs may not transfer cleanly between distributions, so what's the safest and most practical way to migrate them?
4 Answers
The simplest approach is to back up your home directory, reinstall the applications you actually use, and then restore your personal files and selected configuration. Applications are usually easy to reinstall, while blindly copying every config can bring along settings or caches that cause problems.
Focus on protecting your actual data first. Back up your home folders, browser data, SSH keys, and any important application files, then reinstall programs through Debian’s package manager. After that, copy back KDE and application settings one group at a time so it’s easy to identify anything incompatible.
I keep my configuration files in a private Git repository and store documents, photos, and videos on an external SSD or NAS. A short setup journal listing installed packages and custom changes makes rebuilding the system much faster, while leaving you with a clean installation instead of carrying over years of clutter.
Most user-specific settings are stored in hidden files and folders in your home directory, especially ~/.config. You can preserve those by keeping a separate /home partition and not formatting it during installation, or by backing up the relevant directories first. I’d still restore configs selectively rather than copying everything at once.
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