this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2026
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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I have used Arch for >13 years (btw) and use the terminal every single session. I also work with Linux servers daily, so I tried the other families with DEs (Debian/Ubuntu, RHEL/CentOS/AlmaLinux/Fedora).

I'm comfortable (and prefer) doing everything with CLI tools. For me, it's a bit difficult to convert my Windows friends, as they all see me as some kind of hackerman.

What's the landscape like nowadays, in terms of terminal requirements?

Bonus question: Which distribution is the most user-friendly while still updated packages? Does anything provide a similar experience to Arch's amazing AUR?

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[–] Auster@thebrainbin.org 25 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Using Linux Mint, most of what I use I could without terminals if I wish. However, just like with Windows, terminal intervention will be needed sooner or later, usually to figure out why a given program isn't working.

[–] AmbitiousProcess@piefed.social 14 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Exactly. You can get away without using the terminal on a lot of linux distros in the same way you can get away without using CMD on Windows... until one very specific thing breaks and suddenly it's time to run sfc /scannow for the millionth time.

[–] Attacker94@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I personally don't understand why that command doesn't run every time the system starts up by default, I wrote a script that ran it on startup years ago and I can't tell you how many times it tells me that there were files that needed repairing.

[–] iopq@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

There's a sysd GUI that you can use to look at logs. It's much faster to just refresh the UI than searching your history for the right command