Why do some people prefer immutable installations over separate partitions in Linux?

It used to be common to have separate partitions, but with automatic installers becoming the norm, that's changed. I still do it out of habit, and it has been beneficial in certain situations over the years.

It's kinda like asking why some folks drive with fancy run-flat tires instead of just carrying a tire repair kit. Not everyone has the skills or wants to deal with fixing their installations manually.

There's no one right way to partition. The typical setups are either a single / partition or / and /home, which work just fine for most users. As for immutable installations, they operate on a read-only base and can revert changes easily, which is a whole different concept that some people find appealing.

I do things a bit differently. I let the installer handle the standard two-partition setup. My personal files and data are stored on separate drives, and I just create links in my home directory. This way, I can easily restore from a timeshift or backup image without losing my data.

Modern filesystems allow for logical volumes, which can serve your needs better than traditional partitions. Just create one large partition and then set up various volumes within it. This way, you can take advantage of more advanced features.