Linux is popular with developers, and for good reason. This system has the greatest selection of software tools, but it can be hard to pick a distro. Here are some of the best ones for coders, from beginners to experts.
Ubuntu is the first introduction to Linux for most budding developers. There are a lot of good reasons for this. It’s got some of the best hardware support, so it’ll run on most people’s PCs. It’s among the best-known distros already, so it already has a lot of developer mindshare.
If you start with Ubuntu, you’ll likely be in good company. You don’t even have to go with a full desktop. Ubuntu is the default distro for WSL.
Ubuntu also has the widest support for commercial desktop apps, including Steam and GoG games, so if you need a break from coding to play some games, you can do so without having to reboot.
If you don’t like the vanilla Ubuntu experience, you can choose from other variants. One of the most popular is Linux Mint, which offers a “batteries included” approach. Kubuntu uses KDE instead of the default GNOME desktop.
Debian
Debian is one of the oldest distros that’s still widely used, dating back to 1993. There’s a reason that it’s been around for so long. Where Ubuntu is a commercial product created by Canonical, Debian is a community project. This means that the community will make development decisions in the best interests of its users.
Debian also popularized the package manager in the Linux community, making software installation easier. This is an idea that evolved into modern app stores. Even Windows has a package manager now.
Debian also supports a wider variety of processor architectures than Ubuntu does. A modified version is the default OS for the Raspberry Pi. Debian is also the basis for many other variants, including Ubuntu.
You can also choose different versions of Debian. The default is the “stable” version. It’s good for a machine you need to rely on, but a lot of users opt for the “testing” distribution for newer software, and some are brave enough to use the “unstable” version.
These are all reasons that Debian is my Linux distro of choice.
OpenSUSE
OpenSUSE, like Debian, is also one of the oldest distros still in use. It traces its lineage back to the early ’90s. Its developer was one of the first to see potential in selling Linux as a commercial product. While SUSE has concentrated on enterprise server installations, it still gives back to the open source community in the form of OpenSUSE.
There are two major flavors of OpenSUSE: the stable Leap and the rolling-release Tumbleweed. The latter releases software much more frequently. This means that developers have access to newer versions of their tools.
Historically, one of OpenSUSE’s distinguishing features has been YaST, a centralized management tool, similar to the Windows Control Panel, though this is being gradually phased out.
Still, OpenSUSE would be a great starting point, along with Ubuntu, for those who are new to Linux.
Arch Linux
While other Linux distros like Mint pride themselves on the “batteries included” approach, Arch Linux is famous for taking the “some assembly required” path. When you download the installation image, you’re dumped into a console with a shell. You have to install the system from the command line, installing and manually configuring your partitions and other tools with the help of the Arch Wiki installation guide. The result is that you get a custom system that only includes what you want or need. You’ll be able to brag that you “run Arch btw.”
The process is an educational one, as you learn how a distro is put together. Arch’s Wiki is so good that people who use other distros regularly consult it.
Apart from its manual installation process, Arch is also known, similar to OpenSUSE Tumbleweed, for its rolling-release approach. As soon as new components get released, they’ll hit the Arch package list. The Arch User Repository, or AUR, also hosts user-created packages. This means you’ll have the latest stable software.
Gentoo
Gentoo, named for a breed of penguin, takes Arch’s installation process even farther. Not only do you have to install it manually, but you’ll also need to compile it from source. This means that you can optimize the code for your processor.
Fortunately, there are pre-compiled “binary” packages available for convenience. Large programs like the GNOME desktop would take a long time to compile normally. A Gentoo installation, as with Arch, is a rite of passage for many Linux users looking to dig into the technical details of the system.
Fedora
Fedora Linux is another major favorite of developers. It’s the distro of choice for Linus Torvalds himself. One reason for this is that it features fresh software. This appeals to developers, especially people working with the kernel like Torvalds.
It’s also backed by Red Hat, named after the company’s iconic logo. It’s effectively a replacement for the desktop version of Red Hat Linux when it was discontinued so the company could focus on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, or RHEL. It’s available in different flavors with different desktop environments available.
From hobbyists to people who deploy software for a living, these are the distros that should be your first choice when setting up a development desktop system.
