The Linux ecosystem is vast and diverse, offering a multitude of distributions to suit every need and preference. With hundreds of distros to choose from, it’s a pity that most are rarely mentioned while the popular ones are constantly being regurgitated.

This thread aims to celebrate this diversity and shine a light on smaller projects with passionate developers. I invite you to pitch your favorite underappreciated distro and share your experiences with those lesser-known Linux distributions that deserve more attention.

While there are no strict rules or banlists, I encourage you to focus on truly niche or exotic distributions rather than the more commonly discussed ones. Consider touching upon what makes your chosen distro unique:

  • What features or philosophies set it apart?
  • Why do you favor it over other distros, including the popular ones? (Beyond “It just works.”)
  • In what situations would you recommend it to others?

Whether it’s a specialized distro for a particular use case or a general-purpose OS with a unique twist, let’s explore the road less traveled in the Linux landscape. Your insights could introduce fellow enthusiasts to their next favorite distribution!

  • Presi300
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    335 months ago

    Alpine. The Linux, not GNU/Linux joke aside, Alpine’s kinda great. Light, fast, stable, great package manager. I’ve daily driven it on both a server and as my main distro and it’s pretty nice for both… Unless you’re on Nvidia.

    • @tetris11@lemmy.ml
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      55 months ago

      My first intro to it was with postmarketOS, and I have to say it felt super light and stable

    • Jolteon
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      35 months ago

      Huh, I’d never actually considered that Alpine Linux existed as something other than a base for docker containers.

      • Presi300
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        15 months ago

        Yeah, that’s many people’s impression of it.

    • @wheeldawg@sh.itjust.works
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      15 months ago

      Want there a post I saw just the other day about Nvidia starting to make open source releases with one of the upcoming driver updates? I just saw it yesterday and didn’t even think I checked it out yet but it’s somewhere here on my “look at better later” lists here.

      It would be fine then if that was true.

      • jerb
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        25 months ago

        Just the kernel module, which still interacts with the proprietary driver.

        • @wheeldawg@sh.itjust.works
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          15 months ago

          Well there goes that good news. I hadn’t finished looking into it, it’s still in a tab I stashed here somewhere.