Artix Linux

Reader supplied reviews for Artix Linux Average rating 9.2 from 247 review(s) Please select a rating in the range of 1-10. Please write at least a few sentences about the distribution while limiting your review to 4080 characters. 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: -- 202604022025040720240823202308142022071320210726202002102018100420170808 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: 20260402 Rating: 10 Date: 2026-07-15 Country: France Votes: 1 I like Artix, rolling release without systemd. It is the best option for those who want to work with a different init other than systemd. I've used dinit (future best init ?), runit (lighter and faster), and OpenRC (I think the most followed). I don’t use Flatpak or Snap, and rarely AUR ... After years with Manjaro, Artix became my favorite distro. Cinnamon, my favorite desktop choice, has become lightweight with Artix! But for the old PCs, the lightest and most feature-rich one remains Mate. Of course, LXDE remains the simplest and lightest, but does not suit everyone. For those who want to avoid the command line and solve dependency problems, I install Pamac right after installing this excellent OS. Thus, I use Artix with the same ease as Manjaro. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 20260402 Rating: 4 Date: 2026-07-09 Country: New Zealand Votes: 6 There's a reason I normally steer clear of Arch derivatives. installed Artix out of curiosity, its systemd free so I thought lets see what its like. Downloaded the OpenRC version with Plasma. Booted fine but warned me to install in off line mode as on line was experimental. Why offer on line then? Installed fine but after using syu to update the system I immediately had problems installing UFW firewall, something I've never experienced with Arch. I spent time trying to resolve this issue with no success. Even commands and solutions that were supposed to work, didn't. I tried resetting my system and Artix failed to boot. What can i say, I'm well and truly "out". This project, at least in my experience needs a lot of work before I could recommend it to anyone. Its hardly the only systemd free linux distro either. Maybe I'll come back in a few years when its hopefully matured. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 20260402 Rating: 10 Date: 2026-05-31 Country: United States Votes: 62 I like to tinker, so even after enjoying Artix, I have been kicking around with multiple systems, yet keep coming back to Artix. Why? Well, it is one of the best options for those who want to work with a different init other than systemd (for either philosophical, political, or other reasons). I've used dinit (fast), runit (faster, maybe), and OpenRC (my favorite so far), and each is completely viable with Artix. There's the benefit of being in the Arch world without some of the design decisions Arch makes. By choosing a new init and setting up the Artix repos, Artix has positioned itself to be isolated from some of the potential trajectory of Arch while still enjoying the benefits of that ecosystem. Beyond no systemd, however, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Artix forums. There's a tradeoff and benefit to being a spinoff from another distro--in this case, the Artix forums (and subreddit) are a little more patient and kind with newcomers, which is important--both in general, but especially when your distro has a couple extra steps to get up and going. There have been a lot of mentions of Artix as a "protest distro" (dismissively), but that seems silly to me. Anyone checking out Artix will see this isn't some fly-by-night iteration. Additionally, most Linux distros began as a pushback or counter to some other issue or movement. Artix is a great distro in its own right. Check out one of the many, many isos with your init and Desktop Environment of choice, and give it a try. I do think they could make the website a little more inviting for new users, but with the distro itself, I am very happy indeed. Was this review helpful? Yes No See all 247 reader reviews of Artix Linux...