Arch Linux

Arch Linux is an extremely customisable and minimalist operating system known for its rolling release model and extensive software options provided by the community in the Arch User Repository (AUR). The comprehensive ArchWiki serves as a valuable resource and is renowned for its documentation and troubleshooting guides. The active, loyal community plays a large role in the development, maintenance, and support of Arch Linux.

A very customisable, light and minimal operating systems.
Offers a very wide range of software through the AUR.
Loyal, dedicated community.
Comprehensive wiki with a wide range of tutorials.

Read about this distro on Wikipedia

Price: Free | Non-profit

Recommended for universal use.
Available in 17 desktop variants: none, awesome, bspwm, budgie, cinnamon, cutefish, deepin, enlightenment, gnome, i3-wm, i3-gasp, kde-plasma, lxqt, mate, sway, xfce, and qtile.

System information

Kernel	linux
Core utilities	gnu
Desktops (17)	none, awesome, bspwm, budgie, cinnamon, cutefish, deepin, enlightenment, gnome, i3-wm, i3-gasp, kde-plasma, lxqt, mate, sway, xfce, and qtile.
Default shell	bash
Init system	systemd
Directly based on
Descendant of	arch

Packaging

System package manager	pacman
Supports PPAs	false
Other officially supported packaging systems (0)	none
Other compatible packaging systems (2)	flatpak, and snap.
Includes graphical "app store"	false

Ideology and licensing

Approved by the FSF (distros approved by the FSF must only offer free software)	false
Free by default (as freshly installed, not counting optional extras or binary blobs)	true
Only offers free software in default repositories	false
Offers proprietary drivers	true
Offers proprietary media codecs	true
For-profit business	false
Price	Free

Release model

Active	true
Rolling release (pushes new packages all the time, no fixed versions)	true
Since	2002
Country of origin	United States of America

Installation

Graphical installer	false
Text installer	true
Live mode (allows testing the OS without installing it)	true

System requirements

Supported CPU architectures (6)	x86-64, i686, arm64, armhf, powerpc, and risc-v.
Minimum RAM	512 MB
Minimum storage	2 GB
Internet required for installation	true
Recommended RAM	2048 MB
Recommended storage	20 GB
Internet connection recommended	true
Recommended screen resolution	No display recommended

Difficulty

Lower is easier. This data is intended for new users.

Installation
Daily usage
Maintenance
Upgrading
Troubleshooting
General difficulty