Manjaro Linux, or just Manjaro (pronounced like Kilimanjaro), is a Linux distribution, with Xfce as its default user interface. It is a primarily free software operating system for personal computers aimed at ease of use. It uses a rolling release model.^[1]

Relation to Arch Linux

Manjaro Linux is based on Arch Linux, and has its own set of repositories. The distribution aims to be new user friendly, while maintaining the powerful Arch base, most notably the Pacman package manager and compatibility with the Arch User Repositories. Manjaro itself uses 3 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 repos synced every week, which provides an initial screening; and the stable repositories contain only packages that are deemed stable by the development team.^[2]

History

As of mid 2013, Manjaro is in the beta stages, though key elements of the final system, such as a GUI installer (currently a Mint installer fork), a packager manager (Pacman), mhwd (Manjaro HardWare Detection), and Manjaro Settings Manager (for system wide settings and user management) have been implemented.^[3]

Release history

Manjaro Linux is currently still in the beta stages.

The current series of release versions are the 0.8.x series. Between 0.8.0 and 0.8.5.2 (the current release, as of late May 2013), the desktop environments offered, as well as the amount of programs bundled into each separate release have varied.

Version 0.8.5.2 comes with the following officially supported desktop environments: XFCE (primary DE), and OpenBox.^[4] Community supported versions include: E17, MATE, LXDE, Cinnamon/Gnome-shell, and KDE/Razor-qt (a Manjaro Turkey project). A NET-Edition is available for those that want to configure their own graphical environment. i3, and others are also available for install in the repos.^[5][6]

Manjaro 0.8.5 was to be the last edition to feature Cinnamon as a community release due to Cinnamon not being compatible with gtk 3.8, while Gnome Shell support was dropped with the release of version 0.8.3.,^[7] however efforts within Arch Linux made it possible to restart the Cinnamon/Gnome edition as a community edition.^[8]

Features

Manjaro Linux comes with out-of-the-box multimedia support, a robust hardware recognition package, and multiple kernel support. It comes with a CLI installer in 0.8.3. The rolling release model means that the user does not need to reinstall the system.^[9] Package management is handled by pacman, and a simple GUI program is available pending a more complex graphical interface in future versions. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions exist and it is binary compatible with Arch Linux. It can be configured to be either a stable system (default) or a bleeding edge system in line with Arch.^[10]

The repositories are managed with their own tool called BoxIt which is designed like git.^[11]

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." Smith concluded that the distribution is geared towards experienced Linux users as it requires a great deal of knowledge to install and run.^[12]

References