Top 5 Linux Distributions Every Developer Should Consider in 2019

Ubuntu

Ubuntu LTS (e.g., 22.04) provides a stable kernel (5.15) and a mature apt package ecosystem. Snap packages enable sandboxed distribution of IDEs such as code (VS Code) and pycharm. The distribution includes Docker, LXD, and Kubernetes tools out‑of‑the‑box, making it easy to move from desktop development to Ubuntu Server without compatibility issues. Canonical’s long‑term support guarantees security updates for five years, which is valuable for production‑grade development environments.

openSUSE

openSUSE offers two parallel tracks:

Tumbleweed – a true rolling release that updates packages daily via the zypper dup command. It provides the latest versions of compilers (gcc 12), language runtimes, and container tools (Podman, Buildah).

Leap – a fixed‑release based on SUSE Linux Enterprise source code, updated every six months, suitable for teams that need predictable change windows.

Both tracks share the zypper package manager and YaST configuration tool. openSUSE also ships the Kubic variant, a minimal MicroOS image pre‑configured for Kubernetes workloads.

Fedora

Fedora follows a six‑month release cadence (e.g., Fedora 38) and uses the dnf package manager with modular repositories. It ships the most recent GNOME desktop (45) and includes the latest development stacks such as Python 3.11, Node.js 20, and Rust 1.70. As the upstream source for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Fedora simplifies migration to RHEL‑based production clusters. The default installation includes Docker‑compatible podman, buildah, and toolbox for container development.

Pop!_OS

Pop!_OS 22.04 is built on Ubuntu LTS but adds System76‑curated kernel patches and proprietary GPU drivers (NVIDIA, AMD) that improve compilation throughput for large codebases. It ships with the GNOME desktop plus a custom tiling extension, and provides a pre‑configured pop-shell workflow for rapid window management. Development tools (git, clang, gcc) are available via the standard Ubuntu repositories, and the OS supports Snap and Flatpak out‑of‑the‑box.

Manjaro

Manjaro is an Arch‑based rolling distribution that simplifies Arch’s manual installation with a graphical installer. It uses the pacman package manager and provides access to the Arch User Repository (AUR) via yay or paru, enabling installation of niche tools such as Unity Editor or yEd. Multiple official editions are offered (GNOME, KDE Plasma, XFCE, Cinnamon, etc.), each receiving continuous updates. Because it follows a rolling model, developers must be prepared for occasional ABI breaks when core libraries (e.g., glibc) are upgraded.

Desktop environment options across the listed distributions

GNOME

KDE Plasma

XFCE

OpenBox

Cinnamon

I3 (tiling)

Awesome (tiling)

Budgie

MATE

Deepin