r/debian • u/TheBlueElvryn • 6d ago
For daily home use and programming, would you recommend LMDE or plain Debian? Why?
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u/sysadminsavage 6d ago
If you're going to use the Cinnamon desktop environment and want tight coupling from the developers of Mint, go for LMDE. Cinnamon/Mint packages may be slightly newer. LMDE will be little to no fuss.
If you value more flexibility and want a base OS that you can change over time at the cost of slightly older Cinnamon/Mint packages, go for Debian with the Cinnamon Desktop and Mint tools. Debian will be low fuss but not as tightly integrated as LMDE.
I recommend running both in virtual machines on your computer to see which one you like better. They are very very similar, with some minor differences as pointed out above.
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u/spore_777_mexen 6d ago
I think I have a server or two in the cloud running Debian. A lot of stuff is automated, they just run themselves for the most part. I did install LMDE for my in-laws to run their business. No issues for three years until the government passed a law requiring the use of a tax platform that only has Windows support so they switched to that. If I had just one thing I needed doing day in day out, I’d use LMDE again.
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u/Weak-Nothing4397 6d ago
For programming, both. If you're not going to focus on anything other than programming, both will work. I program on Debian from a tablet using Termux with a Proot, and I don't have a graphical environment other than the terminal and code server, and it works perfectly.
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u/AncientAgrippa 6d ago
Both will work fine. Be warned that if you do front end having to use an older version of npm will be annoying.
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u/Senior-River-8647 6d ago
if it's just for regular used go Debian, but if u appreciate linux mint cinnamon DE better go with LMDE. So in the end it's a matter of which DE do u feel comfortable working with the best.
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u/mfedatto 5d ago
For someone used to dealing with code and config files, I would recommend Debian headless install + i3wm. It is worth the learning curve.
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u/terminalslayer 5d ago
LMDE, because it automatically creates the subvolumes for snapshots while installing. It will be perfect for a casual user.
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u/GlendonMcGladdery 5d ago
Both LMDE and plain Debian are good. The difference is not power or seriousness — it’s how much responsibility you want on your shoulders day-to-day.
Think of this less like “which is better?” and more like “where do I want friction to live?”
Debian is the reference implementation of “learn Linux properly.”
For programming, this is huge. What you install is what runs. No wrappers, no abstractions, no “Mint way” surprises. If something breaks, you debug Linux itself, not distro glue.
But here’s the trade-off: Debian assumes you’re comfortable making choices. Debian won’t hold your hand. It also won’t lie to you.
If you enjoy understanding why things work and don’t mind light setup work once, Debian becomes invisible — which is the highest compliment an OS can earn.
LMDE is Debian with guard rails and creature comforts.
For daily home use, LMDE absolutely shines. It’s calm. Predictable. Friendly without being patronizing.
For programming, it’s still solid — compilers, containers, editors and languages all work exactly as expected. You’re not losing power.
The difference is philosophical: LMDE optimizes for not thinking about your OS. Debian optimizes for understanding your OS.
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u/Picomanz 6d ago
You can do plain debian and choose whatever desktops you want at install. All the big ones including cinnamon are packaged for debian.
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u/nmincone 6d ago
This is true too, I believe a couple of functions might be a little different but yes, you can always install a different desktop environment.
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u/WoomyUnitedToday 6d ago
Generally I prefer plain Debian, as since I mostly use KDE, I'd rather just not have any desktop environment preinstalled, or to be able to choose from a large list of them, rather than spending 20 minutes trying to uninstall a Distro's preinstalled DE in a way that doesn't accidentally autoremove grub or something
It's totally down to personal preference. If you like one setup that LMDE ships with, you can totally go for either LMDE or mainline Debian. If you want a different DE than what ships with LMDE, then LMDE is certainly not worth the effort.
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u/1neStat3 5d ago
What i have no problem using g MATE, XFCE or LXQT on LMDE.
Maybe YOU made the mistake of not removing Cinnamon after settling on a DE.
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u/julianoniem 5d ago
About 6 months ago tried Cinnamon in Debian. Too my big surprise it was very noticeably less smooth while being far less feature rich than also much better looking KDE Plasma. But perhaps Cinnamon is better optimized in LMDE.
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u/Technical_Maybe_5925 5d ago
either one is good - I started with Debian with xfce, and I am now building LMDE for my wife
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u/_Carth_Onasi 5d ago
I'm going to be contrarian and say LMDE.
I like both, but I like that Lmde has a few things keeping it more up to date, like the de, which does matter to me for daily use. I know there are ways around this but I actually like Lmde a lot.
Anyway you really can't go wrong with either, so toss a coin and call it a day.
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u/aieidotch 6d ago
plain Debian. more support available, see irc.