Encyclopedia
Manjaro Linux, or simply Manjaro /mənˈdʒɑːroʊ/, is an open source operating system for computers. It is a distribution of Linux based on the Arch Linux distribution. Manjaro Linux has a focus on user friendliness and accessibility and the system itself is designed to work fully ‘straight out of the box’ with its variety of pre-installed software. It features a rolling release update model and uses pacman as its package manager.
- user friendliness
- manjaro
- open source
1. History
Manjaro was first released on July 10 2011.[1] By mid 2013, Manjaro was in the beta stage, though key elements of the final system had all been implemented such as: a GUI installer (then an Antergos installer fork); a package manager (Pacman) with its choice of frontends; Pamac (GTK+) for Xfce desktop and Octopi (Qt) for its Openbox edition; MHWD (Manjaro HardWare Detection, for detection of free & proprietary video drivers); and Manjaro Settings Manager (for system wide settings, user management, and graphics driver installation and management).[2]
GNOME Shell support was dropped with the release of version 0.8.3. in 2012.[3] However, efforts within Arch Linux made it possible to restart the Cinnamon/GNOME edition as a community edition.[4] An official release offering the GNOME desktop environment was reinstated in March 2017.[5]
During the development of Manjaro 0.9.0 at the end of August 2015, the Manjaro team decided to switch to year and month designations for the Manjaro version scheme instead of numbers. This applies to both the 0.8.x series as well as the new 0.9.x series, renaming 0.8.13, released in June 2015, as 15.06 and so on.[6] Manjaro 15.09, codenamed Bellatrix and formerly known as 0.9.0, was released on 27 September 2015 with the new Calamares installer and updated packages.[6]
In September 2017, Manjaro Linux announced that support for i686 architecture would be dropped because "popularity of this architecture is decreasing".[7]
2. Features
Manjaro Linux comes with both a CLI and a graphical installer. The rolling release model means that the user does not need to reinstall the whole system to keep it all up-to-date inline with the latest release.[8] Package management is handled by pacman via command line (terminal), and frontend GUI package manager tools called Pamac (for its Xfce edition) & Octopi (for its KDE edition). It can be configured to be either a stable system (default) or bleeding edge in line with Arch.[9]
The repositories are managed with their own tool called BoxIt, which is designed like git.[10]
Manjaro includes its own GUI settings manager where options like language, drivers and kernel version can be simply configured.[11]
Certain commonly used Arch utilities such as the Arch Build System (ABS) are available but have alternate implementations in Manjaro.[12]
Manjaro Xfce is delivered with the Manjaro's own dark theme as well as the Xfce desktop.[13]
Manjaro KDE is delivered with the Manjaro's own dark KDE Theme as well as the current KDE Plasma, KDE Apps, and the KDE Framework.[14]
Manjaro GNOME became the third official version with the Gellivara release and offers the GNOME desktop along with a version of the Manjaro theme.[5]
Manjaro Architect is a CLI net installer which allows the user to choose their own kernel version, drivers and desktop environment during the install process. Both the official and the community edition's desktop environments are available for selection.[15]
While not official releases, Manjaro Community Editions are maintained by members of the Manjaro Team. They offer additional user interfaces over the official releases, including Budgie, Cinnamon, Deepin, i3, LXDE and MATE.[16]
3. Release History
The 0.8.x series releases were the last version of Manjaro to use a version number. The desktop environments offered, as well as the amount of programs bundled into each separate release have varied for different releases.
| Version | Codename | Release date | Kernel | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | 2011-07-10 | |||
| 0.8.0[17][18] | Askella | 2012-08-20 | 3.4.9 | |
| 0.8.1[19] | Askella | 2012-09-21 | 3.4.x | |
| 0.8.2[20] | Askella | 2012-11-10 | 3.4.x | |
| 0.8.3[21] | Askella | 2012-12-24 | 3.4.x | |
| 0.8.4[22] | Askella | 2013-02-25 | 3.7.x | |
| 0.8.5[23] | Askella | 2013-04-13 | 3.8.5 | |
| 0.8.6[24] | Askella | 2013-06-02 | 3.9.x | |
| 0.8.7[25] | Askella | 2013-08-26 | 3.4.59 LTS | |
| 0.8.8[26][27] | Askella | 2013-11-24 | 3.10.20 | |
| 0.8.9[28][29][30] | Askella | 2014-02-23 | 3.10.30 | |
| 0.8.10[31] | Askella | 2014-06-09 | 3.12.20 | |
| 0.8.11 | Askella | 2014-12-01 | ||
| 0.8.12 | Askella | 2015-02-06 | ||
| 0.8.13 | Askella | 2015-06-14 | ||
| 15.09[32] | Bellatrix | 2015-09-27 | ||
| 15.12[33] | Capella | 2015-12-22 | ||
| 16.06 | Daniella | 2016-06-06 | ||
| 16.06.1 | Daniella | 2016-06-11 | ||
| 16.08[34] | Ellada | 2016-08-31 | ||
| 16.10[35][36] | Fringilla | 2016-10-31 | ||
| 17.0[13][14][37] | Gellivara | 2017-03-07 | 4.9 LTS | First official version with GNOME[5] |
| 17.1[38][39]. | Hakoila | 2017-12-31 | 4.14 LTS | First made available pre-installed on the Manjaro Notebook from Station X, the Spitfire. |
| 18.0 | Illyria[40] | 2018-10-08 | 4.14 LTS | |
| {{{2}}} | ||||
GNOME, KDE Plasma 5 and Xfce are the currently available official desktop environments.[5][41] Community supported versions include: E17, MATE, LXDE, Cinnamon, KDE/Razor-qt (a Manjaro Turkey project), the tiling window manager i3, and Fluxbox. Other desktop enviroments are also available for install in the repos.[42][43]
4. Relation to Arch Linux
Manjaro Linux is based on Arch Linux and has its own collection of repositories. The distribution aims to be new user-friendly while maintaining the Arch base, most notably the Pacman package manager and compatibility with the Arch User Repositories. Manjaro uses three sets of repositories: The unstable repositories contain the most bleeding edge Arch packages, possibly one or two days delayed; the testing repositories contain packages from the unstable repositories synchronized every week, which provides an initial screening; and the stable repositories contain only packages that are deemed stable by the development team.[44]
5. Derivatives
Netrunner Rolling, in addition to Blue Systems Netrunner, which is Debian based, the first version of Netrunner Rolling 2014.04 based on Manjaro 0.8.9 KDE was released in 2014. The latest released version is Netrunner Rolling 2018.08.[45]
The Sonar GNU/Linux project[46] was aimed at providing a barrier-free Linux to people who required assistive technology for computer use, with supporting GNOME and MATE desktop. The first version was released in February 2015, the latest release was in 2016.[47] As of 2017, the Sonar project was discontinued.[48]
6. Reception
In January 2013, Jesse Smith of DistroWatch reviewed Manjaro Linux 0.8.3. He noted, "Manjaro does just about everything quickly. The system is light and the Xfce desktop is very responsive. The distribution seems designed with the idea it will stay out of the way as much as possible." Smith ran into problems with updates breaking the installation:
| “ | The one serious issue I ran into during my trial came in the wake of an update. After several days of smooth use I ran into a problem when, after an update, Manjaro Linux would no longer boot. Attempts at booting in fallback mode or with various kernel parameters failed to get the system to a stage where I could login. Sadly, this signaled an end to my trial and acted as a reminder of the risks in maintaining a rolling release distribution. | ” |
He concluded that the distribution is geared towards experienced Linux users as it requires a great deal of knowledge to install and run.[49]
In July 2014, Smith reviewed Manjaro Linux again, v0.8.10. In a reversal of his previous impression, he concluded:
| “ | "I have tried Manjaro Linux before and, in the past, I felt Manjaro was of good quality, but not particularly remarkable. My experiences from the past week have changed my perspective. The distribution is probably the most polished child of Arch Linux I have used to date. The distribution is not only easy to set up, but it has a friendly feel, complete with a nice graphical package manager, quality system installer and helpful welcome screen. Manjaro comes with lots of useful software and multimedia support. During my time with the distribution I ran into no serious problems, in fact virtually no problems at all, making it one of the more attractive desktop distributions I have run so far this year."[50] | ” |
A third review by Smith was about Manjaro 17.0.2 Xfce in July 2017. The conclusion was:[51]
| “ | Sometimes after I write a review people will e-mail me and ask, in so many words, "Never mind the overview, why would I use this distribution over another one?" In Manjaro's case this is an easy question to answer as the distribution does a lot of things well. Manjaro is a rolling release, cutting edge distribution so the project consistently provides the latest and greatest open source software. Apart from the programs in the distribution's repositories, people running Manjaro can also make use of AUR (the large collection of software submitted by Arch Linux users). This provides Manjaro users with a huge collection of packages, most of them consistently kept up to date with upstream sources.
I found Manjaro's Xfce edition to be very fast and unusually light on memory. The distribution worked smoothly and worked well with both my physical hardware and my virtual environment. I also enjoyed Manjaro's habit of telling me when new software (particularly new versions of the Linux kernel) was available. I fumbled a little with Manjaro's settings panel and finding some settings, but in the end I was pleased with the range of configuration I could achieve with the distribution. I especially like that Manjaro makes it easy to block notifications and keep windows from stealing focus. The distribution can be made to stay pleasantly out of the way. In short, I think Manjaro is the ideal distribution for people who like the simple, cutting edge philosophy of Arch Linux, but who would like to set up the operating system with a couple of clicks and have settings adjustable through a friendly point-n-click interface. Manjaro has most of the same capabilities of Arch, but with a friendly wrapper which makes installing and working with software packages a quick, click-and-done process. |
” |
The content is sourced from: https://handwiki.org/wiki/Software:Manjaro_Linux
References
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