It's not a horrible distro, but if python breaks, the entire system breaks, and it seems it's broken out of the box. You will be unable to install anything unless if you have in depth knowledge of symlinks and how gobolinux works. I have no idea what was going through the heads of the developers when they decided to make Compile (the package manager) dependent on python. A system like this should be built around posix shell or something instead of python.
But..
The general idea of the distro is amazing and I wish it had more polish and more community
It's just very hard to get it to actually work for packages
I recommend kiss linux which has a near identical package management system (recipes, manual build instructions) minus the unique file system and python nonsense. It has an active community as well, by randoms and not the developer as the first dev actually left. Much unlike this distro which is still (barely) maintained by the devs who have been doing so for around 20 years (all that work for this? add something new with this energy to make it stable instead). Though, kiss is very hard to get working, I personally quit upon being unable to get startx to work correctly on my user and not root, it's default init is also horrible and needs replaced by runit.
Also from the standpoint of minimalism, this distro does not achieve that, it comes with dozens of packages that you have to manually go through an obnoxious installer to remove, or remove them yourself once it's installed. It should have an option to come without anything but the base system, or to come without anything besides a working x server and nothing more.
Summarized:
Pros:
File system is amazing and can achieve a minimal nix like experience
Can make recipes automatically that most of the time work
Goboconnect is absolutely perfect
Package manager is actually very good and you can even compile your kernel with it
Cons:
It sucks because it's dependent on python which doesn't even work out of the box
By default it installs a lot of junk that is hard to remove
Uses grub which I personally dislike (efibootmgr is much more stable and easier to work with)
Doesn't have an automatic chrooting script like kiss linux
Deadest community of a linux distro I've ever seen
A refreshing take on the filesystem (and, for those who want the traditional one - this one is also avaliable by default, just "hidden" via gobohide by default, so you actually don't even need to use the versioned directories per se; I used GoboLinux via FHS traditional /usr/ prefix just fine - although of course, using versioned AppDirs is the whole main point behind GoboLinux, so it makes more sense to use versioned AppDirs anyway).
With a new leadership focusing on improving various means, I estimate that it may take say three months starting from April 2025 before GoboLinux will pick up more pace again. (It's been semi-dormant for quite a while.)
Could not get this to boot.... I attempted three different times and three image downloads; no indication the file is corrupted; but I could not boot on two different device attempts... I don't want to throw shade on this work; but I am not sure where I can go from here... My screen boot drops out to a "dracut:/#" prompt... Image was downloaded from distrowatch onto known good USB Flash drive.and booted with other distros... So, I will give this some additional time in the mill and let others chime in... This IS NOT an April Fools review.
Version: 017 Rating: 10 Date: 2025-02-01 Votes: 6
Honestly the best distro ive ever used.
Recently the devs started to update the packages, so most things should be pretty up-to-date including firefox ver. 131.
The package manager works as intended without any bugs.
It uses the awesome window manager with its own theme and applets which all blend in really nicely together.
Obviously the distribution is not for beginners, but for an advanced user like me its easy to learn and use due to extensive documentation.
A new and updated release is just around the corner from what i know.
The only "bad thing" about the distro could be that its not multilib but its easy to just add 32bit binaries from old 32bit versions of the distro.
Due to its uniqueness u will have distro-specific problems but the irc chat is very active and the devs will gladly help u with any problems u might have.
Overall the distro is great for more advanced users, is unique and has great documentation.
Version: 017 Rating: 2 Date: 2022-05-10 Votes: 0
One of the worst Linux distro, I think. I tested it using Live USB. Sadly, it was a terrible experience!
- it does not recognize my mouse (a cable one, brand Trust) so I used the notebook touchpad
- it does not recognize my Wi-Fi connection
- User Experience very poor, just a few basic software installed (and... how to install something new? Of course not the best Linux distro, in this way)
- opened window not always easy to find
- firefox 76.0.1 (the latest release is Firefox 100)
- Python not installed!!!
- great use of resources, but there are also other lightweight distro
Version: 017 Rating: 10 Date: 2022-03-02 Votes: 3
Just use NixOS or gentoo or slackware instead. It is not good enough to daily use, unless you are planning to contributing to the project itself. If your work isnt related to Gobolinux, then don't bother.
For a more experienced Linux user, this distro may be useful, but I can't recommend this for a beginner.
The standard set of available programs was very limited. Compile is annoying. Don't bother installing this on baremetal on your main machine.
If you want a distro that reinvents the wheel, then you found it!
Version: 017 Rating: 1 Date: 2021-07-10 Votes: 0
Don't waste your time with this distro, it's dead.
It's not a horrible distro, but if python breaks, the entire system breaks, and it seems it's broken out of the box. You will be unable to install anything unless if you have in depth knowledge of symlinks and how gobolinux works. I have no idea what was going through the heads of the developers when they decided to make Compile (the package manager) dependent on python. A system like this should be built around posix shell or something instead of python.
But..
The general idea of the distro is amazing and I wish it had more polish and more community
It's just very hard to get it to actually work for packages
I recommend kiss linux which has a near identical package management system (recipes, manual build instructions) minus the unique file system and python nonsense. It has an active community as well, by randoms and not the developer as the first dev actually left. Much unlike this distro which is still (barely) maintained by the devs who have been doing so for around 20 years (all that work for this? add something new with this energy to make it stable instead). Though, kiss is very hard to get working, I personally quit upon being unable to get startx to work correctly on my user and not root, it's default init is also horrible and needs replaced by runit.
Also from the standpoint of minimalism, this distro does not achieve that, it comes with dozens of packages that you have to manually go through an obnoxious installer to remove, or remove them yourself once it's installed. It should have an option to come without anything but the base system, or to come without anything besides a working x server and nothing more.
Summarized:
Pros:
File system is amazing and can achieve a minimal nix like experience
Can make recipes automatically that most of the time work
Goboconnect is absolutely perfect
Package manager is actually very good and you can even compile your kernel with it
Cons:
It sucks because it's dependent on python which doesn't even work out of the box
By default it installs a lot of junk that is hard to remove
Uses grub which I personally dislike (efibootmgr is much more stable and easier to work with)
Doesn't have an automatic chrooting script like kiss linux
Deadest community of a linux distro I've ever seen
Could not get this to boot.... I attempted three different times and three image downloads; no indication the file is corrupted; but I could not boot on two different device attempts... I don't want to throw shade on this work; but I am not sure where I can go from here... My screen boot drops out to a "dracut:/#" prompt... Image was downloaded from distrowatch onto known good USB Flash drive.and booted with other distros... So, I will give this some additional time in the mill and let others chime in... This IS NOT an April Fools review.
A refreshing take on the filesystem (and, for those who want the traditional one - this one is also avaliable by default, just "hidden" via gobohide by default, so you actually don't even need to use the versioned directories per se; I used GoboLinux via FHS traditional /usr/ prefix just fine - although of course, using versioned AppDirs is the whole main point behind GoboLinux, so it makes more sense to use versioned AppDirs anyway).
With a new leadership focusing on improving various means, I estimate that it may take say three months starting from April 2025 before GoboLinux will pick up more pace again. (It's been semi-dormant for quite a while.)
Honestly the best distro ive ever used.
Recently the devs started to update the packages, so most things should be pretty up-to-date including firefox ver. 131.
The package manager works as intended without any bugs.
It uses the awesome window manager with its own theme and applets which all blend in really nicely together.
Obviously the distribution is not for beginners, but for an advanced user like me its easy to learn and use due to extensive documentation.
A new and updated release is just around the corner from what i know.
The only "bad thing" about the distro could be that its not multilib but its easy to just add 32bit binaries from old 32bit versions of the distro.
Due to its uniqueness u will have distro-specific problems but the irc chat is very active and the devs will gladly help u with any problems u might have.
Overall the distro is great for more advanced users, is unique and has great documentation.
One of the worst Linux distro, I think. I tested it using Live USB. Sadly, it was a terrible experience!
- it does not recognize my mouse (a cable one, brand Trust) so I used the notebook touchpad
- it does not recognize my Wi-Fi connection
- User Experience very poor, just a few basic software installed (and... how to install something new? Of course not the best Linux distro, in this way)
- opened window not always easy to find
- firefox 76.0.1 (the latest release is Firefox 100)
- Python not installed!!!
- great use of resources, but there are also other lightweight distro
Just use NixOS or gentoo or slackware instead. It is not good enough to daily use, unless you are planning to contributing to the project itself. If your work isnt related to Gobolinux, then don't bother.
For a more experienced Linux user, this distro may be useful, but I can't recommend this for a beginner.
The standard set of available programs was very limited. Compile is annoying. Don't bother installing this on baremetal on your main machine.
If you want a distro that reinvents the wheel, then you found it!
Don't waste your time with this distro, it's dead.
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