Abstract
- Octopi is preinstalled and outstanding, and it is a helpful substitute for terminal package deal managers.
- Plasma 6 on Garuda Linux will get glitchy for me typically.
- Unique Garuda instruments nonetheless lack aesthetics, however their performance is what issues.
Since writing my initial thoughts on Garuda Linux, I left and spent years hopping from one Linux distro to a different. I’ve now returned to Garuda Linux, my beloved, as a each day driver and was stunned by a couple of issues I noticed.
Octopi Is a Good Addition
After installation on my PC, I used to be stunned to see the Octopi package manager pinned to the duty supervisor. If it was preinstalled the final time I used to be each day driving Garuda, it wasn’t pinned to the duty supervisor prefer it was by default right here.
Attempting Octopi for the primary time, I used to be reminded of Synaptic on Ubuntu-based distros. It is helpful while you’re not comfortable with the Linux command line, and there are a couple of little bonuses comparable to an Arch Linux information reader.
Like with Synaptic, I fooled with Octopi for slightly bit earlier than deciding I favor a terminal-based workflow for package deal administration. Utilizing a context menu to pick a package deal for set up will get too clunky after some time.
Plasma 6 Is Giving Me Complications
Perhaps I am being misled by the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia, however one other shock was the Plasma desktop performing extra glitchy on Garuda than I recall. Garuda and most different Arch-based Linux distros are well-known for his or her bleeding-edge software program. They do not maintain again updates for testing almost as a lot as counterparts like Ubuntu. That leading edge cuts each methods, so when you have the most recent and best software program, it does not at all times work effectively for you.
I am not an knowledgeable on Plasma’s interior workings, so I do not know exactly the place the problems lie, however I can at the very least examine my very own experiences. In the course of the six months I have been utilizing my Kubuntu Focus Ir16 Gen 2 laptop, I do not recall any critical or recurring points with Plasma. Kubuntu 24.04 is at the moment at model 5.27, considerably behind Garuda’s model 6.2.

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To be truthful, it is not unusable. Nonetheless, small annoyances, like a disappearing dock that refuses to reappear, are inclined to pile up.
That is much less of a critique than it could sound, however Garuda’s assortment of unique graphical utilities like Garuda Assistant and Garuda Gamer are nonetheless as notably homely as they have been 4 years in the past. I say notably as a result of Garuda, the “KDE Dr460nized” version particularly, has a fame for being a wonderful desktop. It is a deserved fame, however the Garuda-exclusive apps really feel like an exception.
The appears aren’t unforgivable; it is not as in the event that they’re troublesome to navigate. Contemplating Garuda’s emphasis on efficiency and effectivity, it is smart to make these utilities, effectively, utilitarian. So whereas it might have been good to see a graphical renovation, I can not blame the builders—volunteers, you may’t overlook—for preserving it easy.
Whereas I’ve my qualms about its present state, I might nonetheless advocate Garuda as a Linux distro optimized for efficiency. I do really feel the comforts of familiarity each day driving it once more. Nonetheless, to be sincere, I am unsure I am actually completed distro-hopping. There are horizons I’ve not explored but. I’ve by no means given openSUSE a good shake past some VM testing.
If you wish to check out Garuda Linux your self, get the ISO from the Garuda download page.