Is there anything obviously wrong or bad about the idea to just use whatever distro you like on bare metal. Like rolling release to get the fastest updates or immutable to make it rock solid. And then just use distrobox or toolbx with Debian and maybe Arch to run software your base distro does not provide?
I run Fedora right now but want to switch to something else. I was thinking about Tumbleweed a lot but there is quite a big portion of software which does not ship on Tumbleweed. (Theoretically you could download the .rpm file which quite a few developers provide on and install it on Tumbleweed too? But I am not 100% sure about that so please correct me about that if I’m wrong.) So I thought about Nix but the drama around that distro made me loose interest. Obviously Arch is also an idea but I don’t like my base OS to be a project itself so I’d rather not use it for now.
And yes I thought about installing homebrew or nixpkg or pixi or whatever the name of the next new package manager is. But nearly all of them are only installable by executing a script and I don’t feel comfortable doing that. Would it be safer to run scripts like that in a distrobox/toolbx?
So yeah, my initial question was wether it is viable to just choose any distro and get along with distrobox to get your software from the AUR or through .deb packages. But the question developed if it would be wise to use distrobox to execute random internet scripts without altering your base OS/putting your data to risk.
Distrobox changed the way I use Linux. I cannot imagine going back.
First, you are exactly right that it allows you to separate app repo from the rest of what you live about a distro.
I use an Arch Distrobox with every machine. Using Chimera Linux that uses MUSL, Clang, libc++, and BSD userland? Install anything from the Arch repos or AUR in seconds.
But it is not just package repo size. Using an app that targets RHEL? Install it from a RHEL Distrobox.
Doing dev for a project whose users are Ubuntu people? Build it in an Ubuntu Distrobox.
Want to try something and do not want it to mess up your system? Do it in a Distrobox.
Need some software for a class that will just be cluttering up your system after? Make a Distrobox for that class.
I have a .NET Distrobox. I have a Java Distrobox. Just not having to update the IDE and frameworks all the time is a huge win.
Mature application that I use every day that I do not want to change or break on me? Install from a Debian Distrobox.
Rapidly developing app where I want the latest for features and fixes? Install from an Arch Distrobox.
Tools you like that only Mint offers? Install a Mint Distrobox.
Distrobox is the greatest.