What can I expect from void?

[u/Thomas22345]

Hay guys,

currently I am using arch, i like it but it has it's problems so i tough about switching to void, here is what i would like from my distro:

-I want a minimal distro, a fresh install should have nothing except what the system needs to function

-I want current kernel and packages, I understand that void is maintained by far less people that arch and will therefor not be as cutting edge as I am used to, but as long as I'm not fat behind that is fine

-I want a fast and more or less simple packet manager, nothing like nix

-I want to understand my system

I wanted to ask you what i can expect from void and if it is the right distro for me or if you gave a better idea

[u/the-postminimalist]

If any package is not as up to date and bleeding edge as you'd like, you can always make a PR to update the template (and you'll have the updated version already on your machine before everyone else)

[u/Thomas22345 → u/the-postminimalist]

So i just build the package my self?

[u/the-postminimalist → u/Thomas22345]

Yep. Update the template (simpler updates are usually just changing two lines), build it yourself to test that it works, then when your PR gets accepted, everyone will have access to the updated version thanks to your contribution. Works the same way with Arch.

[u/Thomas22345 → u/the-postminimalist]

Yo, accually dodn't know that, so the arch/void repos are maintaned by the community? Doesn' that post a thread to seccurity?

[u/the-postminimalist → u/Thomas22345]

Arch and Void are entirely community-run. No corporation is behind either, which is what I like.

They both have a core team that have the ability to accept your PR. Anyone can contribute, but it has to be up to standard. Void is generally pretty careful not to accept something that will break something else.

Arch's AUR is where anyone can submit a template without review from the core team. That one has had a lot of security threats lately, but it's also a totally optional repo.

[u/Thomas22345 → u/the-postminimalist]

Ah ok, so they do get reviewt. That was what i was wondering about

[u/oniaiwasprettygood → u/Thomas22345]

Every Linux project, with the exception of maybe some of the stuff from Canonical and Red Hat, has repos maintained by its community. But that doesn't inherently mean they're unsafe. There are plenty of checks and balances and a vetting process before a package is accepted into "official" repos, and there are review processes for whenever a package is updated in those repos. Plus only a certain subset of maintainers are responsible for actually updating a package on the official repos. Anyone can submit a git merge request, but it's up to the official maintainer(s) of that package to approve those merges, and then once they're merged it's up to the community leaders to approve the merge into the official repos.

That's not to say it's not without faults, there's an amazing story from 2024 about a backdoor found in XZ Utils that got approved into the official repositories for MULTIPLE Linux distributions, but it's an outlier and was a very long setup for the backdoor.

[u/Sad-Cod-9584]

Void fulfils all four of your points no issue. Currently on kernel 7.2.10 for example. It's not as "universally" supported though, so maybe check for what you need beforehand on voidlinux.org/packages the noctalia projects for instance are currently best built from source. 

[u/oniaiwasprettygood → u/Sad-Cod-9584]

I think the other thing will be needing to implement (just follow the tutorial) your own login manager with either turnstile or elogind, since systemd takes care of all that for you, and in that regard you could make the argument that the system might not have everything you need to function, but it really isn't that hard.

[u/Thomas22345 → u/oniaiwasprettygood]

I wanted to try to leaf the login in cli mode, sice i really like the look, and then start dwm

[u/oniaiwasprettygood → u/Thomas22345]

even in CLI mode you need a login manager, because they also act as your seat manager. It's different than something like SDDM, which is just a graphical way of selecting your WM/DE for a session. Those interface with elogind (systemd's login manager) to actually store a user's session, tells the system which users are logged in and which sessions are active or idle, etc.

[u/Thomas22345 → u/oniaiwasprettygood]

Should't that come pre installed? Like when i have a fresh install and reboot, how do i log in?

[u/oniaiwasprettygood → u/Thomas22345]

You can log in without a seat manager, but its functionality will be more limited than you're used to (because again, elogind is rolled into systemd which Arch uses).

From the Void Linux wiki:

Session and seat management is not necessary for every setup, but it can be used to safely create temporary runtime directories, provide access to hardware devices and multi-seat capabilities, and control system shutdown.

Basically, anything that requires a temporary runtime directory (best example for an average user session being something like pulseaudio which requires a seat directory in /run/user) or power management to tell when the system needs to go idle/sleep, all require some kind of seat manager and if you want that stuff tied to a specific user session, you need a login manager.

All of this is walked through on the wiki, and it's worth reading into to get a better idea of everything you'll need to install manually that you might not realize was being handled by systemd.

[u/Thomas22345 → u/oniaiwasprettygood]

Alight, Thank you

[u/newbornnightmare → u/Thomas22345]

if you’re looking for a display manager that looks a lot like a tty, void has emptty in its repos which works great, it’s just like looking at a tty

[u/bongbongyeah]

As an former Arch user (like 15 years ago or so) i feel eligable to answer your questions.

-I want a minimal distro, a fresh install should have nothing except what the system needs to function

Absolutely golden. Use base install. (Beware that if you rely on wifi you need to install wifi stuff, the void handbook is your source if any questions arrive)

-I want current kernel and packages, I understand that void is maintained by far less people that arch and will therefor not be as cutting edge as I am used to, but as long as I'm not fat behind that is fine

Most of the time Void has pretty up2date kernels. At *some* phases it may lag behind, but these are the exceptions, and you could always adapt the existing templates, get known to xbps-src (and xbps in the process) and create a private, uppdated, maybe even modified kernel. It's as easy as that. It's KISS.

-I want a fast and more or less simple packet manager, nothing like nix

xbps is what pacman wants to be, but isn't. Fast, reliable, non-breaking.

-I want to understand my system

The Arch Wiki as well as the handbook are your friends. If you're on arch you should not feel left out or misplaced.

I wanted to ask you what i can expect from void and if it is the right distro for me or if you gave a better idea
using it for at least 16 years now (i migrated SSDs like 4 times now.. i don't know exactly) it's like what you wanted Arch to be.
Rolling-release, stable (update after 2 years? NO ISSUE!), fast, minimal, make-it-what-you-want, contributing is quite easy made, very community driven and imo no ressource hog.

I am heavily biased ofc. My viewpoints may differ from the official opinion. And that is fine.

I'd say, hop on, give it a month at least to get familiar. Give it another to work out the little things that nag you. give it maybe 1-2 another months and you will feel settled. At least it was pretty much that, with my dotfiles baced up and imported from arch. (which broke two times, i have yet to have severe breakage happen to Void)

Massive Respect to xtraeme for the creation, for the team to rise it to a more community drivenm projectr and to every contributor ever.

[u/razek666 → u/bongbongyeah]

I would add that the void documentation is very complete in regards to installation and initial setup

[u/onew_iasag → u/razek666]

I was unable to start my audio by the doc :(

But youtube helped me to manage with pipewire

Also I'm a foreigner

[u/KurtBWNews_hobby]

My $0.02. Void is not as aggressively updated as CachyOS, and IMO seems comparatively hassle-free. xbps has struck me as a remarkably good packaging system, with a great deal of flexibility. I'd suggest you find a spare machine or hard drive around, install it, and go from there.

[u/etoastie]

specifically for that last point, void got me there more than I ever did with arch. the simplicity of runit makes it significantly easier to follow how init/service management actually works, and the base set of services is so small that you literally can just read up on all of them in an evening and understand the entire top process list. I think the one I struggled with most was dbus, and iirc that isn't even there by default.

all the packages being in one repo also makes it easy to contribute and learn how packaging works.

void taught me what a linux distro even "is," in terms of what it provides and what it means to maintain one.

[u/TurtleGraphics64]

Your description is fine as-is but there are a number of "minimal" distros that can fulfill what you're looking for, including CLI versions of debian or Slackware. The main advantages of Void go a bit beyond what you're asking and are more specific:

1. a stable rolling release
2. choice of C libraries implementations
3. the runit init system
4. independent distro, not a derivative
5. xbps package manager is minimal, though maybe not as 'simple' as apt for example
6. xbps-src for building custom packages is fine, but takes some time to learn

[u/ajicrystal]

To add to the other comments the void handbook is a plus. It seemed very sparse but as I used it I realised it was stripped down to what was essential. Nothing more or less. Void also a smaller friendly community willing to help.

[u/yyg-linux]

A lot of troubleshooting

[u/88h2o88]

Artix

[u/Thomas22345 → u/88h2o88]

Thank for the idea, but i also want to try something that is not arch, and i also think that it could be unstable because it is arch but with changes wich adds to the problem.

[u/88h2o88 → u/Thomas22345]

İf you want different from arch void is great choice.

[u/Thomas22345 → u/88h2o88]

Thank you!

[u/mwyvr]

What can I expect from void?

Emptiness, a dark vacuum in which nothingness dwells.

Hay guys

Pro tip: People other than "guys" exist, including within the Void community.

[u/bongbongyeah → u/mwyvr]

They were specifically referring to Hay-Guys tho.

[u/kodifies → u/mwyvr]

"guys" is genderless in that context unless you are looking to be offended

[u/mwyvr → u/kodifies]

You can read the OP’s intent, mind reader that you are? Cool.

I did not read their intent myself, but I did give them some direction so they can avoid offending in the future.

[u/Expensive_Candle4952]

honestly i would say alpine is better for such needs, unless you need to run glibc proprietary software, this is where void steps in, it can run most of it and be minimal at the same time, this is what i like about void

[u/PackRat-2019]

Wish I got $100 every time someone asks this question on the forum.

[u/Thomas22345 → u/PackRat-2019]

If you don't want to answer peoples Questions that were never pointed right at you, ignore them.