EndeavourOS is the Linux Distro I have always wanted

After having to resolve a bunch of issues I was facing with Manjaro - a Linux distro based in Arch Linux that I kept using for many years without the need to change it - a few days ago, the moment had finally come, and I knew it was time to search for my next distro.

EndeavourOS KDE Plasma with Dracula theme and Desktop Widgets.

Editor’s Note: This post has been moved (and improved) on TechWise Insider.

While there’s nothing I love more than testing and using new Linux distributions, I’m only doing that with laptops that I have kept for testing and developing purposes. I still have a desktop PC running Windows 11 and Manjaro (now EndeavourOS) which I use daily for my work and my projects.

Manjaro was the only good Linux distro I could find at the time which was based in Arch. I mean, who doesn’t love the AUR catalog? The distro’s just beautiful, and it works. It has problems, and it’s not perfect, but it will get the job done. But after upgrading my PC with more RAM and a newer graphics card (the Nvidia RTX 2060 with 12GB VRAM), I started having screen flickering issues.

Searching online for solutions didn’t help. I kept re-installing the whole operating system again and again, starting new topics in various forums including Manjaro’s community. No one could find a solution for my screen flickering problems, and I got tired of trying to make it work. So I’ve started searching for alternatives.

Ubuntu-based distros are good, but not that good

EndeavourOS KDE Plasma with Breeze Dark custom theme.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Ubuntu and Debian-based distros. They’re beautiful, easy to use, and most of the time include all the apps you’ll need out of the box. But Debian-based distros aren’t Arch-based, and that’s my biggest problem.

I love the AUR catalog, and I can’t see my life moving away from it anytime soon. And while Arch may not seem like the stablest Linux distro out there, I haven’t had any problems with it all those years. After taking a look at the most popular Linux distros on DistroWatch.com, EndeavourOS was the only distro that started to attract me.

And while Arch-based distros aren’t as popular for their stability, for me they always worked better than Debian or Ubuntu-based distros. Debian-based distros are known for their stability and reliability, while Arch-based distros are known for their customizability and rolling release model. Which I find weird having used various distros over the last 15+ years.

There is no definitive answer to which type of Linux distro is better for you. It depends on your personal preferences, needs, and goals. You may want to try out different distros to see which one suits you best. But for me? Arch-based distros are my top choice. Always.

Installing and using EndeavourOS for the first time

EndeavourOS’s Welcome App.

Discovering EndeavourOS wasn’t so difficult. It keeps being at the top of DistroWatch’s top Linux Distros; and for all the good reasons. It’s fast, it’s beautiful, it comes in many different flavors, and it’s Arch-based. What more could a man ask of his operating system?

The first thing that I noticed with EndeavourOS ISO files was that there weren’t any download links for specific flavors. I mean, I love XFCE, but I wanted to try KDE Plasma and customize it until it was unrecognizable.

When I found out that EndeavourOS provides the option to choose the flavor from the installation wizard, it kinda made my day. Maybe my month. Okay, it made my whole year a lot better and more exciting! So I’ve installed EndeavourOS KDE Plasma and started testing it.

The pros of using EndeavourOS:

• It’s free to download and use. It offers a simple and easy installation process with the Calamares installer, which allows you to choose from various desktop environments or window managers.
• The ISO file is less than 2GB.
• It uses the Arch repositories and the AUR, which means you can access a large and up-to-date collection of software packages. But you’ll have to manually download and install Pacman using the terminal.
• It includes some helpful custom tools, such as yay for installing packages from the AUR, MHWD for installing drivers, and the Welcome app for accessing information and utilities.
• It is lightweight and fast, as it comes with no bloatware and only the necessary packages.

The cons of using EndeavourOS:

• It may require more knowledge and experience to set up and maintain, as it follows the Arch philosophy of DIY and KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).
• It may lack some pre-installed software or utilities that are common in other distros, such as a graphical package manager or a Bluetooth manager. But you can install them manually.

And while EndeavourOS may have bugs or issues due to the rolling release model and bleeding-edge software updates, I haven’t had any problems whatsoever. I’ve been using EndeavourOS for more than a week now, and it’s stable, fast, beautiful, and free of clutter; exactly what I was looking for in a Linux distro.

I’ll update the post after using EndeavourOS for more than a month.

Have you ever used EndeavourOS? If so, what is your opinion about the operating system, and which one do you use as your daily and default Linux distro? I’d love to hear about your experience with EndeavourOS or other Linux distros.