What happened to specialized Linux distros like Ubuntu Studio?
Posted by No-Screen7739@reddit | linux | View on Reddit | 69 comments
What happened to specialized distros like Ubuntu Studio?
Back in the day, we had dedicated multimedia/scientific distros.
Today it feels like everything moved to general-purpose distros + packages (Flatpak, Docker, etc).
Are these specialized distros obsolete now, or just niche? What replaced them in practice?
Dr_Hexagon@reddit
Ubuntu Studio still exists as does AV Linux and Neptune Linux.
We still have specialised gaming distros: Bazzite, Cachy, Nobara.
RetroPie and Batocera for emulation gaming.
Puppy Linux and Damn Small Linux for older hardware.
Kali Linux and Tails for security / pen testing.
In short your perception everything has moved to generic linux is wrong.
nikgnomic@reddit
AVLinux is still popular for musicians and audio producers that want to create content without having to learn a a lot about Linux generally.
There are also better tools to configure a standard system for audio production - rtcqs
But users still need to learn how to use the tools effectively
CaptainObvious110@reddit
interesting I haven't seen it in years
Amazing_Garbage8603@reddit
So now I'm curious. What specialized Linux distros DO serve a purpose as most people are saying to just install apps.
SirGlass@reddit
All those distros did was pre installed some programs.
It was Ubuntu but during the base install it would install a bunch of multi media stuff or science packages.
You can just install any distro and install those packages from the software repo in a few minutes.
tweb2@reddit
I understood there was also some optimisation maybe even at kernel level or otherwise for audio also in the case of audio work
Slight_Manufacturer6@reddit
Yes, it uses the real time kernel but you can also install that or compile that for yourself on any distro.
It’s just about having a preconfigured system so you don’t have to do it yourself.
tweb2@reddit
It's great that you can do that but I'm a musician that's fairly technical rather than linux guru, though I have had a linux system for many years (kxstudio based on Ubuntu v20). I'm not attempting that level of exercise, it rarely goes well for me and time for me is too limited when I wouldn't really know where to start I'm afraid.
Slight_Manufacturer6@reddit
No need to be a Linux Guru to install software. You just open the software center, find the software you want to install, and then click “install”.
tweb2@reddit
My comment was in relation to the real time kernel. I can install that from the software centre? I hadn't expected that to be the case I'll admit.
Slight_Manufacturer6@reddit
If you have Ubuntu Pro enabled, that’s only a single command away: sudo pro enable realtime-kernel
tweb2@reddit
Thanks.
The-ComradeCommissar@reddit
Ubuntu Studio still exists.
I never saw the point in such flavors. Flavors with different DEs make sense, but multimedia or "science"? Absolutely not, as it takes two commands to turn a plain flavor into a specialized one.
rg-atte@reddit
I'd say DEs make even less sense. Such a stupid reason to choose a distro.
derwhalfisch@reddit
Flavours with DEs don't really make sense, tho. Just have a session manager, or make the choice when you install.
Unicorn_Colombo@reddit
I guess you could take it as pre-configured Docker images.
Just much harder to make.
Might make sense in specialized situations where you need quick standup.
Dangerous-Report8517@reddit
To be fair, part of the reason it takes only a couple of commands to add everything is because of the meta packages those projects maintain, and while it wouldn’t be that much work to do it manually that equally means that it’s not much work for the maintainers to offer it prebuilt for convenience sake
Unusual-Layer-8965@reddit
I could see those spins aimed at someone who wants to try Linux, but doesn't know what programs are available. People who might post 'Can I do audio editing on Linux? What about 3D modeling?' Yes, it's a simple approach (marketing), but it increases Ubuntu's visibility. 'Can I do video editing on Mint?' 'I don't know about Mint. Ubuntu Studio has a program called ...'
sam-sung-sv@reddit
What about the Zorin for Education or Business edition?
The-ComradeCommissar@reddit
Zorin is a little bit different, as it provides a "Windows-like" experience to those who never heard about Linux and distros.
dkonigs@reddit
I used to jokingly call this the "Ubuntuization of Linux" and have always thought it was a bit silly.
Why would I ever want to install a completely different OS build just because I want to tinker around with a particular genre of applications... which I can just install on a general purpose OS.
I'm not sure this was ever something we really wanted, or used in any widespread sense. It was probably just an idea someone had, and dabbled around with for a bit.
Business_Reindeer910@reddit
I think it would have been better solved by downloading presets on top of a base distro. It would include a list of specific packages as well as optimized configs if relevant.
nikgnomic@reddit
Arch Linux has a pro-audio group to install audio packages from Arch repositories
AlternativeCapybara9@reddit
In the time before pipewire when you still needed to install Jack for any serious audio work there was a lot you could screw up and end up with no sound or with sound but unable to route it to where you want it. Some niche packages where also a pain, I had an RME Hammerfall soundcard and Ubuntu Studio had it working with a mixer for it installed out of the box. It had the necessary kernel patches, audio user was set up with the correct permissions and processes for audio had higher priority than on standard Ubuntu.
It really was a lot more work than just installing a few packages.
Also everything was included, you could call it bloat but having to look for and install some small little tool like a midi logger or virtual midi keyboard when you're waist deep in a project sucked.
TropicalAudio@reddit
Those times are honestly not really over yet. My recent experience with Pipewire has been a laggy, choppy mess that was completely unusable for music production. There was probably just a tiny mistake in my configuration somewhere, but like you said:
An out-of-the-box functional system is really valuable.
FattyDrake@reddit
Thing is with pro audio nothing really works "out of the box". Even on Windows you need to install ASIO. On Linux with Pipewire you need to adjust latency for pro audio and/or set the kernel realtime boot parameters.
The main issue here is that what's necessary for pro audio will cause issues on a general use system. Basically audio production will work great but other aspects can become a choppy mess.
tomtthrowaway23091@reddit
Seconded on this, pipewire is great for the most part but I've seen too many examples of popping audio or delayed to start audio, etc.
Out of the box experience with audio isn't great yet.
I_Arman@reddit
Exactly this. It felt like needing a while different car depending on if I'm buying groceries or taking my kids somewhere.
Outside of some OS-level tweaks (which are often easy to manually set), just go ahead and install the software you want.
nobody-5890@reddit
Those "specialized" distros aren't that special. You can take the general purpose distro and install a package on top to get all the tweaks the specialized version had. Or less elegantly, manually run a script to achieve the same result.
JockstrapCummies@reddit
Tell that to the recent influx of Linux gamers who swear by their gamer distro.
Dangerous-Report8517@reddit
Sure but that package or script is generally a meta package or bespoke script created by the variant maintainer specifically for the purpose of being able to layer it on top of the base distro easily
anotherFNnewguy@reddit
I'm actually running Ubuntu studio on my main desktop. I quite like it. I tried it because it came with quite a lot of stuff I would install anyway. Just being lazy.
I also have an old laptop with Kali. It can be pretty handy.
R-Voodoo@reddit
I run it as well. I hadn't touched Linux in over a decade and randomly thought I'd give it a go. Coincidentally an article about studio went by my feed so I gave it a try. Guess I just got used to it, I quite like it
Kitayama_8k@reddit
I think they may make a comeback, like bluefin DX for development, due to immutable distris
Demented_CEO@reddit
Not really needed, as most of what they did beyond prepackaging some apps was to have RT_PREEMPT and similar patches enabled in the kernel. Those are now upstream, so there's no benefit to maintaining another distro. Just install your favorite apps and you're good.
cbarrick@reddit
Oh wow. I completely missed that PREEMPT_RT was in mainline now. Since September 2024 apparently.
Mr_Lumbergh@reddit
I’ve been using RT kernels in Debian for a decade now. I’ve also completely avoided Ubuntu Studio and done my own thing for audio work in Debian; too much cruft in a pre-built distro and someone else’s idea of what a good workflow is rather than my own.
It’s easy to optimise a bare-bones install for audio work and only takes an afternoon.
tweb2@reddit
Can you explain it like I'm 5. What is PREEMPT_RT. I read a wiki excerpt but trying to understand in context of this thread
Fabiey@reddit
There were distros that patched the kernel to have support for PREEMPT_RT before it was merged into mainline kernel. And PREEMPT_RT enabled real-time support, which is needed when programs must to be executed at an exact time and for an exact time. Imaging you need to program a robotic arm, so you need to make sure that this arm moved distance x for exactly 200ms, otherwise you totally miss where that arm should be.
Demented_CEO@reddit
Yeah, it's been some time...! I remember when this was still new and exciting, when I compiled my own Linux kernels at 13 years old toying with Debian Sarge and later Etch... Oh, man...
cbarrick@reddit
Same! I thought it was so cool.
Except, as a 13 year old, I had no actual workload that required realtime preemption, and honestly didn't how to configure applications to even take advantage of it. It was just fun to patch the kernel!
TomKavees@reddit
So was ricing Gentoo and setting even more aggressive optimizations circa 2007 (but let's not mention 24 hours to compile open office on athlon 2400xp+, shall we?)
Demented_CEO@reddit
It was fun... and also frustrating, haha! In my case, I genuinely saw a difference in music apps, especially the latency and buffer size reported by JACK.
At the time, I used Rosegarden to make MIDI music. It was the best learning experience for me, having to get down to the kernel level to optimize.
DragonBuriedInGold@reddit
I’m in robotics and it was a blessing when this happened. No more having to spend ages manually patching the kernel.
casualops@reddit
The PREEMPT_RT patch was merged in 6.12 but that doesn’t mean the stock kernel is shipped with CONFIG_PREEMPT_RT=y. I believe Ubuntu 26 will have a real time kernel package freely available
Slight_Manufacturer6@reddit
Ubuntu Studio still exists and is available with the latest 25.10 download released last fall.
Fedora still has a lot of dedicated spins too. Not sure what you are talking about.
https://ubuntustudio.org/download/
HoustonBOFH@reddit
Yeah, but Ubuntu Satanic edition does not even have a website anymore... Sad...
tweb2@reddit
I plan on installing Ubuntu Studio, though I have heard I can "just install" what I need, it's just convenient. I can do some stuff in Linux but it can be time consuming and I just want to get in with what I turned it in for.
shawnfromnh1@reddit
https://ubuntustudio.org/
Dangerous-Report8517@reddit
It’s funny you mention containers because containerisation is kind of bringing these back - that’s how universal blue’s architecture works, they use Fedora Atomic as a base and use a standard pipeline to build out a library of specialised distros, mostly Bazzite for gaming and Aurora for development
4xi0m4@reddit
Preset systems would have been better, but distros resisted because it threatens the brand identity. Fedora Silverblue with rpm-ostree is closest to this, but never caught mainstream traction.
Dangerous-Report8517@reddit
You say that as if rpm-ostree is a dead project rather than one that’s seeing pretty solid growth and development, including specialist derivatives that use layered containers to build from it (most famously Bazzite is a downstream fork of Fedora Atomic)
Manic5PA@reddit
Ubuntu Studio and KXStudio are still around. Specialty distros make sense for machines with a dedicated purpose (eg a production PC in a recording studio) or that require very specific defaults in order to work properly like the notorious Tails.
Could also argue that distros like Alpine, Guix, Fedora Silverblue (etc) are specialized for production and/or research purposes.
Most people will just need a strong basis for general purpose computing and then configure things like realtime audio on top of that though.
Dangerous-Report8517@reddit
Alpine and Silverblue aren’t really the type of specialised distro OP is describing though, they’re referring to task specific variants of a base distro while Alpine, and to an extent Silverblue, are both base general purpose distros built with specific architectural decisions rather than being end task focused. Both are arguably the basis for specialised distros though, Alpine as a Docker image base (being a bit generous here but still) and Silverblue effectively being the base for ublue’s specialised distros like Bazzite
kudlitan@reddit
Anyone still remember Distro Astro?
Migamix@reddit
Did you open a browser window and type "Ubuntu studio" into it? In fact that distro STILL releases the tool that installs all of its chosen apps onto any other distro. I had studio tools on my mint install just a week ago. #SMH.
No-Screen7739@reddit (OP)
I mean an idea for creating a distro centered on specific topics, such as AI/ML, music, etc.
Natural_Night9957@reddit
Debian edu still exists
Dejhavi@reddit
They still exist:
They still exist too:
Yep,with a few exceptions,you can get the same result with any Linux distro by downloading the necessary packages
DT-Sodium@reddit
They probably disappeared because it was a dumb idea? Simply use a deployment tool to install what you need.
LaundryMan2008@reddit
I wondered where they went after seeing special systems for seismic systems for scientific research with a special SEGD tape format to record the seismological data or special graphical operating systems for powerful graphics workstations, they felt very unique and will be opting to those even if obsolete when I get the related systems or part of them to play with
udi503@reddit
Scientific Linux sadly stops in 2024
MelioraXI@reddit
Pretty sure studio still exists.
frankenmaus@reddit
Debian.
To Rule Them All.
Maoschanz@reddit
it had a point when downloading was slow, and multimedia apps needed complex configurations
nowadays you can install Blender in less than a minute
sean_hash@reddit
RT_PREEMPT going mainline in 6.12 was the real nail, the biggest technical reason to maintain a separate kernel just vanished.
jtwyrrpirate@reddit
> What happened to specialized distros like Ubuntu Studio?
It's like the bit on "It's Always Sunny" where they keep insisting Wade Boggs is dead: https://ubuntustudio.org/download/
But seriously, a Linux distro is a kernel + userland/package manager + DE/theme & default settings. The maintainers decide what combination of those things you get, and that's your starting point. Obviously that's an over-simplification, but it's a suitable 10k foot fiew for this topic.
Back in the day, I remember custom-compiling kernels with realtime support & building drivers for my audio hardware. Now, it's just like...install a distro you like, use the package manager to install the DAW and other things you want, oh the drivers are already in the kernel, ok...done.
You can have some of that work done for you with Ubuntu Studio, but it's not nearly as laborious as it once was to go from vanilla Ubuntu to something very close to "Ubuntu Studio"
Same thing with Scientific Linux. They may have seen the writing on the wall with the imminent demise of their base distro CentOS, but they also probably looked at the amount of overhead that it takes to maintain a distro & figured out an easier way.
I would also imagine that automation, containerization, and orchestration have further reduced the need for specialized distros. Install a safe vanilla distro, run your Ansible playbooks, boom done you're all riced out with your custom software & settings.
_j7b@reddit
It made a lot of sense back in the day but these days the same can be accomplished with package groups. It reduces the effort that goes into testing.
There are still specialised distros. Things like Bazzite. It's just harder supporting ten flavours of Ubuntu sharing a common package repo.
that_one_wierd_guy@reddit
it's docker mostly, and that is kind of the intention behind docker/containers in the first place.