Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-10-18
Votes: 4
|
Likely the easiest to use distribution. I came from Fedora, and took note of how easy it is to customize, how clean the package repo is, and how much performance I gained. I also really enjoyed using the unofficial POWER/PPC port. Compared to a regular Linux distro (which get more bloated with each passing year) this is as close to BSD as you can get.
Best uses: Desktop, Workstation, Server, Netbook, legacy hardware.
Best for: Anyone with a basic understanding of Linux or BSD.
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Version: 20181111
Rating: 7
Date: 2019-10-18
Votes: 0
|
Unfortunately linux void ver. 20181111 does not support Mobile Broadband Internet/ 3G USB dongle (modem). NetworkManager does not recognize 3G USB dongle. Unable to switch modem from storage mode into modem mode after boot. Will try current version to see if this issue was resolved. Besides that distro looks very promising.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-10-15
Votes: 15
|
Void is the most hassle free rolling release linux operating system I have used thus far.
System management is extremely easy and straight forward. The "init" software is very small and light weight. The package management "XBPS" is very capable and fast in installing software and can handle dependencies and cache clean up with ease. It supports installing from the Source as well but I have not tried it yet.
Void is what I find myself the most comfortable with to use. It's awesome.
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Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2019-09-28
Votes: 9
|
Similar to Arch, but doesn't use systemd. The xbps system is better than Arches package manager, and the setup for VOID is as granular as Arch if you want it to be, but also provides a GUI installer similar to the old installer for Slackware.
Package management is still complex using xbps, and it isn't easy to use if you do only periodic maintenance. But it does work well, and if you keep really good notes, it can be used reliably over time.
Package support is good and usually very up to date. The community is growing, but there have been some hickups along the way. Namely the website seemed to have gotten fouled up at some point.
VOID as a workstation, with OpenBSD as a server platform is a powerful combination. This is really where VOID is at. Without systemd VOID is different enough from Redhat or Debian that it is not best to mix and match in that direction.
If you want your system to run the way YOU want it to run, then VOID is probably the best choice. If your just looking for a Linux platform that installs stuff with the least amount of hassle, there are other distros out there.
I've used most of the distros out there at some point or other. VOID is what I run on my workstation.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-09-26
Votes: 41
|
I realized I mispelled/confused myself in several parts of my past review (I called runit systemd!!!), so here's a corrected version:
Void is a minimal independent distribution that is not a fork of Arch like Manjaro, Antergos (rip) or artix. It comes in many DE flavors, or a minimal install if you prefer to build the system exactly like you want. What separates Void from the previous distros that I tried are it's unique package manager, xbps, and its init system, runit.
Xbps is probably the fastest package manager that I ever tried, and despite the small team that mantains void, every package that I needed so far was available and updated to the latest version. IF you don't find something void also provides xbps-src as a smart way to package whatever you want.
Runit is an alternative to the ever-growing parasitic systemd. Runit is under 1500 lines of code, while systemd is probaly over a million at this point. Managing services with RUNIT is extremely easy, and the boot times are also really fast.
Now, this is not a shilling review, I want to point out that void has a couple flaws too. There's no 64bit wine in it's repos, but if you want to game on void there's always lutris that will install the proper version of wine. The only other downside I can think of is the lack of locations for repository servers, If you live in Asia or South America, you are going to experience sub-par download speeds. Some people would also call the Documentation lackluster but it is to be expected because of the small community, but everything that is specific to void is there and there's nothing that you can't find on larger wiki's like Arch's.
I'm going to keep using void despite it's small community, and I hope nothing but further growth for this amazing distribution, 10/10.
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-09-19
Votes: 43
|
Void is a minimal independent distribution that is not a fork of Arch like Manjaro, Antergos (rip) or artix. It comes in many DE flavors, or a minimal install if you prefer to build the system exactly like you want. What separates Void from the previous distros that I tried are it's unique package manager, xbps, and it's init system, runit.
Xbps is probably the fastest package manager that I ever tried, and despite the small team that mantains void, every package that I needed so far was available and updated to the latest version. IF you don't find something void also provides xbps-src as a smart way to package whatever you want.
Runit is an alternative to the ever-growing parasitic systemd. Runit is under 1500 lines of code, while systemd is probaly over a million at this point. Managing services with systemd is extremely easy, and the boot times are also really fast.
Now, this is not a shilling review, I want to point out that void has a couple flaws too. There's no 64bit wine in it's repos, but if you want to game on void there's always lutris that will install the proper version of wine. The only other downside I can think of is the lack of locations for repository servers, If you live in Asia or South America, you are going to experience sub-par download speeds.
I'm going to keep using void despite it's small community, and I hope nothing but further growth for this amazing distribution, 10/10.
|
Version: 20181111
Rating: 2
Date: 2019-09-08
Votes: 1
|
I downloaded the LXDE desktop version.
Pros:
Loaded very quickly.
Cons:
The distro doesn't include a GUI text editor, and nor does the repository.
It has vi, but it didn't seem to be working properly, pressing ":" didn't change to command mode, so I couldn't save any changes
It didn't recognise the size of my monitor screen.
It didn't recognise my sound devices.
These things could be easily fixed, so why haven't they been fixed since November 2018?
|
Version: 20181111
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-08-20
Votes: 59
|
Great OS. No un-ncessary packages out of the box. Very clean distro.
|
Version: current
Rating: 6
Date: 2019-08-18
Votes: 4
|
I currently use Arch Linux.
I wanted to leave systemd. So, I seared for distros that are systemd free. There are very few distros as such.
By my requirements Void was the ideal choice to distro hop.
I think void is good, but requires few improvements to be better.
Pros:
* runit
* musl gcc
* independent distro, so no need to wait for some other distros to update packages.
* closer to Arch feel
Cons:
* ISO not updated since a long (not a big problem)
* Old forum got deleted (has small subreddit)
* Has very few Tier 1 mirrors
* falkon shows glitches in lxqt
* very small userbase
* Not as bleeding-edge as Arch
* xbps commands sometimes fail to work sometimes (but much faster than pacman)
* unintuitive installer (command line installer like Arch OR graphical installer like calamares should be preferred)
* RUNIT is not as fast as expected
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-08-06
Votes: 71
|
This rolling linux distribution runs very smooth and is very lean (without a lot of unnecessary packages). The system and packages are always up to date without any breakages or glitches.
It has a very fast boot time and managing init services are simple and straight forward. I've been using it for about a year now and couldn't be more satisfied.
Kudos to developers and appreciate your hard work, cheers.
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-07-21
Votes: 33
|
Although the install was not what I would call "smooth", I was able to get it running with out to much trauma. Reminded me of my first Arch install.
Minimal even by minimalist standards. Although I did not use an installer image with a desktop environment, opting for base only. So your mileage may vary.
Going to stay here for a while. Feels like I'm actually running linux again.
"I like systemd, It's a good OS. If they could only find a decent init system."
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-07-20
Votes: 27
|
If you're a complete Linux/Unix newbie then stop! You will be better served by something like Ubuntu/Fedora/OpenSuse. Having gotten that out of the way, if you have used Linux before then you will fit right in. Instead of an in depth review let me just list the things that I like about Void.
- You are in as much control as you want. e.g. You can use the void-installer to install Void or you can do it using the chroot method. It works equally well either way. FWIW I've always installed Void using the chroot method for the extra control.
- Runit is super fast and super easy and as uncomplicated as an init process needs to be. There will always be arguments about whether systemd is good or bad for Linux. If you want to move past these arguments and want a dead-simple but fast as hell init system then runit is your answer. I'll say no more.
- xbps is wicked fast and works flawlessly. (See some thoughts in the CONS section)
- Musl is lighting quick compared to glibc, but again it's your choice whether you want glibc or musl, noting is forced on you. What's more you can have a base musl system and run glibc apps in an chroot env and vice-versa with ease.
- xbps-src build env. is super convenient for building not just native packages, but also cross-compiling packages for other architectures like ARM/MIPS etc right from your x86_64 env. I built a complete Void OS for MIPS right from my x86_64 box.
- For a rolling distro it's stable as a rock. I've yet to had crash/kernel-lockups etc. in any of my boxes and I've been running Void for 2+ years. Anecdotal evidence, I know, so take it for what it's worth.
- Flexible alternatives in many areas that are equally easy to install and configure. e.g. X11/wayland , ConsoleKit2/elogind, ALSA/pulseaudio/Jack/sndio, KDE/GNOME/XFCE/LXQT/LXDE/i3/dwm/sway
What sets Void apart here is that every alternative is equally easy to install and setup. No preference is given to any specific alternative.
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-07-14
Votes: 21
|
Amazing distribution.
+Xbps is great at handling installations and updates, aswell as looking up files with -query and installing new repos aswell.
+Installation is easy to do, no need for doing any of the manual stuff required, but still gives you a well customized base system.
+Is probably one of the most free systems out there using better alternatives of the big packages (e.g. Musl, LibreSSL, runit).
-I've killed about 3 installations, but that's only my fault.
|
Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2019-07-07
Votes: 2
|
Great distribution, but it requires a lot of knowledge to make it work.
Over the past few years of using it I've encountered a lot of little issues related to the packaging.
The forum they used to have is dead which had a lot of knowledge.
Anyway the docs are better than other small distributions and it's pretty close to upstream if you're determined and you can use Arch Linux this is going to be absolutely no problem for you.
Most recent issue was with the `/bin/sh -> /bin/dash` symlink going missing upon upgrade. Since most things just expect it to be there and the errors aren't the most verbose it took me a good 30 minutes to figure out what "no such file or directory" was referring to upon upgrade.. since I too didn't think `/bin/sh` was going to just go missing on me. A quick `xbps-alternatives -s dash` took care of it though.
|
Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2019-06-25
Votes: 14
|
+ no systemd
+ libreSSL
+ yet all major Desktop environments work well and as expected (Plasma, Gnome, Budgie, Mate, XFCE, ...)
+ musl libc is treated as a first-class citizen
+ packaging follows the concept of "upstream knows best", leads to a vanilla experience (mostly)
+ most of packages capable of cross-compiling are patched accordingly
+ runs on SBC (rpi{1,2,3,4}, ...), server, tablet, laptop
+ builds and runs on x86_64, i686, armv5, armv6, armv7, armv8, aarch64, mips and powerpc64 alike
+ XBPS (the package manager) supports partial upgrades (yes, i'm looking at you pacman). it sure has it's flaws (no concept of optional dependencies, virtual package handling is buggy), which piece of software is perfect...
+ Crew maintaining it is highly motivated
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-06-19
Votes: 60
|
+ Provides live images with main desktop environments (MATE, LXDE, Cinnamon...)
+ Easy installation - without hardware support issue !
+ Faster than many other, more famous distros
+ No systemd - uses runit instead, very easy to deal with. This is important to me as systemd causes many standards-compliance issues (e.g. with DHCP).
+ Doesn't clutter its repository with outdated or valueless applications (unlike Debian)
+ Repo includes up-to-date versions of useful apps (e.g. Calibre), unlike many other distros.
+ Rolling release BUT doesn't break. I'm very impressed by this !
+ Fast and easy post-installation configuration, unlike all other distros I've tried
+ Provides images for SBC such as Raspberry PI and ODROID C2
- Documentation is overall poor, but:
. Void is well-designed enough so existing documentation is sufficient in most cases
. Arch documentation often applies when Void's is missing
. community support is good, in cases documentation doesn't exist or doesn't help
. the wiki contains a Rosetta Stone to provide equivalences between XBPS and other package managers - I wish other distros would provide the same in their documentation !
Conclusion: If you're looking for a reliable, standards-compliant, user-friendly distro you can use both on a server AND on a workstation, Void Linux is the best choice to date.
Note: International users should use the glibc version (not the musl version)
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-05-26
Votes: 75
|
PROS:
-Fast
-Lightweight
-Easy Installer
-Runit
-Rolling updates
-Colse to BSD
CONS:
-Lack of documentation
|
Version: 20181111
Rating: 5
Date: 2019-05-17
Votes: 3
|
I tried to install this on the internal eMMC of an HP Stream 11-ah117wm laptop, using the Xfce-based live image from a USB disk. The installer is very basic; I don't mind the interface, but it couldn't connect to my Wi-Fi after I entered the password (and I had to enter the SSID manually), and it doesn't provide for encrypted filesystems.
Unfortunately, the install failed at the GRUB stage with “unknown filesystem” with not much explanation of why, and dumped me back into a root shell. I was using what I thought was a pretty basic ESP+XFS partitioning scheme. I tried to put together my own chroot and fix it from there, but I got stuck and pretty much gave up.
I was looking into XBPS via digging into the source and the ports tree, and have mixed feelings about it; I didn't get to try it in practice. It looks mostly good, but my use case involves it being easy to add custom packages. xbps-rindex looks good for that, and the template format has some interesting features.
There's not that much documentation in general. Some of the documentation is out of date and still refers to voidlinux.eu, which can be a disproportionately annoying stumbling block occasionally.
It feels like the kind of distro I'll want to try again later if it gets some more polish.
|
Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2019-05-14
Votes: 10
|
Near perfect.
Had some small amount of leg work to do before things would work as I wanted, nothing system breaking though.
I installed the musl version out of curiosity, then installed i3, the end result is a super fast and super lightweight distribution, which gives me the flexibility I need for my daily tasks.
I love XBPS, it really is easy to use and the commands remind me of the BSD's.
Not much else to be said really, other than try Void out for yourself - If you have used Arch, or the BSD's then you will find Void to be very sane.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-05-11
Votes: 27
|
VOID Linux is a fast and modular distribution with various Desktop Environmetns available. it uses "runit" as init software which is simple to use yet powerful.
The user can determine what services should run at the background with a very simple command. In some ways it has a BSD feel to it.
PROS: Rolling release, install once and update without any issues
Up-to-date Kernel/software
Capable of building packages from the Source or just use Binaries
Choose between glibc or musl
CONS; Not enough Documentations or a dedicated Forum
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-05-07
Votes: 12
|
Excellent Linux distribution. It runs smooth and fast. Yet to experience breakage or glitches.
Pros: Updated packages and application.
Installation simple and straight forward.
Various Desktops available in live image or just install the Base system and put your own
flavour of WM or DE on it.
Cons: Not viable Forum and/or Documentation.
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-05-06
Votes: 6
|
Best BSD-like distro available. If you come from the world of BSD then this is the one.
Kudos
|
Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2019-04-27
Votes: 12
|
TL;DR: Void is a breath of fresh air for this long time Slackware user. This mini-review will focus on the differences and similarities of these two distros.
Slackware was my main Linux OS since the early 2000s, but I have finally found a distro that tops it. Void has the same "almost BSD" feel of Slackware but with a more bare-bones approach to the default install. On Slackware you are expected to install the entire DVD's worth of packages for a complete OS, and that's fine if you're into KDE 4, but I've been using Xfce for over a decade and Slackware's default Xfce is incomplete. I found myself fixing holes and tweaking settings for hours to get it right after a fresh install, and still found issues days or weeks down the line. I didn't mind that kind of thing when I was discovering Linux decades ago, but these days I'm settled and I want a distro that "just works".
Enter Void. The installation is done from a live CD, marking the first departure from the Slackware method. You'll know before starting the installer whether your system is fully supported, including Xorg, as it launches into the DE/WM you chose to download before burning to disc. To install, open a terminal, "sudo su" to root, and run "void-installer". The curses-based installer is similar to Slackware's, which is a good thing, and once you've prepped your storage and copied the live system over to the drive, you'll reboot into a setup almost exactly like the live environment you started with.
From there it only gets better; Xfce is set up correctly and is complete. The packaging system, XBPS, is robust and reminiscent of Arch's excellent pacman. You do have to enable the non-free repo (and multilib if you need Steam and similar 32 bit software) but this is trivial. Most major packages you'd find on other distros are there. Dependency resolution is nice, though a bit too picky at times (you can't remove Parole without breaking Xfce; what??) but overall it's fast, intuitive, and complete.
|
Version: current
Rating: 8
Date: 2019-04-24
Votes: 6
|
Fast to install.
The XBPS system is responsive and simple to use.
Runit is a very good alternative to Systemd, personally I think it's better than Sysvinit.
Number of Packages is not that much comparing to other rolling distros though.
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-04-22
Votes: 11
|
runit is the right kind of easy.
Using it and understanding what it does are the same thing.
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-04-21
Votes: 8
|
1. Void frees you of systemd
2. Void frees you of reinstallations
3. Void frees you of processes being launched without your asking
4. Void has a vast amount of software available under several platforms
5. Void runs solidly!
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-04-20
Votes: 7
|
Void Linux got my love and affection!
The most Stable RR I ever used !
xbps is very cool. With butches of useful features
Void's xbps does exactly what we ask it to.
You better give Void Linux a try !
|
Version: current
Rating: 3
Date: 2019-04-19
Votes: 3
|
Cannot even launch firefox after updating the system... Not very good in 2019
|
Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2019-04-09
Votes: 3
|
Well damn... LDXE on a Raspberry Pi Zero.
Maybe other distros have done this before but it was actually usable, if a little slow compared to a modern machine. It certainly won't replace a laptop (for example).
However this is the sort of semi-ridiculous task I throw at a new distro to see if it croaks.
Compared to Arch, which power users seem to adore, I was blown away. I just can't get around Arch - too much like hard work. Void just seemed to work without any real issues.
This is on a 512Mb, ARM 6 machine that seems to have been given as much thought as an after-dinner eructation. I know people think the Raspberry PI Foundation can do no wrong, but the Zero is a dreadful design and the Zero W only marginally better. I can see why they gave so many away!
This makes it an excellent choice to test a distro's metal. Just about anything will perform on my 16 core Xeon... so this is a way to stress test a distro. See how it performs when it's crushed into a tiny box and fed mouldy bread and water.
Void crushes it! I'm going to try it on my laptop and replace Elementary (which is nice and pretty, but SLOW).
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-04-05
Votes: 19
|
My all new favourite distro. It's got everything I love and more.
+LibreSSL over OpenSSL.
+runit is simple, stable and works like a champ. Good replacement for systemd without the scope creep and complexity.
+xbps is a great package manager, can use xbps-src too!
+Rolling-release for latest upstream packages, yet stable as well!
+musl builds available if you prefer that over glibc
+variety of DE's and window managers such as KDE, Gnome, Budgie, Cinnamon, Enlightenment, Lumina, LXDE/LXQT, Mate, XFCE, Openbox, JWM, Awesomewm, dwm, Icewm, i3 etc.
+inspiration from BSD
+minimal base install but easily customisable with simple configuration
The only negatives I have are the lack of documentation on their wiki (although still useful) which isn't that bad since most issues are solvable by looking elsewhere as a last resort. The other negative being it's a small distro so it doesn't have the number of available packages something like Debian has - although there is still a growing number available for most things and if not, you can build it yourself or request someone else do it if you don't know how. The community is very friendly!
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-03-21
Votes: 32
|
I've dropped Arch and switched to Void. This is probably my best decision since I've started to use Linux as a desktop 10 ago. Void rolling release model is solid rock. I'm using up-to-date packages without sacrificing stability. It is light weight. In Arch, viral dependency tree of most packages probably include systemd. But this is not the case for Void. Default init is runit and does a very good job out-of the box. I couldn't be more satisfied. Void has done an absolutely good job..
|
Version: current
Rating: 7
Date: 2019-02-07
Votes: 23
|
Great distro with good potential. Rolling release model that will always give the latst software. Minimal install but not as bare bones like Arch. Even more positive is that they use runit as init system rather that the de facto standard systemd. The only weakness of the distro is that the wiki needs much more work to be able to help the user in setting up their system. No real forum is also a serious weakness. These two things needs to be in place if void is ever going to attract more new users.
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-02-03
Votes: 28
|
VOID = Flawless, 6 months in and loving it! Very stable and robust, easy on resources and CLI commands easy to learn. Very happy and content with running a cutting-edge distribution so close to Linux releases, awesome it is just so very stable with zero issues.
Created an Openbox window manager from Xfce, and removed what I didn't need. Works perfectly with all my configs from my previous distribution.
VOID uses its repositories and very heavily populated with all the applications that I normally use plus new ones like CPU-X, nice application. Recommend a new user to first go over and read the VOID wiki and write down a few things that may be different in a guided install. There is also a Rosetta Stone page to help with CLI commands correlation with major architectures and the similar xbps command. Just easy go with learning!
Not a fly by night project, very well supported with a plethora of information and now the forum is back up! Kudos to the VOID team, highly praise this exemplary distribution.
By the way, no con so no complaints!
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2019-01-19
Votes: 20
|
VOID is no longer a Linux best-kept secret, climbing up the ladder at DW is some indicator of that. VOID is undoubtedly a very fine experience and a towering example of what KISS and FOSS are all about. Have an Openbox and Xfce install on my multi-drive desktop PC, Currently at 4.19-16 and running smoothly as silk.
Normally don't become this excited over any distribution, but it is systemd-free and uses runit which is a target choice for me. Love Arch and VOID is similar, noobie would have no problem with a guided-install as mentioned in an earlier post below. Not bloated, super fast and responsive.
No negative findings, so no Cons!
Very happy with VOID, give it a test drive!
|
Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2019-01-18
Votes: 3
|
Last weekend I replaced Slackware 14.2 with Void because slackware 14.2 is getting too old for my needs and KDE plasma (Alienbob pkgs) are not supported for the stable version of Slackware.
Therefore I needed something similar (without systemd), but fast and over my control. After one week of searches and testing I stay with artix, redcore and void.
I tried with artix but some problems with the installation made me desist. Then I tried redcore and everything went smooth but how it is a gentoo fork most of the software must be compiled and of course it consumes a lot of time. I like to customize my linux distros, for instance I prefer refind instead of grub. This little change in redcore brokes the system so finally I move to Void.
Void is great, very customizable with few issues in my experience (I use the latest KDE plasma). One thing that I am facing now is the lack of software to be installed, but for the most users I think it is a distro for using daily day.
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Version: current
Rating: 7
Date: 2019-01-10
Votes: 6
|
First I have to say that I would really like to continue using this distro, and definitely will until I can properly configure a certain other distro (Arch) with runit.
Void's main appeal is its init system runit. While many people are content with whatever init EXCEPT systemd, runit actually has at least one real advantage: speed. I have two machines with relatively similar hardware, and the one running arch takes roughly a minute to boot to the tty, the one with Void installed takes only 17 seconds. The tty also shows you what's going on with your init instead of hiding it and just leaving you with a blank login.
Enabling services with runit is also as easy as creating symbolic links for each service. Speaking as someone relatively new to GNU/Linux, this is all I really have to say, though I have heard other's praise other aspects of runit which are a little over-my-head.
It's package manager is also... very good, but also the main issue. It's very simple and very fast. It also has most tools available in the main repo. There is also an official github repo if you want to build things yourself. However:
1. I have yet to find anything in it that isn't in the main repo, i.e. something that the package manager, xbps, could handle for you.
2. It is official, so limited to what the maintainers add.
The main problem is that you will have to find and configure some things yourself. For instance, installing TeX packages on other distros is incredibly simple, but Void's repo only has the base package.
I'll close up with another good thing about void: it has a guided installer!
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-12-24
Votes: 17
|
Fantastic. Void is basically Arch without systemd, more stable, even easier to use and has (in my opinion) a better package manager, xbps. I'm so impressed that i currently consider to replace my Arch install and use Void as my daily driver.
The only problem is the cli installer. It's terrible and the documentation on it is very limited. When you setup the installer, it doesn't let you to continue installing the base system until you mount all the detected partitions, including the installation media which has to be mounted with the corresponding filesystem (In my case, a flash drive with vfat). Even worse is the fact that you can't see which partitions are mounted (you can't track the progress) and it even asks you if you want to create a partition after you chosen to mount it and selected the mount point. It took me a while to understand what it's trying to do, in an installer that should have been straight forward. After the system is fully installed and rebooted onto, you'll realise why it forced you to mount all the partitions. It sets up an unnecessary filesystem check (fsck) at bootup for everything mounted. This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that the system fails to boot without the everything that was setup in the installer connected to the computer (Unplug the installation media and Void will fail to boot). This isn't mentioned anywhere on their wiki or other forums but fortunately it's easy to fix. In /etc/fstab the lines with fsck on everything other than the root partition have to be commented or removed, this way runit won't hang at startup.
Even their FAQ shows signs of others having problems with the installer, since they have a fully manual install method like Arch, for those who think the installer sucks.
|
Version: current
Rating: 2
Date: 2018-12-23
Votes: 0
|
When I first installed Void, I installed the Mate desktop, and when it came to install the web browser I ran into a roadblock. There was no Pale Moon in the repos and the only way was to manually install Pale Moon. But I had no web browser. So i had to install Chromium which sucks. Second problem is that some packages like Discord are not in the non-free repos, so i had to manually make the package. But It's not like the Arch's AUR. I had to clone the entire void-packages GitHub repo just to make Discord. Another thing that sucks is XBPS, It can't make packages itself unlike Arch making you use xbps-src, and xbps-src is not installable making you of course clone the void-packages GitHub repo, and sometimes for some non-free packages like Discord PTB are out of date. And of course not many use Void, not many can update the repo to make the package up to date. The only good thing about Void for me is the installer.
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-12-21
Votes: 7
|
VOID has very much impressed me because of several reasons, it is a unique distribution which runs the latest Linux kernel for one, the other is systemd-free and using runit for init. Altogether a very easy install, easy to learn the more simplified CLI commands for updating, remove, etc. Simple, and yet very fast with a large repos. VOID uses xbps, package management setup which is quite stable and robust. So far, 6 months in with using VOID, my daily driver now!
Pros: Everything, fast, robust, great looking distribution. Actually mentioned the best attributes above.
Cons: Nothing yet!
VOID is well worth setting up, read the VOID wiki first, and then give it a trial run, you may just keep it as I did!
|
Version: current
Rating: 8
Date: 2018-12-17
Votes: 2
|
Light and quick distribution.I tried the Cinnamon version but I couldn t connect to any wireless signal(I even reinstalled Cinnamon twice , with new downloads but I still couldn t connect) No such a problem for me since I normally connect with a Tomato or Openwrt wireless ethernet bridge.My printer is a Brother HL-1210W and I installed the driver from the manufactor website.Setting up my printer via the cupswebsite ended in a connected printer , but I couldn t print any document.(It said: print completed , but printer itself didn t react.(I then took the foomatic driver from the HL-1230w , and that worked also)
In the review of 16 december 2018, the reviewer said there was no graphical package manager. Well ,for those who are struggling with the commandline, there is a gui package manager name Octoxbps.It resembles very well the Octopi manager from Manjaro (It even has the same icon.
My conclusion is that iVoidlinux is a very responsive distribution.The only thing to work on is to make Wifi connection work
|
Version: 20181111
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-12-13
Votes: 4
|
Best light distribution without systemd.
Stable and fast. Unique.
Good luck, long live for it.
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-12-13
Votes: 4
|
This is a really killer distro. I've been spending the last year or so simplifying my system as much as possible, removing every piece of software that I can, but there's only so far you can go with that on a mainstream distro before you run into problems. With some time, some experience, and some persistence, this distro can be made to really sing.
I had some problems with the setup, but they could all be overcome, and it probably had to do with my unusual hardware (nvme ssd). All the necessary packages are present, and when it's missing ones I used to think I needed, it offeres a better way to do it anyway.
XBPS is a very powerful package manager, and even gives me access to a list of all manually-installed packages so that I can keep track of my installation and clean up after myself when I finish projects. Very, very fast as well. Much better than Aptitude, Zypper, Synaptic, etc.
Additionally, by using runit instead of systemd, so much memory and time is saved. I stay under 200M ram usage for the majority of my work, and I haven't even done much optimization. The boot process is smooth and quick, as is the shutdown. Ran into some problems with the shutdown command, but init to runlevels 0 and 6 works perfectly.
If you're going to use this on an enterprise network, like at a university, I recommend using Network Manager for your networking, even though it is more bloated than wpa-supplicant. It will just take you less time, and hardly costs but a few MiB of ram. But maybe I'm just lazy?
All in all, a great distro for those who hate bad software.
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Version: 20181111
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-12-08
Votes: 4
|
Super easy to setup wireguard, runs and makes a secure connection with one command. Has support for all the common drivers. Setup is easy, no frills but nothing forgotten. No bloat on install. Community maintains all the packages you'd want in a customizable general-use OS (namely IceCat browser for me). 10/10
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-12-03
Votes: 10
|
Package manager isn't a sloooooow Python script (looking at you, Gentoo), blasts through bootup like greased lightning, has a better selection of current software than Arch or Manjaro have (in their core repos). They even have an optional ports system and alternate musl builds for when you need an even faster system than the already insanely fast glibc standard install.
Install process is insanely fast and simple even in text-only mode and packages and upgrades have installed without a hitch! I haven't had a single broken library yet! If you're sick of cutting your teeth building the entirety of Webengine/Chromium/Firefox every time your browser has an update. Life is too short to wait for your browser to build! You get all of the positives here of a fast Systemd-less system without having to wait on a compiler (unless you still want to).
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-11-27
Votes: 8
|
VOID, had to give it a spin and see what the fuss is all about. Install quite simple with UEFI, rebooted nicely into login. VOID wiki is a must have if not accustomed to VOIDs own CLI commands, there is a Rosetta Stone link for cross-referencing known Debian, Arch to VOID commands. Configured Lxde to Openbox with any errors and removed Lxde, worked well.
Pros: Has Runit for init, systemd-free.
Extensive apps package manager called xbps
Easy on system resources, not bloated
Newest Linux kernel 4.19.3
Extremely stable
Cons: Rolling release
Really do like VOID, no issues ATM, plan on keeping it because it is very unique. Running latest Linux kernel 4.19.3 error free is nice!
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-11-20
Votes: 12
|
VOID is simple, WOOTB and minimalistic! Systemd-free and using runit! What could be better, very fine and robust distribution!
Pros: Looks awesome, minimal install of apps, super fast and light on resources usage.
Cons: Rolling release
Rarely find a distro this exciting to install and use, very happy and appreciate the VOID team for their efforts!
Give it a try!
|
Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2018-11-20
Votes: 2
|
what a little gem among the linux's disto's, i've being using it for 3 days with mate,
it reminded me of the 90's linux but without the spending of 3 days configuring a file to get the printer working.
install takes only 10min.
fastest linux i've tried so far, the biggest plus is that there is no crap software installed.i've had no downsides so far apart from remembering the / as the mount point when installing.
I'm enjoying playing with void and i will proberely replace my manjaro with void.
well done the Devs..
Hasta luego.
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-11-20
Votes: 2
|
I am a usual debian-like user. Having a unix like OS to work with was enough for me. But still I tried void by curiosity. First, the install was clean for me, no errors. Few steps, and incredibly fast in opposition with a lot of other ones. I'd say the major plus is: It's light.
Doesn't use systemd, boots in seconds. xbps (the package manager) never threw an error so far, and is pretty fast. I installed the musl version. And no differences with glibc so far.
A real pleasure to play and work with it.
Might change definitely for it to work.
Really, you should try it out.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-11-18
Votes: 3
|
Everything in Void is not to be avoided.
That being said it's the best distro that me personally managed to install and set from scratch. I don't understand much about systemd and runit but I really like the way my system works - like a feather. It starts way faster than arch for instance. There is a learning curve that I like very much. Wiki is very useful and the support is top on reddit and the IRC channel. Waiting for the forums to go up again and everything will be even better.
Best experience so far and hopefully (if I don't screw it over while tinkering) for the time being. Can't recommend this dostro enough.
Cheers
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-11-18
Votes: 1
|
Installed VOID a few days ago, use Devuan as my mine interest, find VOID with runit is interesting...and I like it! Very fast, stable and consume little resources. Using the terminal to do updates and many various tweaks. There is also a gui for xbps called octoxpbs but it is qt based. Installed anyway on my Openbox configuration and octoxbps works very robustly, also a good way to search for compatible apps similar to synaptic in Debian. Really like what VOID is and what it does and not focused at all on what it doesn't in a negative way.
Rarely do I get excited about a distribution, VOID is simply a step above the rest, not packed with apps or bloated, won't tie your shoes but it does give a great systemd-free runit experience!
Be very happy once the forum is back, discuss the distro and learn some tips from more seasoned users. Have found that most all configs from Debian just work, have a great looking desktop and Openbox works wonderfully.
Take it for spin folks, you won't be sorry!
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-11-17
Votes: 10
|
VOID is undoubtedly a well kept secret, not for everybody and see where a noob would have installing issues. But! The great news is the VOID wiki which has a plethora of tips and well written how to pages. Very fast install without issues, configured Lxde desktop.
Pros: Sound is great despite negative comments below, use Alsa mixer, a on-board sb card, just works on my Asus board.
Learning new commands is not a problem, there is a Rosetta Stone page for VOID commands and their similar counterpart commands of Debian, Arch, etc.
Cannot say enough things about this distro, it is something that is no longer a mystery and glad I took it for a drive. Anybody rate this below an 8 is just trolling!
Best distro I've installed in the last five years!
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-11-15
Votes: 15
|
I've been using Void musl build for the last two years and my system never broke.
Installed from the base image and running awesome wm, my wm of choice.
Everything works! Sound, video, bluetooth, wifi, you name it.
Now, Void is what it is and you do have set-up almost everything yourself. Runit does what it's supposed to do and what you tell it to do. Services are not enabled by default and unnecessary packages are not installed by default.
All these things are, imho, just positive. Yet, I read people complaining in here?!
Void is not for everybody, it doesn't hold your hand. If you don't like it you can always go back to the systemd crap and let it handle all the stuff for you, but please don't bash.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-11-15
Votes: 2
|
Top marks for years of concerted effort to provide alternatives at the system level: runit and musl libraries. The doom of mono-culture avoided here and hooray for that. It means hard work for the providers, for which I will always be grateful.
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Version: current
Rating: 6
Date: 2018-11-14
Votes: 1
|
Just tried this new live version with the xfce desktop. It was quick and very responsive. The one problem that I did not like was that there is no sound. After some digging I found at this url, https://vm1.a-lej-de.m.voidlinux.org/docs/, a void manual that suggest in para 3.6, that sound needs to be installed after the os is installed on your system. If this is correct I believe the Void OS team has made a major oversight. Although not a difficult fix, it is not one that should be necessary. But if their intent is to give the user a choice of what to install, it should be mentioned in the 'download' page just like they do with the user name and password. A 'BE AWARE' note.
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Version: 20181111
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-11-14
Votes: 5
|
Very impressed with the latest release, install Lxde and then configured Openbox to run only with a Wm. Install Oblogout and added to the menu and works perfectly OOTB.
Pros: Installation was very much straightforward, installed with UEFI. Used Openbox configs from another distro and all worked including compton and conky. No problem with installing themes, icons of my choice.
Cons: I'm in a discovery mode ATM, but really think VOID is quite stable, rock solid and lightweight distro. Everything just works so difficult to say anything negative.
Recommend anyone to take VOID for a test drive, enjoy a systemd-free distro with runit!
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Version: current
Rating: 1
Date: 2018-11-14
Votes: 0
|
bad coded work ;( always error code when make a partition und always freeze and very slow.... ;(
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-11-14
Votes: 7
|
Void is my second distro, switched from Xubuntu after a few of my friends recommended it. I didn't know much about Linux when I switched so I disagree with others saying it's comparable to Arch in terms of difficulty, it's just as minimalist, but the install process is much easier. Runit boots much faster than systemd and does most things very well, and XBPS is very fast.
It's important to note that depending on the ISO you get there's going to be no sound, and no NetworkManager either, you have to manually configure wifi using wpa_supplicant. If you do a minimal install there's basically no services installed. Last I checked you have to reinstall your DE if you don't pick a local install. Some of the reviews complain about these issues as if something is not working correctly but they should check if they did in fact have an audio server installed.
The repositories are small compared to like debian and rhel, that's expected, but if you want something packaged you can just open an issue on github and they will usually add it pretty quickly.
I've been using it for about 6 months now. The only issue I had was an update that created a dependency hell that lasted a 2 days and prevented me from updating my system during that time, but it's fixed.
I would recommend Void if you are looking for a minimal distro but not quite comfortable with installing Arch by following the wiki; if you dislike systemd for whatever reason and wanna try a new init system; if you are a fan of the BSD userland; or if you are just interested in void cause you are a nerd who likes niche distros or something
Thanks tala and ren for getting me to install it
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Version: current
Rating: 2
Date: 2018-11-13
Votes: 0
|
Tested Void linux live current version in the LxQt, Mate, and Xfce desktops.
All failed Audio test by producing a constant thump, thump, thump.
Void Xfce played video but produced no sound.
Void LxQt would not display folders within the PCManFM file mgr.
High hopes dashed for a simple OS using runit.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-11-05
Votes: 14
|
Great project. Rather similar to Arch.
Pros:
* Init-related advantages:
- No systemd, if you see that as an advantage, although I'm on the fence here.
- Very simple init, which I think is Unix design principle compliant.
- Fast boot
* Choice of C standard libraries (e.g. glibc, musl)
* Bleeding-edge packages
* Rolling release models
* Several available desktop environments
* Fast package manager, means that assuming downloads occur at a reasonable speed package installs and downloads can be quite quick.
* Minimalism means the system is very customizable as you can more efficiently select the list of installed packages.
* So long as your distro has XBPS in its repos (e.g. Arch), or you can successfully manually compile and install it, you can install it without using install media.
Cons:
* A few limitations related to its low popularity and small development team, e.g.:
- Small repositories, so many packages are missing from them. Fortunately, Flatpak is in its repos so you can install a few additional apps with it. You can also install Nix on it using the installer script.
- A few packages get outdated due to its small packaging team. They allow users to add their own package to their repos (after a review process, like you normally see on pull requests), but it means if the user loses interest or gets lazy their contributed package can get severely outdated.
- Relatively few package mirrors; if you don't live near them downloads can be quite slow.
- Outdated install media (at the time of writing it was last updated 7 October 2017!)
* Minimalism comes at the cost of sub-par out-of-the-box hardware compatibility, e.g. some WiFi chips don't work out-of-the-box. If you install it from an existing OS this issue becomes less significant.
* Complicated method of building packages, compared to Arch's.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-09-18
Votes: 12
|
Void is an awesome system, very fast and stable. Best of all, if you want the latest KDE Plasma but won't use a system with systemD, then Void is the right choice. After install, you just do xbps-install -S kde5 kde5-baseapps and adjust some things like sddm and consolekit or elogind, by basically doing a basic search on google.
Runit (the init) is very fast and simple: in a few seconds you are greeted with the sddm login or lightdm login.
The downside of the distro so far is that mirrors are probably not available too close to your home; only a few in Europe, NA, Oceania and Asia. Therefore, a rather slow update is usual. Still, nothing to push you away from this amazing project. Try it out and see for yourself.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-09-13
Votes: 13
|
Void has become my main distribution at home and office. Runit is not only functional but also beautiful in its simplicity. XBPS does its thing very well without trying to be too smart.
It's like Arch used to be before systemd but more stable and simpler (yes! even simpler). None of my systems broke again after switching to Void. No more systemd nonsense or packages breaking for no reason.
I have to say that Void's concept of "simple" actually permeated to my way of working and organizing myself. This is a distro and aalso a philosophy!
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-08-12
Votes: 14
|
I absolutely love Void Linux, it reminds me of how Arch Linux used to be, but incorporates new things that add valuable functionality while also not including the kitchen sink (unless you want it.) XBPS is very reminiscent of pacman which I also love, but it does do some things differently. It continues on a rolling release. Its speed of startup and package handling is great, and runit is very understandable. I highly recommend Void Linux.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-07-25
Votes: 9
|
I had been using Void for a while and liked it for its simplicity and speed.
I tried Void-Musl a month ago and even though on a trial basis I expected "some things" not to work, I have still not found anything that didn't work.
It is lighter and faster than Void-Glibc ... so since everything I have tried and use works I am going with -musl and hope in the future everyone turns and invests on this wonder.
Compiling itself has become a fun experience with musl.
Go void.org
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-07-21
Votes: 14
|
One of THE lightest Linux Distribution (i386 - idles at 170mb), blazingly fast to boot up, no bloatware / systemd, XBPS is fast and always works, Void Linux has everything one could wish for IMO.
To the developers, please continue 32bit support as many of us still use that architecture.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-07-19
Votes: 2
|
Simple, easy and overall polished. Really nice they have an e17 live image! Boot time is around 5 seconds on this old X230!
Installation is easy and straightforwards, using Runit to enable lightdm was straightforwards, xbps is straightforwards (albeit is pretty time consuming to type everything out) and there's enough packages to make Void an overall lean DIY distro.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-07-08
Votes: 5
|
Coming from arch. Installation is easy. Runit is so simple and fast compared to systemd. Xbps-src is amazing tool for compiling suckless and other software from source. Documentation is harder to find at first since duckduckgo does not include posts from void linux forum, but you can search it there. Non musl version is working well for me.
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Version: current
Rating: 4
Date: 2018-06-25
Votes: 1
|
I see no reason to use this over using Artix/Arch with runit. xbps is slower than pacman, less packages, more breakage and overall just less polished than Arch. It seems to be designed soley to compete with Arch for no reason other than systemd, although the user friendly installer is nice. (Although Artix has the exact same things)
Look at your options.
Artix:
-Has more documentation (archwiki)
-Has a more stable base
-Faster
-Less likely to break
-Has a small dev team like Void but whos work is simply to make packages compatible with runit. Less strain on devs, more stability
-A nice, GUI installer
Void:
-
-
- ...
-It's different?
Seriously, I've tried to find a point in Void for 2 months now, it just seems like a useless distro in every aspect. No offense to the devs, but in my opinion time would be better spent on Artix. And no, I'm not playing favoritism here. I'm often critical of pacman as a whole
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-06-16
Votes: 8
|
Great package manager and init system, boots in about 5 seconds. I have been using it for nearly a year and so far have not had a single problem with it. I use it as my main OS.
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Version: current
Rating: 7
Date: 2018-06-02
Votes: 3
|
Tried to love it. Definitely better than Artix. But....
Its missing a lot of packages on both Musl and glibC.
Musl is rather slow for the whole system, and memory usage is not that much different.
I have to compile printer drivers from source, and other packages.
Why would I use a distro if I have to do that? Its ruins the whole point.
I might as well use any distro at that point, especially one like arch when I can use AUR to do that for me.
Switched to Obarun, which is based on Arch. Uses S6 init system.
Can get full packages from arch and AUR.
No compiling from source EVER.
I still keep Void on my system, just as a backup, but will not use it day to day.
If you only use a limited number of packages already in repo, check it out.
Otherwise, when you need that odd program for some reason, use a distro based on arch for the AUR.
Your sanity and time will thank you.
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Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2018-05-28
Votes: 14
|
If you like Slackware (as I do) you will also like Void. It's a lot like Slackware: very hackable (in the good way) but with better package management, more binary packages, and an interesting init system that's very easy to use, once you get the hang of it.
I won't give it a 10, because I'm not too keen on the rolling release mechanism. If updates were separated into security fixes and feature updates, it would be perfect. I could apply only the security fixes and keep my systems feature-stable.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-05-25
Votes: 1
|
Absolutely amazing operating system, using it as my main.
|
Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2018-05-11
Votes: 9
|
Great distro for more advanced users. It has all the benefits of Gentoo, but you don't have to compile everything, as it has a binary package manager as well as xbps-src. Main downside is the relatively small repositories.
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-04-27
Votes: 8
|
Awesome Linux distro. It is moving really fast and you notice this right away from boot, a feat very few other distros can promise, claim and really have. Faster even than my Gentoo and lighting faster than anything systemd related I have tried before. Memory footprint is also small, a detail I value for my laptops where, in some situations, I am limited to 4GB RAM. Decent selection of packages and until now I managed to find anything I need for development and office. Being a rolling distro this may create some problems for some users. Not in my case though.
|
Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-04-23
Votes: 2
|
Devuan is cool because it doesn't have systemd, but void linux has an even simpler init system than sysvinit. I would gladly use void solely because of the init system, but you get other perks like a more BSD-like package management system w/ a ports tree.
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Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2018-04-20
Votes: 2
|
Void is a great distro if you like Arch but are tired of systemd. In my experience it's also more stable than Arch or Manjaro. If you aren't comfortable being dropped into a terminal after install I'd recommend using one of the images that comes with a desktop environment pre-installed.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-03-19
Votes: 16
|
This is a great distro if you liked how Arch used to be. Good for tinkering. Excellent alternative to systemd. Wide range of packages and a great package manager to go along with it. With a nice little wm, it can be the perfect lightweight distro.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-02-22
Votes: 27
|
What I want in a Linux distro:
1. Stability
2. LXQt
3. Not-systemd init system
It just so happens Void is the best distro for me. Although the initial setup is a little bit time consuming it gives the user greater control over what software they want installed.
Void is a great Linux distro for those who just want everything to werk
(thanks /tech/)
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-02-21
Votes: 10
|
Initially I wanted to switch to a systemd free distribution and found void. And I must say I will stay with it! Rolling release, light/fast, leading edge and totally reliable. There's nothing else I want.
+ Rolling release
+ Ultra fast boot due to runit
+ Always up to date
+ Feels rock solid/stable and doesn't have much dependency issues.
+ A very fast package manager
+ Allmost all packages required to do the job. Exotic ones may be missing.
+ Super simple service setup
+ lightweight
+ Has an installer
= Packages are all on github. Choose if this is good or bad
- Need to adapt to the package manager
- Not too straightforward when creating an own package
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Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2018-02-21
Votes: 0
|
Does exactly what is set out on the label. Very helpful comments in installer, e.g. EFI boot partition better explained than in many other distros. As noted in DistroWatch's 2017 review, more suited to confirmed users than to novice.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-02-17
Votes: 13
|
Started off in the ubuntu world, then switched to debian and learned to start minimal and install what I wanted. When debian went to systemd I went to devuan, but also started looking around for alternatives. Void was a tough start for me at first, but I have completely fallen in love with this distro for the usual reasons other people list:
Runit init system - Really fast, and really simple. This is what debian SHOULD have chosen instead of systemd. There are a couple features that systemd has which this doesn't support, but could support via third party utilities if someone really wanted. Runit is a small, mature piece of code which does its job very well.
Rolling release so packages are fairly recent, and amazingly I haven't experienced any breakage in the couple years with this installed on about 10 workstations and even more rpi b+ and 3! I have had far less breakage with this than I ever did with debian testing/unstable. Xbps is very fast for a package manager, though the package selection is less than with some other distros. Every once in a while there will be an "shlib" error while trying to update due to packages being built but if you come back in a day everything will just work.
For raspberry pi usage, this OS makes for a very fast pi. Bootup is the fastest I have seen with any linux distro and resource usage is the lowest (minimal install shows about 20MB of ram used).
I will be sticking with void for a long as I can.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-02-16
Votes: 0
|
Finding some of the comments odd about how difficult this distro is. I've been a Windoze user for much of my life (flamesuit on), although I definitely have experience with *NIX systems, using Qubes OS on one of my laptops with important things, and having maintained servers over the years. I probably don't have to mention the reasons why I've wanted to switch to a Linux distro as a daily driver.
After having tried a number of different distros (Debian, Gentoo, Arch), I found myself at home with Void Linux, with some of the major points being its minimalism, no systemd, choice of binary/source, providing musl as an alternative to glibc, and LibreSSL over OpenSSL. Remember, I'm a full-time Windows user (or at least was) and had no issues setting up and even going as far as ricing up the interface with i3-gaps, fake windows 95 lock-screen, the whole nine yards. If you can read a manual, this should all be within any ones capabilities, refer to the void wiki where possible, otherwise use the very complete arch wiki. I've gone as far as having configured the distro exactly as I want it on my T400, and then simply put the distro on a 64gb micro SD card, now I can run it and use it on just about any computer with a usb port!
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Version: current
Rating: 4
Date: 2018-01-27
Votes: 4
|
Void was recommended to me as a minimalistic distribution. Couldn't be further from the truth. I had dozens of small irks with it, but since this is a mini-review, I'll point out the big ones instead:
- installing xorg also forcibly installs wayland. Also, pretty much every program that can be compiled with anything wayland-related is and tries to pull it as well. After taking a look on their forum, I'm not the first person to notice that, and that user was quickly shut down and while the thread appears open, I can't reply to it.
- from what I've seen on IRC and wiki, Void actively recommends using AppImage and/or Flatpak to developers. I hope I don't have to explain why hundreds of copies of the same libraries is neither minimalist nor safe.
- installing from local source(livecd/usb, which is quite outdated) installs what you see in the said livecd/usb, while installing an up to date version from the repos gives you a terminal-only system. While I actually don't mind the terminal and wanted the second option, it would be nice if there was any info about that available before the install
Sure, it boots and runs so I can't give it a 1/10, but it's clear they're just banking on the "escape from systemd" crowd(myself included) to cover up that it's just an OS made to test a package manager and they didn't think many things through and are now falling for the same "Keep It Simple for developers, don't care about Stupid users" pitfall Arch does, which in both cases is for whatever reason interpreted by some people as "minimalistic".
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2018-01-21
Votes: 9
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Previous Debian/Devuan user. Tried Arch, stuff broke, it didn't just werk like Devuan.
Started getting tired of old software and a slow init system (sysv)
Tried Void, installed LXQt and have absolutely loved it. EVERYTHING works and it's blazingly fast too. Runit is a delight and xbps is, although quirky, very good too.
I'm now running it on my X201 with 4gb of ram and a 320gb ssd and loving it.
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Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2018-01-18
Votes: 0
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This is a distribution that expects you to know how to maintain your machine, little in the way of hand holding...
Installation requires you to actually *read* the instructions :-o oh the humanity...
the package manager is really fast and I've yet to experience any issues with it (wish I could say that about RPM based package managers!!)
runit the init system is lean and fast, but there's little in the way fluff or luxuries but it does the job and with an SSD you're taking a few seconds boot time if that...
reliability has been good, good enough to leave it with unskilled users, which I have done for several years now, with any breakages being trivial if at all in some cases.
If you know what you're doing and you don't like bloat this is defiantly for you. If you are able to administer a system effectively its stable enough to be left with a none technical user, with maintenance many months apart.
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Version: current
Rating: 3
Date: 2018-01-17
Votes: 0
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Really? Is that what you've got when you remove systemd? A really messy system?
Ok then. I've tested the Xfce version and the installation is so ugly and old that reminds me of 90's era.
Also, you need to read all of its documentation to figure out how to install it, you must use the terminal like it or not. Another problem is that there is no option to set up an automatic install, if you don't know how to make a partition, you are in trouble using Void.
Void is far from being for newcomers, even that some shia/fanatic users say it's easy. I did not even talk about the worst, musl, glibc... Also, their package manager isn't that good, it needs serious enhancement to become "usable".
To use this distro you'll need to read all this wiki (which is not as complete as Arch wiki).
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Version: current
Rating: 5
Date: 2018-01-12
Votes: 0
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Like all other minimal distros (Gentoo, arch, slackware (rolling), ect.) it's a headache to maintain. Things break constantly in return for slightly faster boot times.
Xpbs seems more like an experiment than a decent package manager.
Runit is pretty good but lacks some features of systemd in return for some slightly better boot times.
Overall it's yet another headache to deal with. Not good for a new PC but probably good for a netbook from 2010 or so.
I'd recommend Solus for a better rolling release desktop experience
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2017-12-30
Votes: 7
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Pro:
- general KISS approach, bloat free
- runit init system, no systemd
- rolling release
- musl C-lib compiled binaries available
- ultra fast and minimalistic package manager
- small packages with as little dependencies as possible
- no surprises, once it works, it works
Cons:
- installation instructions not really helpful, when installing on EFI system with LUKS encrypted root directory, took me two days tinkering
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Version: current
Rating: 7
Date: 2017-12-22
Votes: 0
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Pros:
-no systemd
-on top of using no systemd using the BEST init system; openrc!
-rolling release but stable
-decent community
Cons:
-package manager isn't that good. hybrid pkg management seems good on paper but i haven't really found much use for it
-another independent distro, which we DO NOT need in linux anymore
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2017-12-12
Votes: 8
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package manager as good as pacman almost as stable as debian much easier to setup than arch or gentoo has never broken on me as is a very nice distro overall recommended to any mid to advanced linux user
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2017-12-10
Votes: 0
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decent distro with hybrid package managment ....xpbs need more development but it totally rocks
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Version: current
Rating: 3
Date: 2017-12-08
Votes: 0
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I really dislike xpbs, seems like a gimmick more than a real package manager. Hybrid package management? If I wanted to install packages from source I would choose Gentoo.
Other than that, pretty decent. Not the latest packages but still okay.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2017-12-03
Votes: 4
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Easy and quick install
Superfast running and booting
Very ligh and lean
No systemd
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2017-11-26
Votes: 9
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Really fast, both booting and launching apps. This is my first non-systemd distro. Really frustating at first due to the lack of documentations. But slowly I can solve the problems one by one. Another con is I can't find some of my favourite packages in the repo. Despite of those, Void is a really great distro. I love Void!!
10/10 of course.
Regards, Addy.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2017-11-17
Votes: 16
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This is the only good non-systemd distro around IMO. I use the musl x86_64 distro and I am impressed by how awesome runit and xbps work. They never get in my way, even the Rolling Release system does not break stuff like it randomly does on Arch. Good job, Voiders!
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Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2017-11-15
Votes: 1
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It's very good and has an extremely excellent installation.
Super-smooth and comprehensible init system and xbps packing system!
The only possible gotcha about Void is its occasional less-than-stellar user and hw drivers support.
Used on x86 and RPi3 systems.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2017-11-14
Votes: 3
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Very fast, small and actual Distro. Using it unter x86, amd64 and raspberry pi2-3
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2017-11-02
Votes: 8
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I have Void installation from the time when they didn't had forum. That's ~3 years.
There were times when I updated once a month(Void rolling release!) and the update was >1GB, never had anything broken. My Void system still works as "pseudo" home server.
The only disadvantages are the lack of some packages and better documentation.
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Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2017-10-31
Votes: 0
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Nimble and straightforward. Information is sometimes a little hard to find. I did not succeed to install it as a virtual machine but installation on two older machines was easy enough. Make your /boot a little bigger than the proposed 128 Mb, which prevents from having to cleaning it up too often.
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2017-10-31
Votes: 2
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Fast (my system with xfce works with 400mb of RAM) and easy to configure! (and without systemd! xD)
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Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2017-10-29
Votes: 1
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It's not that easy to install, but I like the old school linux style.
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