So as the titles states, I recently switched to Manjaro Linux due to updates breaking my EndeavourOS system. I heard that the Manjaro Linux team vets/tests packages additionally after improting from the Arch Stable respository.
So, is Manjaro stable? I want a rolling-release distribution that has a good balance of stability and support for cutting edge software.
If you stay close to standard settings and have a compatible harware most users here would probably say - yes.
If you are a tinkerer and use Nvidia or any other exotic hardware, I would say - be prepared for manual adjustments from time to time.
Do you still recommend that I use Timeshift and Deja Dup to create snapshots and backups for the improbable case of an update breaking the system?
Yes, always a good idea.
Allways!
Also, choose the branch with care. If you are a beginner I would recommend stable branch, if you have lot’s of AUR packages then better choose testing branch. In unstable branch you are almost on the level as using Arch. Of course using the Manjaro repo, i.e. curated kernels and other Manjaro specific packages.
By the way, I heard that some people criticize Manjaro Linux for being a small team and making mistakes with website SSL certificates. How can I know that the Manjaro Team is trustworthy and is unlikely to stop making Manjaro? Antergos got discontinued due to lack of interest by developers. How do I know the Manjaro Team will give up on their commitment on the distribution?
I’ve been using Manjaro for (I think) about 8 years and in all that time I’ve yet to have a system that couldn’t boot OK after an update. There have been individual packages that broke but (apart from AUR packages where that’s part of the risk you take) this has generally been due to up-stream problems.
Though good backups (and being sure they worked and you know how to restore from them if something does go tits-up) are vital. Personally I keep a second bootable partition on a separate physical SSD so if I ever did have an un-bootable system, I could boot that quickly to do that repair. (That will also save me the day when my primary SSD, inevitably, dies). I always update that partition from my backups, so proving each one has worked.
Bear in mind that if you use anything from AUR, or install anything otherwise from source, there’s a good chance it will break when the libraries it was built against are updated. But all you need to do is rebuild and you’ll be up and running again.
Thank you, but how can I trust the Manjaro Linux team to be trustworthy and remain committed to developing the distribution?
The simple answer is: you can’t.
There is nothing anyone can say that will make you trust if you inherently have these kinds of doubts.
Manjaro is way older than EOS - but that may also mean that the creators are older - just think it through to the end … 
For the record: EOS never broke on me
I think this article is great. Check it out.
It seems that you have to give something up to get something called stability.
You’re not going to get years of stability without any maintenance time.
I guess we just have to accept this.
- a certain amount of prior experience with and knowledge of GNU/Linux;
- a willingness to learn that which one doesn’t know or understand;
- a willingness to keep the system up to date;
- a willingness to engage in manual intervention, such as in the event that an update brings along
.pacnewfiles, which must neither be ignored nor blindly copied over the existing configuration files;
My main manjaro is 7 years old.
n my environment, Endeavor OS and CachyOS have been coexisting recently.
In the past year, the day Endeavor OS broke, manjaro also broke. It was the same cause. At that time, each BBS had a “solution” for treatment.
I think it would be difficult for an average user to keep it running without doing anything at all.
If that is unacceptable, I think a distribution other than the archLinux family, that is, the YY.04 distribution (ubuntu), would be better.
However, I am essentially a lazy and unmotivated user.
I would like to know more about this. Thanks.
Me too. It’s also very fast and comfortable when using NVMe as a backup destination. It’s a bit costly. I’m using an old PCIe3.0 NVMe.
I’ll add that installs break because people don’t stay on top of updates. READ the announcements, maybe wait a day or so for others to fix problems. DO NOT put them off for years and expect it to go without some manual intervention.
Predictions are always difficult. Especially when they concern the future. (freely quoted from Mark Twain) 
…my first manjaro install
All very much automated.
I start with a script which takes a backup of various filesystems, using dump
Then to build a rescue partition, I clear that partition and use restore with the root dump to replicate it.
Then my script edits /etc/fstab on the rescue system to replace the UUID of the root partition.
Once that’s done, it chroots to the rescue partition and runs update-grub, to fix the grub menu for the changed partition.
Then it runs update-grub on my live partition so the GRUB menu includes the rescue partition. In order for that to work, it’s necessary to mount certain system partitions on the rescue filesystem:
mount -B /sys /media/rescue/sys
mount -B /dev /media/rescue/dev
mount -B /proc /media/rescue/proc```
Finally, I reboot and select the rescue system from GRUB to ensure it's all working.
Although my preference is for dump/restore, they're quite old tools and only good for ext[234] filesystems, so you may want to change how you do that.Is Manjaro likely to “break due to updates”?
The relative stability of Manjaro, or any so-called rolling release Linux distribution, is directly proportional to a User’s ability to perform regular required maintenance.
If a user is unwilling to put in the necessary effort to maintain an OS, it will likely not remain trouble-free. For the sake those who will not take any responsibility, I suggest a distribution employing a point release update cycle is likely more befitting their expectations.
Regards.
Welcome to the Manjaro community.
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Regards.
Many packages are inherited directly from Arch. Some packages receive extra scrutiny as they progress from Manjaro Unstable, to Manjaro Testing, and finally to Manjaro Stable branches.
Some packages receive extra scrutiny – extra testing for Manjaro-specific compatibility, for example. In some cases a package may be repackaged for Manjaro suitability.
There is no one-size-fits-all argument.
The OP’s comment was sound (at least, in principle), before you jumped in with your opinion.
Regards.
@dazzletune Questions like this have been asked ad nauseum on Reddit. There’s a lot of discussion to read there.
Keep in mind this is a support forum, not a social network.
Please see:
@G1y No Trolling 