Artix Linux

Reader supplied reviews for Artix Linux Average rating 9.3 from 185 review(s) What are your thoughts on Artix Linux? Please include a few pros and a few cons, along with your overall impression of the operating system. Our FAQ page has tips on writing a good mini-review. Version: -- 2025040720240823202308142022071320210726202002102018100420170808 Rating:    -- 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 out of 10 Your review (minimum 250 words): Past reviews - sort by: DateVotes Version: 20240823 Rating: 10 Date: 2025-04-10 Votes: 17 One of the only linux distributions to not only provide alternatives to systemd, but four to choose from with and without preconfigured desktop environments, with a GUI installer as an option to pick and format your drive configure your keyboard layout etc. Honestly overall easier than Arch to setup with less total packages, like 3 times faster boot time (with the Dinit system specifically) and from my experience overall less bugs, i've launched Discords "vesktop" before on Arch and had it launch but not appear on my screen and refuse to unminimize from system tray, not so on artix it just works. Transitioning to pipewire is a bit of a pain and chore, and it helps to know things like the file directories and differences between user services vs root system wide etc but they do provide some pdf documentation upon booting the live iso with the installer, simply copy and paste those to a drive before you reboot after installing to have them as quick references and you should be off to the races. Documentation for openRC is extensive and its still faster than systemd, dinit has a bit less documentation in my experience but more recent support and packages, overall better performance and functionality just a bit of growing pains if your unfamiliar with linux, very managable though if your not trying to do extensive Audio / video work with Reaper / Davinci in my experience which is one of some technical background it's honestly about as easy to install and work on as linux mint if you choose an iso with a preconfigured desktop, which you can switch out really easily even to the cinnamon desktop linux mint uses if you prefer though honestly i prefer KDE plasma if you want to go for a heavier full windows like experience. it'd help if they preconfigured a few more things but overall its a more streamlined arch experience that requires less packages performs easily up to 3x better no exaggeration, though how valuable that is to you may very these are modern systems usually running on SSD's after all havent booted off an HDD but guessing the performance improvement would be even more dramatic then. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 20240823 Rating: 10 Date: 2025-03-30 Votes: 15 Artix provides multiple init options beyond systemD which besides having very monolithic practices and one of the lead developers having left to go work for windows instead and being primarily developed by RHEL which subjectively is a lot of reasons not to trust to begin with also has many many objective examples of vulnerabilities many of which can be found on the artix wiki. It provides openRC for those familiar with it, and a pretty fresh and new option with Dinit which has a lot of advantages, is faster than openRC while providing full parallel support unlike openRC and has automatic dependency handling meanwhile openRC you have to manually order services. it also provides runit for those who want the most minimal option, and S6 if you want to deal with the added complexity of that. It gives you full access to Arch and has plenty of workarounds for the few things that actually do have SystemD dependency, which your usually a single search away from finding the workaround and the artix wiki is great with a troubleshoot page filled with all of the most common issues like wayland not working on KDE right away, just have to swap the theme to one of 4 options and it works great. I will say getting things like pipewire to work without systemD can be a bit of a headache but with all the vulnerabilities, slow boot times, and i guess what many would consider the "political" landscape surrounding systemD artix provides a great service in providing an Arch equivalent with all of its pro's whilst removing many of its cons such as having a GUI installer including iso's with full suites of pre chosen programs which advanced arch users may still have a use for when installing quickly on other systems for example, plus you can build your own iso's for it with documentation on the process available on the wiki. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 20250310 Rating: 10 Date: 2025-03-16 Votes: 14 Artix Linux is like Arch Linux’s rebellious sibling who decided, “Nah, I don’t need systemd.” And honestly? I kinda respect that. It’s fast. Like, really fast. Boot times are snappy, the system feels lean, and you’re not running a ton of background services you didn’t ask for. You get all the good stuff from Arch—rolling updates, the AUR (which is a treasure trove), and total control over your system—but without systemd lurking in the background. That said, Artix isn’t for the faint of heart. You have to pick your init system (OpenRC, runit, or s6), and while it’s not that hard, it’s definitely a bit more hands-on than your average Arch install. If you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, though, it’s a rock-solid, no-bloat, do-exactly-what-you-want kind of distro. Would I daily drive it? If I was deep into the anti-systemd life, absolutely. But even as a casual Arch fan, Artix has a weird charm that makes me want to stick around. Was this review helpful? Yes No See all 185 reader reviews of Artix Linux...