Raspberry Pi and Linux are the glove and fists of forward-thinking and flexible computing. Raspberry Pi is a mini-computer with deceptive power capable of running any of the Raspberry Pi OS around.
But some Raspberry Pi OS are better suited than others. So we picked up five Best Raspberry Pi OS Linux distros from 2020 that will make your Raspberry Pi more suited for your needs.
List of Best OS for Raspberry Pi 2020
| Sl No | OS Name | Link |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raspbian | Learn More |
| 2 | Recalbox | Learn More |
| 3 | Rune Audio | Learn More |
| 4 | Libreelec | Learn More |
| 5 | Open Media Vault | Learn More |
| 6 | Kali Linux | Learn More |
Best Linux Distros for Raspberry Pi 2020
Raspbian
It’s the Raspberry Pi foundation’s official supported operating system. So you’ll find plenty of documentation. It also has a lot of software installed so you can get started right away.
Raspbian, as the name implies is based on Debian but with a few modifications. It uses the pixel as its main desktop which is lightweight so runs faster on a Raspberry Pi. Most of the software is stored is for general computing education and programming.
Python, scratch, sonic PI, Java and more are included making it a great system for tinkerers.
Recalbox
There are multiple Linux distros aimed at turning the Raspberry Pi into a retro-gaming machine but the recalbox is one of the easiest to use. It supports a wide range of arcade machines and game consoles from the days of 8-bits and onwards.
Depending on the hardware you have you might not be able to run some games. That said there are still plenty that will work. One of the biggest advantages of Recalbox is how much additional hardware it supports. A wide range of game pads joysticks arcade sticks and more work with the OS.
You can find a list of everything supported on the Recall box website to help you get started.
Rune Audio
While Recall box aims to turn your Raspberry Pi into a tiny arcade Rune Audio turns it into a juke box. This distros focus on high resolution audio which makes it so much more than just a jukebox. Rune Audio can also play your entire digital music library.
Whether it’s from a USB Drive plugged into your Raspberry Pi or a NAS or NAS accessed over your network. Even better it’s a web-based interface. Means you can control it wirelessly throughout your home WiFi. This includes Windows and Linux computers as well as Android-powered mobile devices.
Common audio formats like FLAC, WAV and mp3 are supported. You also get a native DSD playback with DSD over PCM. Released of all the features, see the runeaudio website for a quick start.
Libreelec
If you’re looking for a Raspberry Pi to replace your Roku or Apple TV box this OS might just be what you’re looking for. The Libreelec website described the distro has just enough OS for Kodi and that’s exactly what it is.
If you’re not familiar, Kodi is a popular media center software. After a simple setup process you can stream everything from south park episodes to sports.
Libreelec is the light weight distribution meant to provide everything needed to run Kodi and nothing else. This is a plus for media center use unless you’re looking for distro to use for general computing.
Open Media Vault
So far most of the distros we’ve covered are aimed at making your Raspberry Pi fun to use. In the case of open media vault, it’s time for us to get to work. Aimed at use in small business or home office settings, open medie vault helps you put together your own Network Attached Storage or NAS based on Debian. This distribution features services like SSH, SFTP, SMB and more.
Simply attach your storage and connect your network and then use the web-based administration to set it up just how you want.
Kali Linux
So far, Kali Linux has been one of the most widely used penetration testing OS of all time. It is packed with Ultimate weapons which can be used for performing various kinds of web application penetration testing, network attack as well as WiFi hacking. it has a live and active community that keeps on adding new tools and roll out the updates periodically.
Recently Kali Linux 2020 was released which updated the world’s best penetration testing OS with some neat hardware support including some WiFi Adapters to play around with WiFi networks.
New to Robotics?
We have a beginners guide on “Getting Started with Robotics” which will give you a kick start in this field. Check out our free video tutorial below for a brief introduction.
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You forgot to mention, that Raspbian OS is only 32 bit and doesn’t support 8GB RAM Raspberry PI 4B.
Manjaro ARM is one of the best OS’s, but there is not H264 codec for VLC 🙁