Slowroll IS tumbleweed but with a slower patch update. Yes, if you dont like to have a major update every week, then slowroll is for you. Slowroll will have updates every week (possibly) but they are really small. basically you will save about 2 gigs (ish) of bandwidth a month. (I did write it down in February and March to verify ) Enjoy tumbleweed at a slower pace (?), I really like tumbleweed, slowroll really is the icing on the cake. If you dont like major updates (kernal and such), go with slowroll. Answer from Fearless_Card969 on reddit.com
Reddit
reddit.com › r/opensuse › i don't really understand the point of slowroll at all.
r/openSUSE on Reddit: I don't really understand the point of Slowroll at all.
December 23, 2023 -
Slowroll as a replacement for Leap doesn't make any sense to me. Leap is a fixed release distro and Slowroll is just a slower Tumbleweed. I've never understood the point of a delayed rolling release because you aren't getting the latest versions of software as they come out but you also aren't getting a stable system. It has the drawbacks of both Tumbleweed and Leap with (seemingly) none of the advantages of either. I know with the announcement of the ALP Leap is kind of dead, but I don't think Slowroll is an idea that even makes any logical sense.
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I always thought Leap releases were badly paced with too much time between them. With newer hardware Leap is also hard to propose to potential users looking for compatibility and some stability. Tumbleweed is not for everyone, so I find the idea of Slowroll perfect, all the latest bells and whistles without the long wait for a new annual release like many other distros.
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While I too doubt the benefits of Slowroll over Tumbleweed, if I compare it to Leap as you have I come to a very different conclusion Slowroll makes just as much point, if not more so, than Leap You don’t get a “stable” (for any definition of the word) system out of regular releases. They still have updates and complex backports often introduce complex problems. Everyone loves the story of regular releases but the realities remain problematic - this is known and implicitly accepted by many sysadmins; why else do people very rarely automate patching Leap? Slowroll will break less often and be fixed faster than Leap - the biggest problem I foresee though is that Slowroll will break as often as TW and be fixed slower than TW
openSUSE
news.opensuse.org › 2024 › 01 › 19 › clarifying-misunderstandings-of-slowroll
Clarifying Misunderstandings of Slowroll - openSUSE News
January 19, 2024 - Regarding Slowrolls relationship with openSUSE Leap, it’s important to note that Slowroll is not a replacement for Leap. Rather, it provides an alternative for users seeking more up-to-date software at a slower pace than Tumbleweed, but much faster than Leap.
Videos
Slowroll vs. My Patience: An openSUSE Deep Dive
04:11
👉 openSUSE Slowroll EXPLAINED: Experimental, Not Beta 👀 – ...
Why openSUSE Slowroll Linux is the Best Balanced Rolling Distro ...
01:46:40
openSUSE Slowroll first look - how to install and use - February ...
The State Of OpenSUSE Slowroll
openSUSE Slowroll Is Missing Something Important
Reddit
reddit.com › r › openSUSE_Slowroll
r/openSUSE_Slowroll
January 24, 2024 - I’m writing this to say goodbye to openSUSE. It has, by far, been the best Linux experience I’ve had since 2022. Reason: Work requirements — I’m required to use Windows and Microsoft Office. However, this isn’t a final goodbye. As soon as I can afford another computer, I’ll be back to SUSE. Next time, I’ll move away from Tumbleweed and switch to Slowroll — I really love its concept and philosophy.
openSUSE
en.opensuse.org › Portal:Slowroll
Portal:Slowroll - openSUSE Wiki
September 15, 2024 - With big updates once per month, and continuous bug fixes and security fixes as they come in, Slowroll finds a perfect balance for those who simply don’t want to be forced to choose!
Phoronix
phoronix.com › news › openSUSE-Slowroll
openSUSE Slowroll Released As A Slower Alternative To openSUSE Tumbleweed - Phoronix
September 11, 2023 - The new openSUSE Slowroll is a rolling-release-like distribution with updates "every one or two months" but with constant bug/security fixes.
Linuxiac
linuxiac.com › home › general › opensuse slowroll: the king is dead, long live the king!
openSUSE Slowroll: The King Is Dead, Long Live the King!
September 25, 2023 - However, openSUSE decided it was time to change course. Along these lines, users were recently polled about how they see the future Leap successor going. It is worth noting that we’re no longer discussing whether one will exist but who it will be. Two options were proposed: Linarite – a regular old-fashioned release desktop distribution, likely with a narrower package selection than is used to with Leap. Slowroll – a Tumbleweed’s derivative, attempting to provide something more stable than full-speed-rolling Tumbleweed.
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Slowroll IS tumbleweed but with a slower patch update. Yes, if you dont like to have a major update every week, then slowroll is for you. Slowroll will have updates every week (possibly) but they are really small. basically you will save about 2 gigs (ish) of bandwidth a month. (I did write it down in February and March to verify ) Enjoy tumbleweed at a slower pace (?), I really like tumbleweed, slowroll really is the icing on the cake. If you dont like major updates (kernal and such), go with slowroll.
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Yes. Feel free to join r/openSUSE_Slowroll and read about the recent issues with Nvidia drivers.
FOSS Force
fossforce.com › home › slowroll: opensuse’s new take on the rolling release model
Slowroll: openSUSE's New Take on the Rolling Release Model - FOSS Force
September 12, 2023 - This should make Slowroll a bit more stable than Tumbleweed — probably not by much, but for some production uses, any degree of added stability might be welcome. For the time being the distro is “experimental,” and while it’s obviously a work in progress at this point, this new distro definitely appears to be destined to be around for the long haul at openSUSE, which is in the process of changing the way it does things.
YouTube
youtube.com › watch
openSUSE Slowroll: The balance of Leap and Tumbleweed - You should know that NOW! - YouTube
With ALP and Slowroll on the horizon, openSUSE users may currently feel a little lost in the transition. That doesn't have to be the case! High time to bring...
Published October 6, 2023
openSUSE Forums
forums.opensuse.org › english › open chat
Expectations of SlowRoll Users: Diverging from the Tumbleweed Experience - Open Chat - openSUSE Forums
January 12, 2024 - As an early adopter of OpenSUSE SlowRoll, I wanted to share some insights from an end-user perspective. My goal is to make SlowRoll as adoption-friendly as possible, before it reaches a broader audience. Here are a few points I believe are worth discussing: Package Management with Zypper: I’ve noticed that using zypper dup installs a range of additional software by default, which could be perceived as bloatware.
openSUSE Forums
forums.opensuse.org › english › open chat
Tumbleweed, slowroll or Leap - Open Chat - openSUSE Forums
March 2, 2024 - Hi everyone. I have been an openSUSE user for 10 months now. I have always had TW installed but recently, after the release of the 6.7.x kernels I have definitively resorted to slowroll. As I’ve often mentioned, I have a…
openSUSE
news.opensuse.org › category › slowroll
Slowroll - openSUSE News
Slowroll, which has a more modest update cadence than Tumbleweed, is gaining acceptance as a balance between the rapid updates of Tumbleweed’s rolling releases and the trad...
ImagineLinux
imaginelinux.com › home › slowroll: a slower alternative to opensuse tumbleweed
Slowroll: A Slower Alternative to openSUSE Tumbleweed - ImagineLinux
October 5, 2023 - But SlowRoll also keeps in mind the users who are looking for something more up to date and without sacrificing stability. It only remains to be attentive to the project and start using it to get a better idea about it. Tell us, did you know about this project? Have you used openSUSE?
Reddit
reddit.com › r/opensuse › how stable is slowroll?
r/openSUSE on Reddit: How stable is Slowroll?
July 17, 2025 -
I'm running OpenSUSE Tumbleweed on my gaming PC, but I'm somewhat annoyed by the constant updates that may or may not break something. I'm also running Debian on my laptop, and as I'm getting older I like Debian's "set it and forget it" approach more. As the new version of Debian is just around the corner (finally with proper support for my hardware, and newer kernel versions will be backported later) I'm debating whether I should just install Debian 13, or switch to Slowroll. My experience with Slowroll hasn't been the best though, I've tried it twice and each time I ended up reinstalling Tumbleweed as I was having crashes. The thing is though that OpenSUSE will offer new mesa versions, Debian might or might not backport them to stable version.
So, are there any gamers on this sub that are on Slowroll? What's your experience been like?
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Debian and Tumbleweed have two different approaches in addition to the differences in the desktop experience. Debian once it freezes and releases the stable release does not update basic system components such as desktop, graphics, kernel,...but only ships security patches. This means that any bugs in the program or service itself will remain until the end of the release. Debian is more server oriented and its desktop experience tends to be less polished than openSUSE, a more desktop oriented system. If you are hesitating between Debian or Slowroll, I would consider using Leap. Slowroll is a system similar to Manjaro, it holds packages for a few days in case of bugs.
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Q: Why choose a rolling release if you don't want updates?
The Register
theregister.com › 2023 › 10 › 02 › slowroll_opensuse_tumbleweed
openSUSE offers Slowroll distro as Tumbleweed alternative
October 3, 2023 - Like the existing openSUSE Tumbleweed, Slowroll is a rolling-release distro, albeit with a much slower release cycle, which is intended to make it more appealing to users who currently run Leap, openSUSE's stable-release distribution.
openSUSE Forums
forums.opensuse.org › english › applications
Is slowroll to be recommended these days? - Applications - openSUSE Forums
February 21, 2026 - See, i like rolling release patterns for being up to date, but at the same time i like stable patterns for reliability (but that depends on QA). So slowroll seems like a good inbetween, however does slowroll have good QA…
Pavelp
pavelp.cz › posts › eng-fedora-to-opensuse
ENG | Moving from Fedora 44 to openSUSE Slowroll | Pavel's devlog
May 7, 2026 - Slowroll promises to be monthly somewhat tested snapshots of Tumbleweed so if I understand it, it’s week to over a month behind, plus critical updates. So I don’t see any drawbacks of openSUSE (maybe due to lack of long term experience), although I expect differences are minor.
openSUSE
en.opensuse.org › openSUSE:Slowroll
Archive:Old Slowroll Page - openSUSE Wiki
July 2, 2024 - Packman might work, but might also break occasionally. There is a special packman repository for Slowroll:
Reddit
reddit.com › r/opensuse › clarifying misunderstandings of slowroll
r/openSUSE on Reddit: Clarifying Misunderstandings of Slowroll
January 19, 2024 - The problem with Opensuse is they that they are changing directions quite often, and that doesn't help that project to be more popular. They introduce quite a lot of spins, at first leap is going to die and will be replaced form Slowroll.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/opensuse › slowroll set for a quarter of updates
r/openSUSE on Reddit: Slowroll Set for a Quarter of Updates
July 4, 2024 - Slowroll is still experimental and procedures being refined. At least we did not get the Mesa breakage of AMD-graphics. So 50% improvement compared to Tumbleweed :-) https://reddit.com/r/openSUSE_Slowroll/comments/1dn10xu/latest_kernelfirmwareiwlwifi_breaks_wifi/la3c55e/