this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2026
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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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Well there’s your problem. But really, it’s because long-time distro hoppers will finally find the one that meets all their needs and assume it meets everyone else’s needs as well.
About the only thing other than Mint that I recommend to beginners is Endeavor or Bazzite if they need gaming. And even then, is lean toward Endeavor first just because it’s less modified and they’ll get more consistent results during troubleshooting.
But yeah, new users really don’t need anything other than the bare minimum otherwise they’re likely to get turned off pretty quickly by documentation not lining up to their distros edits.
I'd not recommend Endeavour. It's just a preconfigured Arch, which is great if you want Arch but not great for users not used to dealing with Arch.
Which is why I only recommend it when people need the bleeding edge for gaming stuff. It’s my recommendation if they need more than Mint and Bazzite doesn’t work well with their hardware. And even then, I try to avoid Bazzite since it does a lot of non-standard stuff with the setup.
Arch is good if you already know what you want, but if someone needs the bleeding edge and don’t want to configure Arch, it’s the most straightforward route.
Arch has so much good documentation that any beginner with issues can easily troubleshoot their way out of nearly any problem.
I was a complete Linux noob when I settled on EndeavourOS as my distro, and its been my daily driver for 5 years now.
If the person you're recommending a distro to is illiterate, then yeah, Arch would be a terrible suggestion. EndeavourOS would still be a good suggestion though since it's dead simple to set up and has good defaults.
Endeavour was the one I actually installed to my drive some years ago after spinning up a handful of “classic” recommended distros in a VM (Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, etc).
It was recommended to me by a close family member who had used Linux for a while, but we’re both in IT/tech.
My SO, on the other hand, while quite intelligent and capable of troubleshooting absolutely detests having to touch the CLI or open their PC tower.
It heavily depends on the end user and what they want to do, not just what they’re capable of. Frustration isn’t limited to incapability.
Imo anyone who wants to learn doesn't stay a beginner for long. Those people will find Arch/Endeavour naturally without prompting.
Real beginners are those who don't want to learn anything beyond the basics and those are the people I mean when I talk about beginners.