Ultimate Lightweight Linux?

Do you have an old computer or want to get the most out of your hardware? Need more RAM space? Want to run cutting-edge software instantly?

Consider using Arch Linux with a tiling window manager (like I3) instead of a desktop environment. It’s the most lightweight setup with access to cutting-edge software I could find so far.

With that said, I really mean consider, don’t just install it because you read online.

TLDR:

• Arch is super lightweight, customizable and has cutting-edge software repos.
• It’s more lightweight and customizable with a tiling window manager, instead of a desktop environment. TWMs can also improve productivity.
• Both Arch and TWMs are not for everyone.
• No Linux knowledge or need high stability → Don’t use Arch.
• Don’t like shortcuts or want something out-of-the-box → Don’t use a TWM.
• Otherwise → Definitely try Arch + TWM. It’s amazing!
• You can use my post-installation script to setup everything and get started quickly with Arch and i3-wm. (Link and screenshots below.)

Let me save you some research time by answering common questions :)

What is Arch Linux?

Simple answer from their website: “A simple, lightweight distribution.”
So, it’s lightweight, doesn’t consume all your RAM, opens apps instantly etc.
On the other hand it’s pretty bare-bones and doesn’t have many built-in packages.
It can still be really powerful with the right customization for your specific needs installing software from the vast amount of available software repositories.

Why not use Arch?

1. If you are not familiar with the terminal, don’t use Arch. At least have some basic experience and be willing to learn more. You will definitely need it for your daily tasks like installing software, changing your OS configurations etc.
2. If you never want to care about your operating system. Arch has rolling releases. So you will continuously get updates, instead of waiting for the new release date. Sounds good right, but the downside is the software will not be as stable as fixed release versions. You may need to do occasional tweaks using the terminal. (see point 1:) If you have the basic familiarity, this is not a big problem though. The fix is mostly published in the latest news section on https://archlinux.org/.

Why use Arch?

1. If you want a lightweight system, use Arch. It only requires 512 MB RAM and 800 MB disk space.
2. If you want cutting-edge software, Arch has rolling releases and active user repositories offering cutting-edge versions of any software you need.
3. If you want to customize your OS, you can do it however you want. It’s the most flexible distro I’ve ever seen.
4. If you want to advance your Linux knowledge, you will not really have another option :) You can get help from online documentation, tutorials and forums thanks to amazing Arch community.

What is a tiling window manager?

First of all a window manager is the software managing windows enabling us to interact with the computer using a graphical user interface. It’s the main component of a desktop environment, which also includes a bunch of other software and might use lots of RAM. What we are used to from Windows or MacOS is a floating window manager concept. You can drag windows anywhere and resize them as you want, you usually use your mouse. A tiling window manager has another approach to managing windows. It divides the screen into windows (no unused screen space), organize your windows by multiple divided workspaces and you mostly use keyboard shortcuts.

Why not use a tiling window manager?

1. You want everything out of the box. A tiling window manager is a window manager, not a desktop environment. So you will need to install additional software yourself. (e.g., bluetooth, app launcher, office software) Also you may want to tweak the settings of the WM based on your preferences.
2. You don’t like shortcuts. Keyboard shortcuts is the main way to manage windows.
3. It has a learning curve. It takes some time to get used to the keyboard shortcuts, configuring your window manager etc.

Why use a tiling window manager?

1. Again, lightweight. You don’t get these packages shipped with a desktop environment, you don’t actually need.
2. Again, highly customizable. You can still install any additional software and kind of make your own desktop environment according to your preferences. You can also change your window manager configuration to look however you want.
3. Increased productivity. You can configure your TWM, so that everything is one shortcut away. Starting applications, switching / moving windows, switching workspaces… This way you don’t constantly switch between keyboard and mouse. You can also easily configure tasks to auto-start and automate workflows.
4. No unused screen space. Since we are tiling the screen, all of the available screen space is used automatically. If you are the type of person using multiple windows in one workspace, this might come handy, because you don’t constantly need to resize windows.

How to get started with Arch and TWMs?

You can install Arch with i3-wm (a beginner-friendly TWM) relatively easy using the archinstall script.
After the installation you can automatically setup a more user-friendly custom environment using the arch-i3-postinstall script, I use myself.
Postinstall script will setup your OS like this:

Lastly, I want to emphasize it’s a personal choice. The best way to find out the right setup is to try different alternatives. I personally find Arch + i3 best suited for me. However, if you want to go with something else, I would try these lightweight alternatives as well: Arch + LXQt or Xfce desktop environment, EndeavourOS + Xfce (kind of Arch simplified) or Bodhi (based on Ubuntu, easier to use, more stable, less available software).