This companion thread covers derived Linux distributions that build on iconic bases (Debian, Arch, Red Hat, openSUSE, Alpine, Gentoo). Think MX Linux, antiX, Linux Mint, Manjaro, EndeavourOS, Puppy, and more.
[Linux Kernel]
├─ [Debian]
│ ├─ Ubuntu
│ │ ├─ Linux Mint
│ │ ├─ Pop!OS
│ │ ├─ Zorin OS
│ │ └─ ElementaryOS
│ ├─ SimplyMEPIS
│ │ └─ antiX (systemd-free, lightweight; many packages rebuilt without systemd deps)
│ ├─ MX Linux (Debian Stable base; antiX + former MEPIS community heritage)
│ └─ Notes: MX has lineage ties to antiX and MEPIS while remaining Debian-based
│
├─ [Slackware]
│ ├─ Salix
│ └─ Puppy Linux (editions often target Slackware or Ubuntu compatibility via Woof-CE)
│
├─ [Red Hat]
│ └─ Fedora
│ ├─ CentOS
│ ├─ AlmaLinux
│ └─ Rocky Linux
│
├─ [openSUSE] (independent; Leap and Tumbleweed tracks)
│
├─ [Arch]
│ ├─ Manjaro
│ ├─ EndeavourOS
│ └─ ArcoLinux
│
├─ [Gentoo]
│ ├─ Calculate
│ └─ Sabayon
│
├─ [Alpine]
│ └─ postmarketOS
│
├─ [Void] (independent; runit focus)
│
├─ [Solus] (independent; built from scratch)
│
└─ [KaOS] (independent; Qt/KDE-focused)
Key notes on independence:
Debian, Slackware, Red Hat, Arch: They don’t rely on another distro’s repos or release cycle - fully independent..
Ubuntu: derived from Debian but runs its own repos, tooling, and release schedule. Sometimes called semi-independent.
Linux Mint, Pop!OS, Zorin, Elementary: strongly tied to Debian/Ubuntu updates, semi-independent.
MX Linux: built from Debian + antiX + MX tools, semi-independent.
antiX: originally from MEPIS (which was Debian-based), but now pulls directly from Debian Stable. Independent in philosophy (systemd-free, lightweight), but still tied to Debian repos → semi-independent.
Feel free to share what your favorite distros add on top of any base distros, why you use them, and any tips.
For the independent roots discussion, see the parent thread:
As you state: MX Linux is based on Debian. Simply MEPIS, the one that MX Linux CAME from when Warren Woodford stopped developing MEPIS, is an excellent general purpose distribution built on Debian foundations, yet it adds a LOT to Debian.
antiX originally derived from Simply MEPIS and became more and more independent, emphasizing lean, efficient code, THEN when Debian brought in systemD, it staged a major holdout, and has rewritten countless packages so that they can be built with NO systemD dependencies and remain light.
Arch has many similar tales, taming the complexities of a true Arch Linux system to build something that many more people can use.
A relatively recent distribution that’s attracted some attention in the Arch Linux space is Cachy OS.
I’d say the best use case for this distribution is if you want to try out cutting edge kernels and very new software this is the place to go.
I’d be less confident with it as the only system.
In such a situation I do believe they offer a stable kernel and utilities too but I don’t have any experience with that end of their offerings.
It’s a very powerful system if you are capable of maintaining it appropriately.
Plain old Debian is nice because you can build (install) what you want on it and be relatively sure nobody has slipped something else into the mix to trip you up.
I recently learned about a distro on ycombinator (lost the link) that might have been MX Linux (based on XFCE desktop screenshots). The main appeal of the distro was its lack of anything much besides the cleaned up xfce. The ycombinator linked article emphasized it was plain old Debian underneath.
When I get around to using Linux seriously again, I’ll be looking to install Debian and then trying to get an xfce desktop to look like the MX distro.
@Mat I haven’t been watching the new distros lately, so I’m glad you brought up Asmi Linux 14 Debian Edition; just downloaded it, so I’ll put it on a drive and give it a quick spin. If I like it enough it may get to “hang around”.
Let us know what you think about it. I recall reading a comment somewhere (my recollections aren’t the best) that Asmi’s linux distro uses proprietary software, but when I looked on their website, all I saw was a donation button. It didn’t look proprietary at all.
I didn’t stick with asmi though it was MUCH better than what I replaced it with - Manjaro.
I have never had a consistently good experience with Manjaro, despite success with both Cachy OS and Endeavour OS.
I’m beginning to wonder why it’s popular; I’ve given it a chance on different hardware and it even SEEMED like it may work out, then I had issues using both the Firefox and Chromium Web browsers; neither was responsive so I thought I’d switch to another system to determine if it was the network or the distribution.
Immediately after rebooting to another distribution everything was not only working, it was working well.
Maybe there’s something about my workload but I think not. I browse the Web a lot but don’t have many tabs open; rarely do I have more than four tabs, and if so, only momentarily and nothing unique to the workload I tested.
Other than that a terminal and an editor. I’ve used that and more on less powerful laptops without any problems.
I replaced it with yet another different respin of antiX. I have a “Full Runit”, a “Privacy Respin” and a “Sid Privacy Respin” installed.
Who would expect a Sid implementation to be more stable than the main instance of another distribution?
With antiX, apparently it happens and I am thankful for the light, fast, easy to configure and modify distribution.
People with hot hardware may not need it, but for me I don’t need a desktop environment; a window manager and an easy to customize setup is preferable to me.
I replaced Manjaro with an easily reinstalled instance of Endeavour OS. As it did before, it’s behaving well. It did have two brief difficulties this year: one was a brief problem with the most current kernel; the second was a brief issue with the yay package tool. Both issues were resolved within less than 48 hours, probably considerably less time.
Endeavour OS is arguably the best Arch Linux derivative available, with Cachy OS a close alternative. I don’t get why anyone uses Manjaro; I’ve had nothing but problems with it every time I try it out. Supposed to be more stable recently; that was not my experience at all, whereas either Endeavour OS or Cachy OS are worth keeping.
Thanks for the update @Brian_Masinick . I’ll take "… much better than … Manjaro " as an indicator of Okness sufficient to give it a whirl myself sometime. My interest was sparked when I read that besides providing a nice xfce, it was nothing more than plain old Debian.
Diving off in a different direction, my very first distribution was Slackware and I currently have a Slackware-Current configuration running on my laptop.
I recently changed it to start at run level 4, so it gets me to the GUI login and I login to the Xfce desktop environment. I really ought to set it up to start fvwm, the first window manager I used, or fvwm-crystal, the almost desktop environment based on fvwm!
