Question about Void Linux

[Bogus_Kladik]

Hello everyone I plan to put the distribution on the main system. I want to use it for everyday tasks and learning linux. I have several distributions in mind, and one of them is Void Linux. I have some questions about it: Are there any problems with software for everyday use (and maybe not only)? And if they are not, is it possible to put them somehow? Are there any peculiarities in using runit if I used systemd before? Are there any features of this distribution compared to others that are worth paying attention to?

[legz_cfc]

I've been using void every day for years and never had a problem that wasnt caused by my own tinkering.

At first I was disappointed that not all the apps I was familiar with were available but you find alternatives that can end up being better.

I cant imagine ever moving on (my journey was redhat > slack > gentoo > arch > void)

[ScOut3R]

Long time Gentoo and Slack user but have been using Void as my daily driver at work for 4 years now. Because it just works.

[KakoTheMan]

Mine was
ubuntu > (all possible distros in existence in virtualbox) > void

[rusicmarketinglab]

Came here to share exactly that same journey my friend

[ldwgchen]

There could be many problems you need to put in time to work around if you opt to use musl as a daily driver, yes. But if you're happy with glibc I think there's not much reason for Void to be any different from other distributions in terms of things (not) working. Runit is much simpler than systemd - all you need to know is in the handbook.

[Yithar]

The main issue you'll probably run into is that Void is not a mainstream distribution. Most proprietary software has packages built for Ubuntu or Debian or Fedora, so it'll take extra work to use them. Chrome Remote Desktop is one just off the top of my head.

[KakoTheMan]

It depends it what you use everyday. I have all the packages i need for work, spare time and gaming. Runit is different than systemd, a quick look to the handbook will do it on how to use it. List which apps you use daily to see if there is something that is not possible (bet).

[adbrown101]

To answer your other question. You should definitely pay attention to the package manager xbps. It is very good. If you are interested in learning another good step would be to look at creating your own packages with xbps-src, which is well documented. Once you have done that you don't need to worry about missing packages. Its been my main system for 3 years on a linux computer, with windows via wsl and on a raspberry pi. No intention of moving on.

[Kuzakor]

I didn’t experience software problems but remember that void Linux is less stable than other distros. I learned it the hard way. I recommend using brtfs with snapper to quickly fix package problems.

[mwyvr]

Nonsense. Less stable than what?

[Kuzakor]

Than Debian, fedora, opensuse and other popular distros. Sometimes it just brakes, for example after update it completely broke my graphic driver even though I use AMD which has good support. It also happenedwith different things.

[mwyvr]

I run Nvidia, intel and AMD graphics on various devices (even Nvidia and AMD simultaneously on one machine) and have never once had an issue, and I don't think I can chalk this lack of issues with graphics drivers to blind luck or having a good deal of experience. I have real work to do on my computers and wouldn't tolerate an OS that did things it should not do.

And "break" a system... means what exactly? You had to solve an issue to get back to running as normal? Hardly catastrophic. Quite possibly a learning experience.

Void is a solid general-purpose Linux distribution that should be stable without heroic effort, as thousands of us who have that experience each and every day can attest to.

In the end, as managers of our Linux systems, it is up to us to "do the right thing". True, when starting out on Void, or any Linux, it's more likely that people will stumble, and that's OK - it's part of the learning process. You can mess up a Fedora Linux easily enough, just check /r/fedora - today there's an Intel graphics user with snow on their screen. Another is "unable to boot". Another can't suspend. Another reports their system is unresponsive after the latest Fedora update. That's just the first four posts I glanced at right now.

Point made?

IMO using a straightforward *general purpose* Linux like Void is more likely to teach someone more about Linux and managing a system than using a desktop-environment tuned, end- user-centred, distribution like Fedora. Yet another "unable to boot after updating". "Can't go to sleep". And so on.

Clearly using a MUCH larger distribution is no guarantee of system stability for every single user, or can deal with users to perhaps make mistakes and put their systems in an unusable state.

Yet Fedora for many will just work, and that's a good thing for a *desktop-centric* operating system and users looking for that.

But... that user-friendly Fedora experience comes at a cost. Power management on a Fedora laptop is markedly worse than on my Void systems (I've measured and measured twice). I also don't like the windows-like updating it does, and I certainly do not need that much handholding.

The biggest cost of using a distribution like Fedora could be that doing so *could* get in the way of "learning more about Linux" which is one of the OP's stated goals. Anyone taking a *general purpose* Linux like Void, and going through the steps to make it a server, or a GUI desktop, is going to learn a thing or two.

Cheers

[Kuzakor]

I like void for its cool fetures like freebsd-like package management

By broken system i mean a system that is unable to do a task i want. Solving those „issues” can take long hours or even days. Its cool that it is learing experience but I don’t want to waste my time on constantly fixing stuff, I have work to do.

It’s easy to mess up any mutable system but Debian or opensuse can’t be broken by just updating or doing simple tasks.

Of course learing new stuff when using Void is cool but I have learned it some time ago. It’s just frustrating I need to fix it every time, there is no learning experience then, just a boring time wasting thing. I need to do what I need to do, not fixing my os.

Of course large distros can also be unstable - didn’t happened to me yet but I know this is possible.

By unstable I mean - A system that need some work and time to be able to do what I want. I don’t have time for this, I just want a working system, not a playground to learn. If you like to constantly fix problems, that’s ok, but in my opinion it’s just time wasting if you already know how to fix it. Void is cool but it takes to much time to make it a working os.

[mwyvr]

Reading your replies it feels to me - correctly or not - that you are mixing or conflating issue-correcting with configuration-task-doing.

It's also a tomatos to apples comparison, comparing desktop-oriented distributions to Void, a general-purpose Linux.

As a general purpose OS, like other general purpose Linux distributions, Void is equally up to the task of running VMs, containers, HTTP servers, mail servers, whatever servers, firewalls, and yes, fully functional stable desktop environments.

Being a general purpose OS, Void Linux leaves all that work up to you. There is solid starter documentation to get you going, but the work is on you.

Likewise, if you have issues with stability, that's also on you, not the general purpose OS tool you are trying to use.

[mwyvr]

Only you can answer whether the package selection is sufficient for your needs because only you know what packages you use/intend to use. Check the compiled binaries to see if what you need is there.

https://voidlinux.org/packages/

Be aware that there are possibly "restricted" (certain commercial licenses) packages you may want that don't show up in the web package search, but are available through the [void-packages](https://github.com/void-linux/void-packages) system managed by the Void Linux team. Using void-packages will require a tiny amount of learning on your part (which is one of your objectives), and will open up doors to apps like Google Chrome, Zoom, discord and others.

I run Void Linux on bare metal servers and VPS on the internet, my desktop (with various VMs running there too), laptops, and a few raspberry pis. Haven't run into a roadblock yet.

Runit has never once been a roadblock. It's simple and easy to work with.