u/ClassroomHaunting333

I’ve been using Arch for some time now because I value the DIY spirit and the ability to build a system that is exactly what I need. But lately, the community, especially on this sub feels like it’s going downhill fast.

I recently shared some of mine custom scripts, one of them being Bluetooth TUI script I wrote to replace some heavy, moody GUI apps.

Instead of a technical discussion about the logic integration, I was met with people calling it "AI slop" or dismissing it because it looked too polished.

When did we stop respecting the KISS principle? I thought the whole point of Arch was to ditch the bloat and build something better.

Instead, the community is gaining a reputation for being one of the most elitist and hated environments in Linux. It feels like if you don't do things the "1995 way" or install packages specifically mentioned on the Arch Wiki and your setup actually looks modern and efficient, you’re treated with suspicion or outright hostility.

This used to be a community of builders. Now it feels like a community of designers showing a big useless clock in terminals. Gatekeepers who are more interested in "calling out" others than actually improving their own setups. It’s a shame, because the Arch Wiki is still the gold standard for Linux documentation, but the people hanging around the sub are making the distro look bad.

I’ve replaced my heavy GUI apps with instant, stable fzf widgets that work better than anything I’ve found in the repos, yet the reaction is just pure cynicism.

Is anyone else tired of the ego-tripping here, or is it just me?

I like simple things on my machine, and I finally hit a wall with GUI bluetooth managers. Between the intermittent connection issues and the heavy design, it felt like my Bluetooth reliability depended on the English weather (unpredictable).

I put together a small fzf wrapper for bluetoothctl to handle everything natively. No middleman, no extra dependencies, just a clean TUI that pops up as a floating widget in Hyprland.

What it does:

Scans and filters out all the "ghost" devices and RSSI junk.

Provides a clean action menu (Connect/Disconnect/Trust/Remove) once a device is picked.

Automatically handles the "trust" handshake if a connection fails.

Closes the window once the task is done. It’s been far more stable than Overskride or the standard desktop applets. I am already using fzf for my WiFi, so this feels like a natural extension of the workflow.

Curious if anyone else has ditched the GUI managers for a similar native approach?

It sits in my dotfiles, so if you like it grab it.

GitHub: https://github.com/Rakosn1cek/dotfiles-rk1/tree/main/custom-scripts/bluetooth

Link to the original post with a short video clip: https://www.reddit.com/r/arch/comments/1sq9zik/i_got_tired_of_bluetooth_manager_moods_and_heavy/

I find myself piping scripts from the web into zsh more often than I’d like to admit. It feels like a massive security gamble I know, but I’m usually too lazy to set up a full Firejail profile or spin up a container just for a 10 second installation check.

Does anyone actually bother sandboxing their transient commands?

I’m looking for something that just works out of the box. No config files, no root needed, just a way to let a process see system binaries but keep it completely blind to my /home or my actual config files. Basically, look but don't touch mode for the shell.

Does something like this exist, or is everyone just living on the edge?

I like simple things on my machine, but seeing the 1980 design of nmtui was a bit too much for my eyes to handle. I finally hit a wall with it and decided to put together a small fzf wrapper for nmcli instead.

I wanted something that stays in the terminal, uses fzf for speed and fuzzy searching, doesn't take up the whole screen and actually handles SSIDs with spaces (looking at you, "Family Hub").

I wrote a zsh script that pipes nmcli into a floating fzf widget. It handles the scanning, filters out hidden/junk SSIDs, and sorts the connection logic. It is much easier on the eyes than the default.

Curious if anyone else has moved away from the standard NetworkManager TUI for something even more minimal?

I just wanted to share a small personal victory. Yesterday I pushed the final version of Mend, and tomorrow I’ll be pushing the v0.9.0 tag for XC.

It’s been a solid ride getting these to a stable, finished state. I spent a lot of time fine tuning the ZLE widgets, handling GPG encryption for the vaults, and making sure everything stayed distro-agnostic.

There were definitely moments where I felt like giving up, especially after getting slagged off a few times or being told my approach was unnecessary. But I didn't stop. I wanted tools that fit my workflow perfectly, and seeing them finally done and working is a massive weight off.

A sincere thank you to anyone who helped out, critiqued my logic, or contributed along the way. Your input, good and bad, pushed me to make these tools better.

It’s a great feeling to finally stop tinkering for a minute and just use the tools.