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this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2025
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Linux
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Is there a dumbie sheet or cheat sheet . I just feel lost on linex.
Depends on what you feel lost about, if it is the basics in general then I would suggest you start of and read about the basics here https://labex.io/linuxjourney they write about the very basics in a very simple way. I think they did a good job, they start of with what Linux is, what distros are to commands from the most basics as how to navigate in the terminal to more advanced combinations. They also have vms where you can try out the commands if you haven't switched yet.
If it is a cheat sheet as in commands then i would say it is better to make your own of the commands you care about but you can start of by using other ppls list like this one https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/linux-unix/linux-commands-cheat-sheet/ but it can be overwhelming for you so use the linuxjouney first. Also it is very important to learn how to look up how to use the arguments in the terminal with man or -h to make it faster and less painful to use.
If you are lost about programs then there are a lot of good GitHub pages that links to useful programs and cli tools, you just need to search for awesome Linux list
Examples:
https://github.com/luong-komorebi/Awesome-Linux-Software You can use their web pages version too https://luong-komorebi.github.io/Awesome-Linux-Software/ https://githublists.com/lists/awesome-lists/awesome-bash
Here is one for distros https://github.com/kolioaris/awesome-linux-distros
Here is an example for customizing https://github.com/fosslife/awesome-ricing
When looking for programs is it very important that you know what distro you are on, what desktop environment (like kde, gnome, xfce) and what window composition you use (usually Wayland or x11, x11 is older and is more compatible).
So in short start of at https://labex.io/linuxjourney
Then look up distros here https://github.com/kolioaris/awesome-linux-distros
For new ppl do I think Ubuntu based is best because almost everything has a Ubuntu version, when you feel ready can you test out other distros. I haven't tried bazzite, I started of many years ago on debian (a few random ones like arch and mint) and then pop os for many years and now cachyos, I liked my journey but that doesn't mean it is correct for others.
I would suggest to have all of your data you care about on a separate disk or have automatic backup of it so you can break your os without care. And if you start customizing would I suggest setting up a GitHub repo and commit your changes everytime you like what you see so it is easy to go back if you regret something.
I hoped this helped on your journey, I didn't want to overwhelm you so I hope I kept it simple enough :D
Butting in to say: your post may be the help I needed to actively consider switching.
Dude, I’ve been using Linux for over 20 years and nowadays I barely need anything beyond what I do on Windows and Mac. Just remember that everything is a file lol
Thanks for that, I've saved your post for when I switch. My laptop runs windows 11 but I'm not enjoying the experience. Used linux a bit in the 90s but I've forgotten everything and will have to start from scratch. Yep, when I get some time I'm going to make the jump.
With most modern distros, I would say that most typical users shouldn't have to go to the command line any more than they had to in windows (which is to say very seldom).
Yet there is that lingering reputation that you have to be some sort of command line guru to even think about using Linux- and that simply isn't true. Hasn't been true for decades.
This is true, but I think it is good to know the basics because sometimes is it easier just like it can be easier in Mac and windows.
I think it is good to know about the tools you have so you can do the best decisions for your use case.
But like you said the terminal is not a must (for most) so if you feel uncomfortable about it then the terminal is not a reason to not switch to Linux.
Im setting up a raspberry pi for media then switching my pc to linux. So it should be interesting. Thank you for all the great starting points.
Glad I could be of help! Knowing the basics about the terminal (cli) will help you a lot with your raspberrypi when you wish to fix/change/do things on the fly. I often use ssh to connect to mine to do stuff from my phone haha
I do free infinite troubleshooting on matrix, I have over 15 years of experience
Is that a help service?
I guess? I don't know what you mean I just help people on matrix in dm's for free, my matrix is on my profile
That answered the question. I appreciate that. I'll save this. Thanks
For all their faults, LLMs are pretty damn good at basic trouble shooting of Linux. Ideally prepare context for them with installation details. Use CLI client, recommend opencode CLI, plan agent is good to inspect the commands it will plan to run and let's you inspect and think through what it is doing. Can also ask for clarifications along the way.
It's not perfect but very good.
Honestly, if you go that route I'd probably recommend using an LLM only for information and asking questions, but run commands yourself and actually read it's responses. If you don't understanding something, ask for elaboration. Otherwise, you risk too much automation, letting it set up configurations you don't have actual understanding of and making a spaghettified mess.
Just ask people here, people just love anyone who switches over to Linux and want to learn about it. Because we actually love this operating system. Its so good.
When my kid started using Linux, once he knew how to start programs and install things, we went through where the files are on the file system and how to get there in a terminal. I think thats a good starting point so you understand the foundation of the system.
And then go though a basic Linux command line tutorial to learn about the common tools for listing files, filtering results, renaming and deleting files etc.
You can do that stuff in a graphical file manager too but you dont really get that understanding of how things work until you do it in the command line.
The terminal commands is where I feel lost. I feel like Im trying to hack the main frame.lol just a bunch of typing and no clue what it means.
Any specific things you are getting stuck on?
Analysis paralysis mostly.
If it's on the distros, don't fret it too much. They all do everything, it's just an initial configuration.
I have been recommending Mint specifically, as it targets the average user with a 'it just works' mentality.
Can confirm. For anybody else reading: Mint was my first Linux distro away from Windows, and it's been great daily driver.
Third'd
Mint or any other ubuntu-derivative distro is 10000% the move. I've been running ubuntu as my os for a while now, and I've spent nearly the last decade on linux (makes me feel old saying that lol).
The other distros have a lot of strength, but at the end of the day i want to spend my time messing with things i want to mess with. I don't want random weird issues that I have to constantly debug, and everyone can agree that stability is debian's (and therefore ubuntu's) undisputed strength
If you are new I suggest bazzite, and get lutris to install windows apps outside of steam. It takes care of most of the stuff and to install software, on bazzite you use "sudo rpm-ostree install " and then reboot because bazzite uses an ostree system, or just get it in a flatpak if available. Between bazzite and knowing how to install packages outside of the flatpak repository, that should cover most of your bases for a few years and you can learn other stuff when you have the inclination. ChatGPT is really knowledgeable about Linux since it's open source. It's often much faster than digging through forums just be specific when you speak to it.
Also if you get your setup in a decent shape, you can shrink the partition and image it with dd with a single command, and then compress it to have a full system backup, which is basically your own image. Then you just write it back with a program like etcher later if you screw up your system and then just reexpand the partition to the full drive. If you get bazzite though you won't have much need to use the terminal or install anything outside flathub which will keep you from breaking the system. Also update the system occasionally, to get security fixes once a week or two is probably fine if you don't have open ports to run a server and aren't running random software.
Is this satire?
Seriously, if I was new to Linux, coming from Windows, asking for a cheat sheet or Linux for dummies manual, everything you wrote would sound like absolute gibberish to me.
If this was someone's response to me when asking for advice I'd immediately reinstall windows where at least (from the perspective of a typical end user) they speak words that make sense.
Also suggesting a gaming distribution to someone that gave no indication plays video games at all...
It's the easiest way to get into Linux if you need good GPU support and I assume most people play video games. Bazzite is what finally got me into Linux because it mostly just worked out of the box which is something most Linux distros I tried before that never did. I would always end up breaking them in a day or two trying to get the GPU driver installed or something. Bazzite is really good for beginning users. Not the greatest for mid tier when you are trying to gain a deeper understanding because it replies heavily on containers and file system overlays.
Also you have to remember that for people who aren't ultra Linux nerds. It's an incredible amount of work to get Linux to work. It's often days of painful configuration and research per machine. This, and a lack of gaming support is the main reason I think most people avoid Linux, which is why I suggest bazzite, as the shit just works distro.
You shouldn't ever use rpm-ostree to install stuff with, as it can cause issues with future system updates.
First port of call should be flatpaks in the bazaar.
Second, look for flatpaks or appimages online.
Third, use distrobox to install something via a different distro and export it as a shortcut to bazzite. I use arch in a distrobox, btw.
It seems to be okay for me, there is maybe a handful of things I install, and I don't want fedora so much as that's what bazzite is built on. If it breaks I'll just move on as I'm getting a bit more familiar with Linux. I will probably install Debian or mint or something with a much more simple file system when this one breaks.
Even though bazzite is fedora-based you're not really meant to interact with the fedora side of it all. At least that's the impression I've gotten from it.
I dont think it matters really for installing little programs. You probably shouldn't change your kernel or something. When you update the system it's just using rpm-ostree and doing a standard update through the repos, then it updates flatpaks. On the steamdeck since it's arch it will break pretty easily if you update the wrong thing, but bazzite is built in fedora.
The rpm-ostree systems is also good for anything that breaks because it's basically a snapshot system. Everytime you install something or update it creates a snapshot of your old working install which you can easily roll back to if anything breaks. You could use containers for stuff but that's not really necessary. It does probably make the system more stable in ways but then you have to deal with the headaches of using containers and having everything isolated from each other. For web services though containers are worth it as it greatly increases the security of the system.
I installed some stuff with epm-ostree early on in my experience in bazzite and at some point i could no longer update. I had to do a rebase to sort it. Thankfully, that's easy and pretty quick though.
Interesting, this is one of the reasons I'm trying to sort of get everything to Debian eventually. I think complexity in software is often bad. Especially for someone like me who is always tweaking and changing stuff and trying things.
In all of the bazzite documentation they always warn against it anyway. As long as you use the OS as intended it's super smooth and simple, you just have steam and flatpaks readily available.
If you want a good gaming distro but more control like using a proper native package manager instead of flatpaks, I'd recommend cachyos. If you don't want to delve into distrobox on bazzite to get use of a package manager anyway.
You could always have a Debian distrobox if you want to use its systems within bazzite.
Yeah well bazzite was sort of my first real long term use of Linux, it was good for that purpose. Let me mostly just use the machine without needing to be a Linux hacker. I will probably move on to a more simple system after it breaks. It works fine as it is, I can solve many little issues it might have with repos or keys or something. Flatpaks are cool and all that, but some of the software I use like my tethering app, binary decompilers and compilers, and little misc tools aren't available in flatpaks. Sometimes if something is simple enough I just copy it into the bin folder I can't imagine that would cause many issues other than not automatically updating.
Using containers is just too much of headache for me rn. I'm usually pretty limited in my time, I work overtime most weeks. I'm often spending hours just trying to get one or a few simple things done in my off time. Fooling with extra complexity quickly just gets out of control. I don't want to use containers because, it's not integrated into the system, the file system isn't unified, it's tons of extra stuff to learn to essentially gain little to no benefit, and it often breaks more documented ways of doing things, and I rely a lot on documentation and forum posts and chatGPT and stuff to do these things because I'm just not on that level of Linux user yet. Reinstalling an operating system is fairly trivial to me. It's maybe a day, where adding all the complexity multiplies my inefficiencies over many days.