🎯 What’s the Goal for Today?

Today, I’m starting something a bit different.

I’m diving into the customization of my own Linux system — not just theming or ricing, but crafting an operating system experience tailored completely to my workflow and needs.

But let’s get one thing straight:

There’s no such thing as a “Linux Operating System” in the traditional sense.
It’s all about how you build it.

So in this series, I’ll walk through:

Choosing the right distro
Going bare-metal (no DE)
Picking a tiling window manager
Configuring from the ground up

💡 Why Not Use a Prebuilt Distro?

Yes, I could go with something like Arch-based distros or even Ubuntu. In fact, I’ve tried:

Arch Linux: Loved the control but hated the time sink
Manjaro: A simpler Arch alternative with preinstalled GUI (used it for 5–6 months)
Ubuntu: Friendly but bloated, and the filesystem just feels messy

Despite that, I realized I wanted something stable, clean, and flexible.

So I settled on...

📦 Why Debian?

Debian stood out for a few clear reasons:

Rock-solid stability — it's battle-tested
Minimal install options — perfect for bare setups
Strong community & documentation
Compatible with most of my hardware, especially when used inside a virtual machine

Instead of using the full ISO (3.5GB), I opted for the NetInstall ISO — a smaller, faster way to build exactly what I want.

⚙️ No Desktop Environment – Just Bare Metal

Most people installing Debian will get the prompt to install a desktop environment (GNOME, KDE, XFCE, etc).
I skipped all of that.

This setup is bareboot.
No GUI. No bloat. Just a terminal, and the freedom to build from scratch.

I’ll be manually installing:

A window manager
A terminal emulator
A media player
A web browser

Because it’s 2025, and even purists need a browser.

🪟 Choosing My Window Manager: Qtile

I’ve dabbled in a few:

DWM – lightweight but too rigid
Wayland – cool tech, but complicated
Hyprland – still early and unstable for me

Ultimately, I chose Qtile, a Python-based tiling window manager that’s:

Fully scriptable in Python 🐍
Dynamic and visually pleasing
Extremely customizable

It's also something I haven't explored deeply before — which is exciting.

🚧 What’s Next?

Set up the virtual machine with bare Debian
Install and configure Qtile
Add essential tools: terminal, browser, and media tools
Tweak everything to match my workflow and aesthetic

🙋‍♂️ Want to Join Me?

If you’ve got ideas, tweaks, or better ways to do something — I’d love to hear from you.

Drop a comment or suggestion on this blog. I’ll feature interesting builds or tips in future posts.

Thanks for reading — and if you’re here, you’re already part of the journey.
Let’s build something cool.

🐧 Building My Own Linux Experience from Scratch – Why I Chose Debian + Qtile