Debian and basically everything in its repos. Might be somewhat old, but it is really fucking stable
Linux
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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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My small selfhosted system appreciates this very much. Having Debian as my base OS makes everything easier.
Total agreement. So many unsung heroes involved in Debian. Work has agreed with me - today's job involved migrating those load balancers to Debian underneath.
So many. So many little utilities that just work. To mention a couple I think no one will mention because they are not sexy: Okular and Ark
Okular works so well at this point that I use it to annotate all my PDFs if I don't explicitly need free-hand drawing (and xournalpp otherwise).
Big fan of the KDE suite of software. I've tried alternatives, but always come back to plasma and associated software
Ark is the best. It can open any type of zipped/compressed file, and it puts even 7zip to shame.
KCalc. Man, it just computes! It can add, subtract, and even multiply. It's never given a wrong answer.
Systemd
*grabs popcorn*

Just it always makes you wait for ~3 min and shows: ... wait for something to be Configured (25s / no limit). :-)
Syncthing. Absolutely ace bit of software. I remember it being a little questionable in 2013, but today it performs exactly the same task, just more reliably. Love it.
nano
Anything from Debian. I even run Debian-Testing, and it's rock solid. Also, Linux mint, on my other partition.
Firefox + uBlock Origin + sponsorblock. Set it and forget it.
I haven't seen an advertisement or a sponsored segment on my desktop in over a decade, and same with my phone for several years. I'm astonished how willing most people are to put up with a constant barrage of ads coming from devices they own
Vlc.
bash. Konsole. vim (-neo or otherwise up to the point it became AI infested). ssh. steam. git i could go on for quite a while
nano 😎
The Linux Kernel.
I tried neovim for a while and I went back to vim for that reason: setup once, then forget about it.
I have plugins that haven't been touch for 5 years+ and they are working as intended.
Rock solid.
Nano
The OS itself, Debian. If I have to pick a component, Mate Panel. Compared to the Windows 11 start menu, it's useful, customizableand has no ads. My IT department at work can't even figure out how to remove the Windows 11 start menu ads from my computer.
Nano
xterm, xv, mc, tmux, gimp, seamonkey
Prosody for me. I set it up over 2 years ago, and the only time I touched it was when updating to the latest Debian stable and enabling some new features in the config files. It's been rock-solid and just worked without complaint.
nano
tree, locate, nvim, flatpak, htop, bmon, etc.
zsh
Vim because its everywhere and is super powerful. It can even be used for some light scripting. GCC to make my own programs. Python as well, same thing and also portable. All the programs that come with mint and become part of the background like the terminal emulator. All of it, pretty awesome. Jellyfin has been a mainstay as well.
Nginx.
It runs everything at home and at work.
- Linux Mint.
- Cinnamon.
- Xfce.
- PPSSPP.
- GNOME Boxes.
Okular
I'll give a shoutout to the rEFInd boot manager. If anyone has ever had trouble with Grub, rEFInd continues to work for years across multiple machines. I have never had a problem with it.
mc and vim
mpv, openbox
Bottles.
Without it, I wouldn't be able to run addictive keys on Linux. I paid for the software back when I used Windows and since I'm able to use addictive keys on Linux, haven't bothered trying to find an alternative.
That said, its the only use case I've had with bottles that just works. Other programs ive tried are more hit or miss.
Many have already mentioned tools that I also use and appreciate immensely.
My pick is Steam. I've picked up on gaming in the past 2 years and it's very stable right now. Every game that I have interest in just works, I can install games, including early access or demos without looking at the compatibility or the release date. The download speeds of games are high (imho at least where I'm located, and compared with a PS5). My partner is a heavy gamer and has to yet find a game that doesn't work on her machine.
my desire to use Linux and continue learning
Cron