Hey folks,
I’ve been using Linux on and off for over a year now—not a total newbie, but still learning. I know the basics and usually rely on GPT or forums when I hit a wall. I’ve tried a bunch of distros so far: Kali, Debian, Pop!_OS, KDE Neon, Kubuntu… and currently running Fedora KDE.
Fedora is solid, but I keep finding myself tempted to try something new. Maybe I get bored easily—or maybe I just haven’t found the one yet. That’s why I’m asking for your help.
Here’s what I’m really looking for:
🔹 Large and fast app repository – I want access to a wide range of apps, updated quickly, without weird dependency issues.
🔹 Great UI/UX – KDE is my current favorite. I love how modern and smooth it feels, and I want something that builds on that experience.
🔹 Stability without being outdated – I don’t mind rolling release if it’s reliable. Crashes and breakages are a dealbreaker.
🔹 Good extras – Whether it’s unique tools, deep customization options, or just thoughtful polish, I love a distro with a “complete” feel.
🔹 Active community/support – Docs, forums, or anything that helps when things go wrong.
I’d love your suggestions—especially if you’ve been in the same place: bouncing between distros, loving KDE, and still chasing that “perfect” setup.
What would you recommend and why? Any underrated KDE-based distro I should check out? Or maybe something mainstream but deeply customizable and stable?
Appreciate your thoughts!
Also, if you can, please share some of the best (and free) resources to really learn and master Linux. I’m still learning and only know some basics, but I want to go deeper and really understand how things work under the hood. Even if I don’t feel super advanced yet 😅, I’m curious and willing to grow.
Thanks a ton in advance!
EndeavourOS. The default desktop is KDE these days.
Easy to install.
Attractive desktops out of the box. KDE is the default. A few nice quality of life utilities.
It uses the Arch repos and kernel. The AUR (yay) is installed out-of-the-box. So, the biggest package selection in the Linux world. Always up-to-date. Updates fast.
Great community in the EOS forums. Some of the best Linux docs on the web in the Arch wiki. The Arch wiki is an amazing resource for learning.
Very stable. Breakages are rare, especially if you use an LTS kernel. The current LTS kernel is the same one that Debian 13 will release with “soon”. So, not exactly ancient.
Biggest “downside” is that there is no GUI software installer out-of-the-box.
If that is really a deal-breaker, just install one like pamac or octopi. “yay -S octopi” should do it.
Or install a menu driven text based package manager like pacseek. “yay -S pacseek”
Or just take a few minutes to learn how to use pacman or yay at the command-line. You said you wanted to learn.
Really appreciate bro 👍