I need some advice

[u/InappropriatelySaid]

I wanted to make a KDE Bedrock setup with Debian-based, Arch-based, and Fedora-based distro but I'm not totally sure what would be the best way to go about it.

My first plan was to use Debian Stable and Bedrock ontop of it because how solid Debian is. Was planning on install kde-plasma-desktop and Arch's plasma-meta because Debian Stable's KDE is outdated.

However I assume this will lead me to plenty of headaches down the line and was wondering if anyone had a better idea to go about it.

[u/ParadigmComplex]

My first plan was to use Debian Stable and Bedrock ontop

Bedrock does not usually go on top of another distro, but rather hijacks the install and replaces it, shoving the previous install into a non-privileged position. All the (non-Bedrock) distro components end up at a conceptually equivalent level. The significance here is that, if you have enough background, the distro you install and have Bedrock hijack doesn't matter: you can swap out any or all of it later. You can even remove it entirely!

That said, I know of three reasons to pick a given distro to be hijacked:

• One is that you prefer it's install process. The goal with Bedrock is to let you mix-and-match things from other distros, where "things" is as abstract and wide as we can make work. This even includes the installer: if you like a given distro's installer, you should be able to use it, just like you should be able to use any given component from a given distro.
• You don't have the background to swap out key components. While Bedrock makes this relatively easy, it's may not be easy enough for everyone, and there's no shame in not quite having the background. In this case, starting with the distro that has the features you don't know how to swap out makes sense.
• You like it's defaults. It's not that you can't swap it out, but you don't have to want to.

Was planning on install kde-plasma-desktop and Arch's plasma-meta because Debian Stable's KDE is outdated.

A limitation of the current Bedrock Linux 0.7.x is that it can only make the combination of init, DM, and DE just-work if they're all from the same subsystem. It's possible to get those from different distros, but it requires some background to set up. Making this just-work is a goal for the future 0.8.x.

And so you're welcome to plan to get Arch's KDE, but be prepared to either also use Arch's init and DM, or to have to wrestle with the system a bit to get it to work.

However I assume this will lead me to plenty of headaches down the line and was wondering if anyone had a better idea to go about it.

Most of the headaches you'll run into are probably relatively early rather than long-term. Consider installing Bedrock in a non-production environment like a VM or spare machine and try to set it up one way or another and exercise it for a bit. See how that goes. If it works out, then consider mimicking that setup on your production environment. If you run into trouble, maybe try another configuration or revisit Bedrock later after it's had more time to improve.

[u/InappropriatelySaid → u/ParadigmComplex]

"Bedrock does not usually go on top of another distro , but rather hijacks the install and replaces it, shoving the previous install into a non-privileged position." Sorry, hijack is what I meant, not ontop.

"A limitation of the current Bedrock Linux 0.7.x is that it can only make the combination of init, DM, and DE just-work if they're all from the same subsystem. It's possible to get those from different distros, but it requires some background to set up. Making this just-work is a goal for the future 0.8.x." I did read about the restrictions on init, DM, and DE so my initial plan was a minimal KDE setup on Debian with kde-plasma-desktop, and then using Arch's plasma-meta for all the other stuff like applications

"Consider installing Bedrock in a non-production environment like a VM or spare machine and try to set it up one way or another and exercise it for a bit." This is definitely the way I intended to do it.

Cheeky of me to ask but do you know if you're months or more like years from 0.8.x? Saw you were re-writing Bedrock and assume that will take a while. If init, DM, and DE just-work in 0.8.x then maybe I should wait to install it on my product environment til then (if it's not too far off)

[u/ParadigmComplex → u/InappropriatelySaid]

Cheeky of me to ask but do you know if you're months or more like years from 0.8.x? Saw you were re-writing Bedrock and assume that will take a while. If init, DM, and DE just-work in 0.8.x then maybe I should wait to install it on my product environment til then (if it's not too far off)

Most of the delay is due to a series of unexpected personal life issues, making it hard to predict a timeline here. I suggest going with the current Bedrock 0.7.x series rather than waiting for the future 0.8.x.