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Artix Linux RSS Feed DistroWatch.com: Artix Linux

Artix Linux


Last Update: 2026-01-17 13:48 UTC


Artix Linux is a fork (or continuation as an autonomous project) of the Arch-OpenRC and Manjaro-OpenRC projects. Artix Linux offers a lightweight, rolling-release operating system featuring the OpenRC init software. (Alternative spins feature the runit and s6 init software.) Several editions of Artix Linux are available, featuring either a plain command line or one of several desktop environments.

Popularity (hits per day): 12 months: 49 (233), 6 months: 46 (290), 3 months: 47 (286), 4 weeks: 43 (327), 1 week: 69 (265)

Average visitor rating: 9.2/10 from 211 review(s).


Artix Linux Summary
Distribution Artix Linux
Home Page https://artixlinux.org/
Mailing Lists --
User Forums https://artixlinux.org/forum/
Alternative User Forums
Documentation --
Screenshots DistroWatch Gallery
Screencasts
Download Mirrors https://artixlinux.org/download.php
Bug Tracker --
Related Websites  
Reviews 2021: DistroWatch
2020: All Things LinuxDistroWatch
2017: DistroWatch
Where To Donate, Buy or Try

Table Notes and Explanations

(Please refer to the table below.)
  • Select view:
  • To compare the software in this project to the software available in other distributions, please see our Compare Packages page.
  • Notes: In case where multiple versions of a package are shipped with a distribution, only the default version appears in the table. For indication about the GNOME version, please check the "nautilus" and "gnome-shell" packages. The Apache web server is listed as "httpd" and the Linux kernel is listed as "linux". The KDE desktop is represented by the "plasma-desktop" package and the Xfce desktop by the "xfdesktop" package.
  • Colour scheme: green text = latest stable version, red text = development or beta version. The function determining beta versions is not 100% reliable due to a wide variety of versioning schemes.
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Feature 20250407 20240823 20230814 20220713 20210726 20200210 20181004 20170808 Feature
Release Date 2025-04-07 2024-08-23 2023-08-14 2022-07-17 2021-07-28 2020-02-10 2018-10-04 2017-08-08 Release Date
End Of Life                 End Of Life
Price (US$) Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Price (US$)
Image Size (MB) 900-3600 700-1700 700-1700 700-1700 600-1400 600-1200 400-900 300-700 Image Size (MB)
Free Download ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO Free Download
Installation Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Graphical Installation
Default Desktop Cinnamon, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, KDE Plasma, Xfce Cinnamon, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, KDE Plasma, Xfce Cinnamon, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, KDE Plasma, Xfce Cinnamon, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, KDE Plasma, Xfce Cinnamon, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, KDE Plasma, Xfce Cinnamon, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, KDE Plasma LXQt i3, LXQt Default Desktop
Default Browser                 Default Browser
Package Management Pacman Pacman Pacman Pacman Pacman Pacman Pacman Pacman Package Management
Release Model Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Release Model
Office Suite -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Office Suite
Processor Architecture x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 Processor Architecture
Init Software Dinit, OpenRC, runit, S6 Dinit, OpenRC, runit, S6 Dinit, OpenRC, runit, S6 Dinit, OpenRC, runit, S6 OpenRC, runit, S6, Suite66 OpenRC, runit, S6 OpenRC, runit OpenRC Init Software
Journaled File Systems ext3, ext4 ext3, ext4 ext3, ext4 ext3, ext4 ext3, ext4 ext3, ext4 ext3, ext4 ext3, ext4 Journaled File Systems
Multilingual                 Multilingual
Asian Language Support                 Asian Language Support
Full Package List 20250407 20240823 20230814 20220713 20210726 20200210 20181004 20170808 Full Package List
Package 20250407 20240823 20230814 20220713 20210726 20200210 20181004 20170808 Package
alsa-lib (1.2.15.3) 1.2.13 1.2.12 1.2.9 1.2.7.1 1.2.5.1 1.2.1.2 1.1.6 1.1.4.1 alsa-lib (1.2.15.3)
amdgpu (25.0.0) 23.0.0 23.0.0 23.0.0 22.0.0 19.1.0 19.1.0 -- -- amdgpu (25.0.0)
apparmor (4.1.4)                 apparmor (4.1.4)
apt (3.1.15) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- apt (3.1.15)
bash (5.3) 5.2 5.2 5.1 5.1 5.1 5.0 4.4 4.4 bash (5.3)
bind (9.20.18) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- bind (9.20.18)
chromium (144.0.7559.132) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- chromium (144.0.7559.132)
cinnamon (6.6.6) 6.4.9 6.2.9 5.8.4 5.4.2 4.8.4 4.4.8 -- -- cinnamon (6.6.6)
cups (2.4.16) 2.4.11 2.4.10 2.4.6 2.4.2 2.3.3 -- -- -- cups (2.4.16)
e2fsprogs (1.47.3) 1.47.2 1.47.1 1.47.0 1.46.5 1.46.2 1.45.5 1.44.4 1.43.4 e2fsprogs (1.47.3)
ffmpeg (8.0.1) 7.1 7.0.2 6.0 5.0.1 4.4 4.2.2 4.0.2 -- ffmpeg (8.0.1)
firefox (147.0.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- firefox (147.0.3)
flatpak (1.16.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- flatpak (1.16.3)
freetype (2.14.1) 2.13.3 2.13.3 2.13.1 2.12.1 2.10.4 2.10.1 2.9.1 -- freetype (2.14.1)
gcc (15.2.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gcc (15.2.0)
gimp (3.0.8) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gimp (3.0.8)
git (2.53.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- git (2.53.0)
glibc (2.43) 2.41 2.40 2.38 2.35 2.33 2.30 2.28 2.25 glibc (2.43)
gnome-shell (49.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gnome-shell (49.3)
grub (2.14) 2.12 2.12 2.12 2.06 2.04 2.02 2.02 2.02 grub (2.14)
gtk (4.20.3) 4.18.3 4.14.5 4.10.5 4.6.6 3.24.24 3.24.13 3.24.1 3.22.18 gtk (4.20.3)
httpd (2.4.66) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- httpd (2.4.66)
inkscape (1.4.3) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- inkscape (1.4.3)
kmod (34.2) 34.2 33 30 30 28 26 25 24 kmod (34.2)
krita (5.2.15) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- krita (5.2.15)
LibreOffice (26.2.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- LibreOffice (26.2.0)
Package 20250407 20240823 20230814 20220713 20210726 20200210 20181004 20170808 Package
libselinux (3.10) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- libselinux (3.10)
linux (6.18.8) 6.13.8 6.10.6 6.4.10 5.18.10 5.13.4 5.5.2 4.18.10 4.9.41 linux (6.18.8)
mariadb (12.1.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mariadb (12.1.2)
mate-desktop (1.28.2) 1.28.2 1.28.2 1.27.0 1.26.0 1.24.1 1.22.2 -- -- mate-desktop (1.28.2)
mesa (25.3.4) 25.0.3 24.1.6 23.1.5 22.1.3 21.1.5 19.3.3 18.2.1 17.1.5 mesa (25.3.4)
mysql (9.6.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mysql (9.6.0)
nautilus (49.4) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- nautilus (49.4)
NVIDIA (590.48.01) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- NVIDIA (590.48.01)
openjdk (25) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- openjdk (25)
openssh (10.2p1) 9.9p2 9.8p1 9.4p1 9.0p1 8.6p1 8.1p1 7.8p1 7.5p1 openssh (10.2p1)
openssl (3.6.1) 3.4.1 3.3.1 3.1.2 1.1.1q 1.1.1k 1.1.1d 1.1.1 1.1.0f openssl (3.6.1)
perl (5.42.0) 5.40.1 5.38.2 5.38.0 5.36.0 5.32.1 5.30.1 5.28.0 5.26.0 perl (5.42.0)
php (8.5.2) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- php (8.5.2)
plasma-desktop (6.5.5) 6.3.4 6.1.4 5.27.7.1 5.25.3 5.22.4 5.17.5 -- -- plasma-desktop (6.5.5)
postfix (3.10.7) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- postfix (3.10.7)
postgresql (18.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- postgresql (18.1)
Python (3.14.3) 3.13.2 3.12.4 3.11.3 3.10.5 3.9.4 3.8.1 3.7.0 3.6.2 Python (3.14.3)
qt (6.10.2) 6.9.0 6.7.2 5.15.10 5.15.5 5.15.2 5.14.1 5.11.2 2.0.0 qt (6.10.2)
samba (4.23.5) 4.22.0 4.20.4 4.18.5 4.16.2 4.14.6 4.10.10 -- -- samba (4.23.5)
systemd (259) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- systemd (259)
thunderbird (147.0.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- thunderbird (147.0.1)
vim (9.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 8.0 vim (9.1)
vlc (3.0.23) 3.0.21 3.0.21 -- -- -- -- -- -- vlc (3.0.23)
wayland (1.24.0) 1.23.1 1.23.0 1.22.0 1.21.0 1.19.0 1.17.0 1.16.0 1.13.0 wayland (1.24.0)
xfdesktop (4.20.1) 4.20.1 4.18.1 4.18.1 4.16.0 4.16.0 -- -- -- xfdesktop (4.20.1)
xorg-server (21.1.21) 21.1.16 21.1.13 21.1.8 21.1.4 1.20.12 1.20.7 1.20.1 1.19.3 xorg-server (21.1.21)

Reader Ratings
Reader supplied reviews for Artix Linux

Average rating
9.2
from 211 review(s)



What are your thoughts on Artix Linux?
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Past reviews - sort by:

Version: 20250407
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-02-03
Votes: 0


Artix + OpenRC + suckless software suite (dwm, st, dmenu + Steam works like a charm. No issues what so ever. Installing it without a livecd by using the base version ISO is simple. Grab your phone, check the Artix guide, and if in doubt you can always ask an LLM for some support. Mind you... it's an LLM and it sometimes hallucinates, but if you read attentively and push-back when in doubt it's honestly better than asking around.

The main appeal of such a setup is the simplicity. This allows anyone to install and maintain their system without depending on anyone else. Code base is small so if something breaks you are familiar enough that you will feel empowered to fix it on your own. THAT is the reason why you should switch out of wayland, systemd, kde, gnome, etc. At least, in my opinion.


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 20250407
Rating: 1
Date: 2026-01-31
Votes: 1


Artix looks interesting on paper, especially because it is one of the few Arch-based distributions that actually brings a real differentiator instead of just repackaged flavors with preconfigured desktops. Unfortunately, the experience falls apart very quickly. The graphical ISOs are extremely unreliable: both the stable and weekly images tend to break during installation, with Calamares throwing seemingly random errors that leave you stuck with no clear way forward. The base ISO is more reliable, but everything there is manual, which already raises the barrier (tired of dealing with this nowadays). Even after getting a minimal system installed, package management can be surprisingly frustrating. Some packages are reported as "not found" despite being listed on Artix's own package website. Digging deeper, it turns out that build failures sometimes still get synced into the repository database, resulting in empty or broken package entries. After running into issue after issue, the initial curiosity and excitement slowly turn into fatigue, and at some point it just stops feeling worth the effort. Maybe it's something to revisit later, but for now, the experience was simply draining.


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 20250407
Rating: 10
Date: 2025-12-28
Votes: 14


The freedom of choice for what init one wants is just awesome. I have tried them all. I currently use dinit. Dinit provides the quickest boot up and shutdown I have ever experienced. Dinit has an excellent recovery mechanism to get a working system without resorting to live image boot and chroot fix if stuff goes wrong like when one is creating a new startup script but didn't get it right causing init failure.
There is a great choice of desktops and window managers one can use. I currently am using openbox window manager which has provided a very fast, responsive user interface. Like Arch the configuration for the system is mostly command line editing. Artix also offers Xlibre which has worked very well for me including running Steam. Seems to me it is the open source way to have choice. Artix provides that in earnest. In short the Artix experience is very similar to one Arch offered before systemd hit.

Pros: Most choices of init available with four different ones to choose from: Openrc, Runit, S6, Dinit
Great selection of user desktops and window managers to choose from that are not hard coded to use systemd.
Complete compatible with AUR and Arch (minus packages with systemd dependencies).

Cons: If one is using one of the desktop version images with the graphic installer, one may have to create the partitions if something more than root, esp and swap is needed beforehand. Only use offline install when using the graphic installer. Once installed one can chroot into the install and update it from there then reboot once done.
A few packages that are hard coded to use systemd require workarounds to function some of which still need to be updated. This is an evolving situation that changes as time goes bye.

Summary: Artix with dinit is my daily driver that is stable, easy to configure and customize.


Was this review helpful? Yes No

See all 211 reader reviews of Artix Linux...



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