Linux Distributions Based on Arch Linux

Tagged with arch linux, cinnamon, endeavouros, kde plasma, laptop computer, linux, manjaro, mini pc on February 3, 2025

As far as I can remember, I’ve never used any distribution based on Arch Linux as a daily driver. I’ve briefly tested EndeavourOS and Manjaro, using only the KDE Plasma desktop environment with each of them. Since switching to the Cinnamon Edition of Linux Mint years ago, I’ve remained glued to the Debian/Ubuntu ecosystem. I believe it’s time for me to venture outside my comfort zone.

I briefly tested distributions in the Fedora and openSUSE ecosystems, but that was years ago, around the same time I made up my mind to use Linux Mint. Perhaps I’ll revisit both ecosystems after I’ve spent some time with distributions based on Arch Linux. Perhaps not.

Virtual Machines and Side-By-Side Installations

My laptop computer contains a 512 gigabyte solid-state drive. I’m not even using 80 gigabytes of it, even with more 20 gigabytes of music files. My mini PC also contains a 512 gigabyte solid-state drive. I’m using even less space on it. Most virtual machines can operate in less than 20 gigabytes of space. I have plenty of space for virtual machines on both of them.

I may or may not install another Linux distribution alongside Linux Mint, restricting Linux Mint to 100 gigabytes and allocating 100 gigabytes for the other distribution. The remaining space could be used for backups and extra storage for both distributions. Before I can do that, I have to spend a lot of time testing.

I have to decide on which distribution to add and which desktop environment to use on it. I once mentioned that I wasn’t fond of any distributions based on Arch Linux because I didn’t like rolling updates. Again, I want to step outside my comfort zone. Even so, I’m not going to bother with specialized distributions, such as those used for gaming or penetration testing.

Choices and More Choices

I dislike GNOME, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, and Xfce. I’m not interested in standalone window managers, and tiling window managers like i3 and Sway. That leaves me with Budgie, Cinnamon, and KDE Plasma on Arch Linux-based distributions. KDE Plasma isn’t as stable as others on rolling releases because of the frequent updates.

I’ve already tested Cinnamon on Manjaro and it’s pretty good. Next, I’ll test it on EndeavourOS to see the difference. I’ve already tested KDE Plasma on EndeavourOS. Soon, I’ll test it on Manjaro. The Budgie desktop environment can wait. I previously tested it on Debian and Ubuntu. There are other Arch Linux-based distributions, but I don’t feel like venturing out too far.

The Universal Blue project is interesting, even though it isn’t based on Arch Linux. I’ve already installed the Aurora image in a virtual machine, but I haven’t tested it yet. Perhaps I should mention it when I write about Linux distributions based on Fedora (if I write it).

Image by Judd Vinet, Aaron Griffin and Levente Polyák, GPL, via Wikimedia Commons