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Void is a general purpose operating system, based on the monolithic Linux® kernel. Its package system allows you to quickly install, update and remove software; software is provided in binary packages or can be built directly from sources with the help of the XBPS source packages collection.
SpecsUpdate
Pros
Pro BSD-like improvements with Linux
Full support for LibreSSL, an OpenSSL fork focused on maximizing security. The xbps-src package builder works in a similar manner to BSD's ports collection.
Pro xbps (X Binary Package System)
A brand new package manager that is fast, full-featured, and tailored specifically for Void Linux.
Pro Rolling release
Instead of getting major releases every 6 or so months, updates are available whenever new software is released, making updates fast (just run the update command every day, takes about ~10 seconds).
Pro Runit init system
An init system with the "do one thing and do it right" mentality. Void Linux does not support systemd.
Pro Easy to use installer
Unlike it's closest competitor, Arch, Void includes a very user-friendly and simple installer in the ISO.
Pro Runit is fast and easy to configure
Runit init system is incredibly fast to boot and very simple to use.
Pro Musl image available
Musl libc is lighter and faster than bloated glibc. Musl has been argued to be more secure overall than glibc also.
Pro Different DE's live ISO's are available
Arch Linux doesn't make ISO's with different DE's. One need to manually install it through CLI version. But Void which is competitor of Arch, provides a wide range of DE's ISOs.
Pro Xbps-src
Xbps-src is a source packages collection which is pretty similar to FreeBSD's ports and may replace AUR for Void users.
Pro Updated version of IceCat included in the default repositories
GNU IceCat is available and updated.
Pro Raspberry Pi Support
Void Linux, with runit and a low memory requirement, runs beautifully on any Raspberry Pi (they ship official builds for the Pi 4, 3, 2, and 1). Void Linux runs especially well on the Pi 400.
Pro Excellent on old hardware
Base system requires at least 96 MB of RAM, and doesn't limit you like with Puppy Linux.
Pro ARM builds
Official armv6, v7, and aarch64 (armv8) builds are available from the download page.
Pro Runit init system is very fast
As compared to systemd on most distros, like Arch and Ubuntu, runit is much more simple, and can half boot up/shutdown time.
Cons
Con Not suitable for those new to Linux
You get an installer and several other features, yes, but you still need knowledge of the command line on Linux for system maintenence such as updates, and the like. If you still want to try it, the xfce4 build is the way to go.
Con Nvidia CUDA cumbersome to setup
If your using a Nvidia card with programs that require CUDA for fast rendering (Blender), you can expect some trouble getting it to work as it's not included with the Nvidiadriver of the nonfree repo.
Con Poor video performance with AMD gfx cards
While you can easily get the latest VLC thanks to Void being a rolling distro, video performance is abysmal, at least for those with AMD cards.
Recommendations
Comments
Flagged Pros + Cons
Pro XBPS (X Binary Package System)
A brand new package manager that is fast, full-featured, and tailored specifically for Void Linux.
Out of Date Pros + Cons
Pro Uses LibreSSL
LibreSSL is a fork of OpenSSL by OpenBSD developers that aims to be more secure.
Con Not popular
Void Linux is not an extremely popular Linux distro. So, if you run into a problem then it's likely you won't find any fix except from the maintainers. However, it's definitely rising in popularity.
Con Manual unclear about base configuration
Manual does not explain how to fix GRUB and gives no partition hints to the available options.
Con Slightly slower than pacman
The default package manager on Void Linux, xbps, operates slightly slower than Arch Linux's package manager, pacman.
Con Used to have a small amount of packages
A while ago, void had a small package repository, but the situation has improved drastically. You can simply submit a new package using GitHub and most of the times, it gets accepted. Having said that, many packages I use aren't available in the ArchLinux repositories which are often praised for their size, but are in the VoidLinux repositories. The repos still have a smaller size, but definitely have a higher quality.
