Manjaro Is Arch Linux for Newbies

You’ve may have heard that Arch Linux isn’t exactly the easiest Linux distribution to install or use.

What if I told you that there’s a distribution based on Arch Linux that makes it easy enough for just about anyone to use?

Well, that’s a reality, and the distribution in question is Manjaro.

Manjaro came into being in 2011 and didn’t hit the beta stage until two years later. The big selling point of this take on Arch Linux is its ease of installation. Where Arch Linux is installed via the command line, Manjaro takes a more modern approach with a user-friendly GUI.

That’s right. You too can have Arch Linux without the challenge of the typical Arch Linux installation. Sure, the archinstall tool has come a long way, but most users who are new to Linux would fold inside out if they had to install the OS from the command line.

During the installation, you can even select which office suite you want to use (Figure 1). Granted, your choice is limited to LibreOffice or FreeOffice, but it still means one less application you have to install on the desktop.

Figure 1: If you wind up wanting to install a different office suite, you can do that after the OS is installed.

But Manjaro’s appeal doesn’t end with the OS installation. Oh, no. Unlike Arch Linux, where you install applications from the pacman command line tool, Manjaro includes the Pamac GUI application.

The fun doesn’t end there. You’ll also find it easy to add Flatpak and AUR support to the Pamac GUI (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Using Pamac is as simple as any other GUI app store.

Manjaro is an important Linux distribution because it proves that even the more challenging aspects of the open source operating system can be greatly simplified. If you were to ask me which two Linux distributions hold the most importance, I might be so inclined to say Manjaro and Ubuntu, both of which have made Linux more accessible to more people.

Standout Features

Beyond the simplicity of installation, Manjaro offers several standout features, including:

• It’s a rolling release, which means updates are continuous, without having to do full-system upgrades.
• You get your choice of desktop environments, such as Xfce, KDE Plasma and GNOME. There are also community editions for other DEs, such as i3 and Budgie.
• You get access to Manjaro’s own repositories as well as the extensive Arch User Repository (AUR).
• Excellent automatic detection and configuration of hardware (including graphics drivers).
• Easy installation and switching between multiple Linux kernel versions, using a handy GUI tool.
• A graphical package manager for easy software installation that also supports both the Flatpak and Snap universal package managers.
• A well-designed GUI tool for configuring drivers, kernels, language and system settings.
• A command line installer for advanced users to build custom systems.
• Lightweight options for older hardware and well-optimized kernels for newer systems.
• Packages are well tested before they reach users, balancing cutting-edge software with stability.

Rolling Releases

Many would argue that rolling release distributions are, by nature, unstable. The reason this is often the case is that rolling releases often get a bad rap because they are in a constant state of updating. Rolling release distributions receive new packages before most distributions, which is why detractors say they are unstable.

However, even though rolling release distributions do receive updates before other distros, those updates are still tested. It’s not like the developers grab updates and immediately throw them into the repositories.

Here’s how it works:

• Unstable branch: Packages from Arch Linux arrive at this branch with little to no testing, acting as a playground for developers.
• Testing branch: Developers move updates to this branch, where the wider Manjaro community actively tests them and reports bugs.
• Stable branch: Only after packages pass tests in the Testing branch are they bundled and released to Stable users, often in larger batches every few weeks.

You read that right: Testing tends to happen within the Manjaro community. I’ve always found this a good practice, because community users might find issues that developers miss. It’s also important to understand that critical security fixes for apps like browsers can bypass some of the above processes, so the patches reach users more quickly.

In all of my testing and using of Manjaro, I’ve never once found it to be unstable. I’ve actually experienced more stability with Manjaro than I have with several other distributions that are known to be reliable.

Performance

I don’t typically run benchmarks to gauge performance. Instead, I much prefer real-world tests for usability. What I usually do is install the Ollama local AI and run queries to see how quickly it responds.

First, I ask the simple question: What is Linux? After that, I have it write a Python GUI application that accepts user input and saves it to a file. I’ve done this with a lot of operating systems (Linux, macOS and Windows) and found Manjaro to be on par with most. No, it wasn’t the fastest, but it also wasn’t the slowest. I’d place it in the upper midrange category. Do keep in mind, however, that I ran Manjaro as a virtual machine (VM) with only 5GB of RAM and 2 CPU cores. Give the OS more beef, and it will obviously perform much better.

That being said, I did find Manjaro to perform everyday tasks very well. Apps installed and opened quickly, moving windows show no sign of artifact or screen tearing and the OS booted quickly.

Would I use Manjaro as a gaming OS? No. A development environment? Why not. A platform for traditional productivity? Of course.

Is Manjaro the OS for You?

This is a fairly simple question to answer. If you’ve wanted to try Arch Linux, but were put off by the command line installation, then Manjaro should be at the top of your list of Linux distributions to try.

Manjaro not only makes Arch easy, but it is simply a solid operating system.

If you’re interested in giving Manjaro a try, download an ISO and install it as either a VM or on a spare computer.

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