Poll HN: What operating system do you primarily develop on?

What about cloud based IDEs?

Depends: for hobby purposes, or what my daytime job forces on me?

Finally bailed Windows this year after a lifetime of MSVC, couldn't be happier with the decision. I'm actually kind of grateful for Windows 11 being so impossibly shit and forcing so many people to finally make the switch! Now I use Arch, btw.

To save a click, in 2022, the distribution was: Linux - 46.25%, MacOS - 32.21%, Windows - 21.54%

nixos or arch for me.

Not sure this covers popular mixes, eg WSL or considers AI clients.

My IDE is Windows (VSCode or Cursor); but I'm also using ChatGPT in the browser and various Linux command line tools (connecting through Windows Terminal to WSL Redhat).

There should probably be a fully hybrid option in the poll.

Linux personally, and professionally last time I wasn't self-employed.

Mac is too expensive, Windows 11 is cruel and unusual.

Windows options should be Windows (no WSL) or Windows (+WSL)

Where's OpenBSD or Plan9?

I never found anything better than the latest macOS machines. I ran ubuntu for years and then switched back to mac just because I don't have the time to tinker and fiddle with stuff in Linux that just randomly makes the computer run hot, or a monitor to not work, or fonts looking awful.

MacOS is just the sweet spot of great desktop + great unix-style devbox.

Completely unrelated, but how does one create a poll on HN?

First time seeing a poll here, didn't know that was even possible.

MacOS

Omarchy has been a blast to use

FreeBSD

MacOS for work - Linux for personal

LXC containers on top of Debian in a specific work station just for this. I have one generic container to start everything, and then create specific ones if projects get bigger.

This is by far the best option to isolate and easily create development environments that I found.

I connect to the containers from VS Code running on Mac OS.

I use Arch, btw

Technically I use all 3.

I mostly work on my desktop which is Windows + WSL 2 with Ubuntu and use a MBP on the move.

macos, unfortunately. getting more hostile each year.

My current project uses a cross-platform SDK. My most comfortable development platform is macOS, and that's what I use 90% of the time on this project. Occasionally I work on embedded android systems. For that I use Linux. If I'm on a consulting job and the client has everyone using Windows, I go with the flow, but my impression is that Windows has become end-user hostile, and it's getting worse. Maybe that's just because my permissions and network access are never set right on the first try when a client needs a machine set up for an outside consultant. Subjectively, Windows is the itchy sweater of development platforms.

I think it's possible we see some people now use other OSes, there should at least be an "Other" option. The *BSD's, Nix and some more bespoke options.

Use Linux 99% of the time. Still have dual boot for Windows only for Paint.NET.

Linux but its WSL via Windows.