Switching from Arch Linux to Void Linux

My experience using Arch and Void, and why I’m switching to Void.

What the Hell is Even “Arch Linux” or “Void Linux”?

Void and Arch Linux are both Linux distros. Arch Linux is a really famous Linux distro, known for being lightweight and fast. It’s also popular because of the AUR. Void Linux is also basically just Arch. It’s lightweight, fast, but the main difference is that it uses runit instead of systemd. It also has its own package manager, xbps, instead of pacman in Arch Linux.

Cool, But Why Would You Want This?

The main reason I picked Void is because of its stability. Void is a rolling release distro, but it still feels stable and rarely breaks. Xbps, in my experience, is also faster than pacman by miles.

But Why Don’t You Want systemd? It’s a Lot More Convenient.

I run a pretty shit PC, without even an SSD. So, runit makes booting times MUCH faster than systemd. I also like its simplicity; it’s light and easy to use. I don’t mind using it over systemd.

Why Did You Decide to Switch?

Arch just hasn’t been a stable experience for me. Opening programs as simple as Visual Studio Code, my PC would just freeze constantly, and not to mention the random crashes that happen too (like actually, I’ve experienced several random crashes in Arch). From Hyprland just making my screen black, AGS crashing randomly, to Firefox simply closing when playing YouTube videos. It wasn’t a great experience. Void, though, never experienced these issues. Visual Studio Code runs fine, Firefox doesn’t crash, and even Hyprland, which is barely compatible with Void Linux, worked with no issues at all.

Conclusion

Well, that’s all the reasons I’ve decided to switch (or I forgot and I’m stupid and).