BigLinux is a Brazilian Linux distribution that has gained a devoted following across Latin America and beyond thanks to its thoughtful design philosophy: take the solid foundation of Manjaro Linux, strip away unnecessary complexity, and deliver a desktop experience that is both strikingly beautiful and immediately usable. The project has been maintained since 2008 and continues to evolve with a clear commitment to user accessibility and hardware compatibility.
Installation & First Boot
BigLinux uses the Calamares installer, familiar to many Manjaro and other distribution users, making the setup process smooth and guided. Partitioning, timezone, locale, and user creation are all handled through a clean graphical wizard. Most users can go from boot media to a fully working desktop in under 15 minutes. The distro is particularly praised for its out-of-the-box hardware detection, especially for Wi-Fi cards, GPUs (including NVIDIA proprietary drivers offered at install), and Bluetooth peripherals.
Desktop Environment & Aesthetics
BigLinux ships with KDE Plasma as its primary desktop environment, but the team puts considerable effort into customising it beyond the Manjaro defaults. The result is a cohesive, polished interface with tasteful theming, custom icon sets, and a layout that feels professional without being intimidating. Global menus, a well-organised application launcher, and sensible keyboard shortcuts are configured out of the box. The desktop feels modern and responsive even on modest hardware.
Software & Multimedia
One of BigLinux's strongest selling points is that it ships with every multimedia codec pre-installed. Playing MP4, MKV, MP3, FLAC, or streaming content works immediately without any post-install configuration. The software centre (Pamac) provides access to the full Arch User Repository (AUR), giving users one of the largest software ecosystems available on any Linux distribution. Common productivity applications, a full office suite, and media tools are included from the start.
Gaming
BigLinux takes gaming seriously. Steam, Lutris, Wine, and MangoHud are readily available, and the team maintains optimised kernel options (including the Liquorix and Zen kernels via a custom tool) to help squeeze the best performance out of games. NVIDIA and AMD GPU driver management is simplified through a graphical tool, making the switch between kernels and drivers accessible even for newcomers. Proton and Wine compatibility layers make a huge portion of the Windows game library playable.
Rolling Release Model
Because BigLinux is built on Manjaro (which itself sits on top of Arch Linux), it follows a rolling release model. This means users receive continuous updates rather than periodic major version upgrades. Manjaro's staged update approach provides a buffer against bleeding-edge instability, making BigLinux more reliable than a pure Arch installation while still staying current with software. The Pamac update manager makes applying updates simple and visual.
Community & Support
The BigLinux community is primarily Portuguese-speaking, which is a natural strength for Brazilian and Portuguese users. The project maintains active forums, a Telegram group, and a YouTube channel with tutorials. English documentation is more limited, but because BigLinux is compatible with both Manjaro and Arch documentation, users can find answers to most questions in the broader Arch/Manjaro ecosystem. The developers are responsive and regularly engage with user feedback.
Who Should Use BigLinux?
BigLinux is an excellent choice for users who want the power of an Arch-based rolling release without the complexity of manual configuration. It particularly shines for multimedia enthusiasts, casual gamers, and everyday desktop users who want a system that simply works. Portuguese speakers will feel especially at home. It is also a compelling option for those migrating from Windows who want modern hardware support paired with a familiar, intuitive desktop environment.