I've been experimenting with Linux Mint and Pop!_OS, but I feel like I'm not really getting the hang of using the terminal as much as I should. I'm looking for a Linux distribution that encourages or forces me to learn terminal commands and its functionalities. Any suggestions?
5 Answers
If you're serious about learning Linux, give Arch Linux a shot! It's a bit more complex, but the experience is rewarding. Also, if you dive into programming, you'll naturally pick up terminal commands along the way. Just take it easy and let it flow!
There's no clear 'best' distro for this. The choice won't make you use the terminal more. You can have the same GUI apps across different distros. If you want a minimal setup, consider going with a window manager like Awesome or Xmonad instead of a full desktop environment. Arch could be a good challenge since it requires a bit of a hand-on installation process, but after that, it's up to you how much you use the terminal.
Honestly, it doesn't really matter which distro you pick. You can use any Linux system you like, and you'll still find ways to interact with the terminal. Whether it's Bash, Zsh, or Fish, just choose one and stick with it! It's more about practice than anything else.
You might be complicating things a bit. Linux is just another OS like Windows or macOS. It's not essential to dive deep into terminal commands unless you want to. Learning to code can be easily done through an IDE like VS Code, which you can install on various systems. If you really want a terminal-only experience, you can remove GUI components from any distro and just interact through commands.
I think you're focusing on the wrong thing. Don’t force yourself to use the terminal—just integrate it naturally into what you do. All major distros will give you similar experiences, and there are tons of tutorials online to help you with command line basics. Ubuntu and Fedora are friendly for beginners. I learned a lot by manually installing Arch, which has a great wiki, and by experimenting with various VMs and server setups. Enjoy the process rather than stressing over it!
Yeah, and if you go that route, just keep typing 'help' to discover commands in the terminal!