Artix Linux (or simply Artix ) is a rolling-release

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

distribution based on

Arch Linux Arch Linux () is an Open-source software, open source, rolling release Linux distribution. Arch Linux is kept up-to-date by regularly updating the individual pieces of software that it comprises. Arch Linux is intentionally minimal, and is meant ...

. Artix does not use

systemd systemd is a software suite that provides an array of system components for Linux operating systems. The main aim is to unify service configuration and behavior across Linux distributions. Its primary component is a "system and service manage ...

, instead opting to provide init and service management freedom. Artix offers

OpenRC OpenRC is a dependency-based init system for Unix-like computer operating systems. It was created by Roy Marples, a NetBSD developer who was also active in the Gentoo Linux, Gentoo project. It became more broadly adopted as an init system outsid ...

, runit, s6, and dinit in place of systemd. Artix Linux has its own repositories, and it is not recommended by developers to use Arch packages due to differences such as naming conventions and contrasting init systems. Arch OpenRC and Manjaro OpenRC were started in 2012. In 2017, these projects were merged and Artix Linux was created. Artix Community FF-Inkscape 2020-02

Release history

Artix initially offered two installation environments, a base command-line ISO image and the graphical Calamares installer based on

LXQt LXQt is a free and open-source software, free and open source lightweight desktop environment. It was formed from the merger of the LXDE and Razor-qt projects. Like its GTK predecessor LXDE, LXQt does not ship or develop its own window manager ...

desktop, with an i3 version following later. Those early versions featured the OpenRC init system. The latest installation media are also available in a variety of

desktop environment In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphi ...

s like

LXDE LXDE (abbreviation for Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) is a Free and open-source software, free desktop environment with comparatively low resource requirements. This makes it especially suitable for use on older or resource-constrained pe ...

XFCE Xfce or XFCE (pronounced as four individual letters, ) is a Free and open-source software, free and open-source desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. Xfce aims to be fast and Lightweight software, lightweight whil ...

, MATE,

Cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

and

KDE Plasma KDE Plasma is a Shell (computing), graphical shell developed by the KDE community for Unix-like operating systems. It serves as the interface layer between the user and the operating system, providing a graphical user interface (GUI) and workspa ...

. Additionally, two unofficial community editions featuring

GTK GTK (formerly GIMP ToolKit and GTK+) is a free software cross-platform widget toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs). It is licensed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License, allowing both Free software, free and ...

(XFCE and MATE) and Qt (KDE Plasma) desktops and a larger software base are offered, aiming at too-busy-to-customise or less experienced, novice users. All current installation media come in OpenRC, runit, s6, and dinit versions, with the exception of the community ISOs that offer OpenRC only.

Reception

An early review published on DistroWatch on 27 November 2017 found a few bugs, but overall ''"Artix is working with a good idea ..It's minimal, it is rolling and it offers a little-used init system. All of these I think make the project worthwhile."'' More critical, another review at the time from linux-community.de concluded ''"the results so far are not exactly motivating."'' Much more favourable reviews were later featured in both sites. A review from

Softpedia Softpedia is a software and tech news website based in Romania. It indexes, reviews and hosts downloadable software and reports news on technology and science topics. It is ranked as among of the top download portals on the internet. History So ...

gave Artix a 5 out of 5 stars rating, noting its "beautiful and pleasant graphical environments." Distrowatch readers' reviews on Distrowatch are mostly very favourable, with an average rating of 9.3 out of 10.

Notes

References

External links

*
Artix wiki
*
Feature story in Distrowatch weekly

Softpedia review

2018 linux-community.de review (in German)

2020 linux-community.de review (in German)
{{Linux distributions Arch-based Linux distributions Linux distributions without systemd Rolling release Linux distributions Linux distributions