I have used Arch for >13 years (btw) and use the terminal every single session. I also work with Linux servers daily, so I tried the other families with DEs (Debian/Ubuntu, RHEL/CentOS/AlmaLinux/Fedora).
I’m comfortable (and prefer) doing everything with CLI tools. For me, it’s a bit difficult to convert my Windows friends, as they all see me as some kind of hackerman.
What’s the landscape like nowadays, in terms of terminal requirements?
Bonus question: Which distribution is the most user-friendly while still updated packages? Does anything provide a similar experience to Arch’s amazing AUR?
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Can I? Yes. Will I? No.
Some things are just faster to do via terminal so I learned to use it over GUI for some scenarios.
I cannot vouch for every distro and every use case out there, but for me, yes you can daily drive without having anything to do with terminal. Some distros have worked a lot ensuring this.
I would recommend to start with Linux Mint.
I agree. In my opinion Mint is one of the few distros that actually manage to make everything doable without the terminal.
With Linux Mint you don’t need the terminal 99% of the time. The rest distros are close to 95% of the time. I always suggest Mint to new users.
Last time I set up Mint the only thing I needed the terminal for was to disable a setting on Java 8 that prevented it from launching on Xfce.
I didn’t need to use the terminal to do that, though. It just didn’t feel right editing a system config file with a GUI text editor.
Unless you install fresh, run into NO issues. And basically do nothing but websurf, and basic functions, not likely.
Keep in mind, even IF something could be done by GUI, if you ask for help, 95% of the replies are immediately going to tell you to open CLI…
Remember Linux isn’t an OS, it is a collection of 30+ different OSs that are mostly compatible.
basically do nothing but websurf, and basic functions
That’s 99% of what most people do.
The first two thirds of this comment apply to any OS, most of all: windows. I would rather use a terminal any day than edit the registry to fix a basic issue I’m having 🤮
We’re talking about normal people.
Normal people don’t fix computer issues. They also don’t install operating systems, so this is all a bit academic.
Exactly. Windows simps gonna simp.
Yes.
After god knows how many years now of being on Linux exclusively, I tend to look at the terminal (commands in general) as a convenience more than a necessity. Meaning that in a lot of cases, knowing a command and quickly typing it to start an update (for example) is just faster and easier than pulling up the GUI every time.
Just as much as you can use Windows without the command line/powershell.
The vast majority of tasks do not require it but some will and some tasks will be easier via the terminal if you take the time to read 2-3 pages of documentation.
Don’t be scared of the terminal
I would say that for 95% of usual tasks I don’t use terminal on Linux Mint Debian Faye 6 (LMDE), most of the software can be installed by double clicking a .deb file you download from the web. Compared to 10 years ago when I tried Linux for the first time (and reverted to Win back then) nowadys it is insanely more convenient to use.
If you are just doing word processing, browsing the web, and playing video games then absolutely. Yes.
There have been gui tools available to install packages, configure networking/wifi, and manipulate files. For a long time now. Especially with the integration of Flatpak and snaps into gui-based package managers (like pop shop) it has become quite simple for any “regular”, non-technical user to manage the basics and even the intermediates of any system (depending on the distro).
Where things will likely fall short is with troubleshooting. But to solve that we would need to build something like the windows troubleshooter. But with so applications owned by so many different groups it would be difficult/near impossible to write a troubleshooter to integrate them together.
Though I am also a bit of a hackerman so I probably also don’t realize how much I use the terminal for normal things.
Tbh I can’t remember the last time windows troubleshooter actually solved a single problem when trying to help people with their PCs. And there’s like a fraction of a percent of the amount of discussion and documentation online for Windows versus Linux. A lot of problems for the former are literally just unsolvable.
Even debian will let you download a Deb, double-click it in the file browser, and install it.
turns off SteamDeck sorry, what’s a “terminal”? Isn’t it at the airport?
Jokes aside… yes, obviously, it only depends what you actually need to do. I recommend though NOT to be afraid of the terminal. The whole point about using Linux is to do whatever one wants. If that means avoiding the terminal, sure, that’s fine, BUT I believe the goal still is to be able to do MORE and the terminal is itself a very powerful tool. It’s not the terminal itself as much as the composability of the CLI.
So… finding a distribution with all the GUI and TUI and avoiding the CLI until they actually want to use them is great. Avoiding it entirely because no new skill was acquired is a missed opportunity IMHO. I want more Linux users, yes, but I also want BETTER users of any OS. Skilling up users so that we can all do more, together.
As a Linux Mint user who has only used Linux Mint, Yes, I’ve hardly used the Terminal, I’ve really only used it to download & run specific Software which is really just optional most of the time.
I think Fedora is an excellent choice. It has up to date packages and its integration with KDE Plasma is pretty good.
I don’t know why you would want to use linux without the terminal? I mean, you can… but you’ll be limited if you want to do something special or fix a problem. It’s not like you have to know how to code or anything. Often you can copy the commands right into it… It’s really no problem.
People who have been using Windows their entire lives simply get intimidated
Can confirm, I helped a friend put Fedora on their old laptop to give it life again. Even though I wrote them instructions, once it came time for the terminal stuff, they video called me, lol. They love using that laptop now, though! They were in their early 20s for reference.
As someone in this category : wtf? I kept using the terminal all the time when I was still on windows. From 95’s dos to 11’s cmd.
Sure, but then you’re definitely not an average Windows user. I’m trying to get normal people off it
I know… but they do know how to copy and paste, and that’s what they need to be able to… Those I have told about it, in this way, are relieved and not afraid of it…
I really do think that’s their problem, and software shouldn’t cater to people who are afraid of checks notes typing. There can be real accessibility reasons why some users may require graphical tools due to various disabilities, but I don’t think it’s reasonable to feed into irrational fears of terminals when they can just copy paste in commands. It’s not programming, it’s very simple to understand the syntax of any command the average user might have to use (ie they’re not doing scripting or anything like that).
I think a lot of people are just scared because the terminal is so much more powerful than the gui. The gui won’t let you delete the system but the terminal is happy to let you. People shouldn’t be so scared but they are and I think the use of phones over PCs will exaggerate the problem.
The terminal lets you delete the system with the same checks as GUIs, i.e. you’d be prompted for a privilege escalation password… If you delete random user files in the terminal then you can do that in a graphical file browser too. Just don’t run random commands without knowing what they do.
over the years i’ve had trouble with the various app stores like Discover and Pop!_Shop which for me led to the use of the terminal. other than that there is the occasional permissions issue that may have a graphical solution but i’ve always used chown on the command line.
Nope. Every Linux distribution I’ve used has needed access to command line at some point. If anything goes awry people will always give you steps how to fix it from command line.
Now I’m not saying all this couldn’t be done graphically, but you very rarely find steps that way.
Not a chance. Someone else can easily, but I wouldn’t be able to resist.
