What David Heinemeier Hansson thinks about Linux
Creator of Ruby on Rails, CTO of 37signals, and creator of Omarchy.
David Heinemeier Hansson did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
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20 dated positions, 2024 to 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what David Heinemeier Hansson has said — not written or endorsed by them.
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Their wordsWe should thank our lucky stars that Linus isn't part of the anti-ai nonsense that's ravaging the old Linux world.
- 7 weeks earlier
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Their wordsIt is an infuriatingly locked-down computer. Now, to Apple's credit, it's a pretty good computer for being locked down, but I don't want a locked-down computer. I wanna own my computer. Better yet, I wanna mutate my computer, and this is where the agentic age needs a new operating system. When you can vibe code whatever app comes to your mind, you should be able to vibe code your operating system.
↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com 21st of 41 in this recording
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Their wordsLinux conquered everything else. All the AI infrastructure that everyone runs off, it's all running on Linux. All the systems, all the servers, everything is Linux. So it was kind of a curiosity that the desktop and the personal computers we were using really hadn't been captured, but clearly it was just waiting for this moment. Linux spent the time from '91 to now waiting for agents to fully flourish as an end user operating system.
↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Agentic Engineering, Vibe Coding & Linux | Lex Fridman Podcast #501youtube.com 32nd of 41 in this recording
- 1 day earlier
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Their wordsI don't require anyone to be as excited about AI or agents as I am. It's completely fine. But we also need someone in this camp in this Linux camp who are really excited about AI, who really leaning in with agents.
↗Is Linux the perfect operating system? - Omarchy interview with DHHyoutube.com 3rd of 6 in this recording
- 4 weeks earlier
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Their wordsThen, finally, Apple pissed me off enough that I thought I cannot in good conscience continue to spend money on their products if I have such deep disagreements with how they run the company.
↗DHH: How to Build a Profitable Company Without Losing Controlyoutube.com 9th of 27 in this recording
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Their wordsAnd the misconception that I had and I think a lot of people in the Linux world have had, if we just make it as close to Windows or Mac as possible, then they'll come. But no, they won't.
↗DHH: How to Build a Profitable Company Without Losing Controlyoutube.com 17th of 27 in this recording
- 4 months earlier
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Their wordsanyone who's working with the web, who's working with Ruby, who's doing DevOps, they should be on Linux because first of all, that's closer to what we deploy.
↗DHH’s new way of writing codeyoutube.com 2nd of 21 in this recording
- 7 months earlier
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Their wordsIt's crazy that it took me more than thirty years to realize this, but while I spent time in Apple's walled garden, the free software alternative simply grew better, stronger, and faster. The Linux of 2025 is not the Linux of the 90s or the 00s or even the 10s. It's shockingly more polished, capable, and beautiful.
- 3 weeks earlier
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Their wordsOf course, Linux isn't for everyone. It's still an adventure! An awesome, teach-you-about-computers adventure, but not everyone is into computer adventures. Plenty of people are content with a computer appliance where they never have to look under the hood.
- 3 weeks earlier
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Their wordsBut there's no denying that Linux is trending in the right direction in the US
↗Linux crosses magic market share threshold in USworld.hey.com
- 4 days earlier
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Their wordsBut I have come to realize that as a web developer, Linux is just better. Linux is just better. It's closer to what I deploy on. The tooling is actually phenomenal.
↗DHH: Future of Programming, AI, Ruby on Rails, Productivity & Parenting | Lex Fridman Podcast #474youtube.com 39th of 36 in this recording
- 11 days earlier
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Their wordsI think perhaps to some extent this has been a weakness of Linux because someone can look at that and go like oh that's kind of the same as what I'm already using. Why would I go through all the trouble to end up with something that's very similar?
↗DHH discusses Linux and Omarchyyoutube.com 1st of 9 in this recording
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Their wordsSo, it shouldn't really startle me or surprise me that Linux is able to create a not just competitive but superior desktop experience to something like the Mac in a whole host of areas. Not in all of them.
↗DHH discusses Linux and Omarchyyoutube.com 2nd of 9 in this recording
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Their wordsAnd if there's a one thread that goes through my entire career, it's just an absolute loathing of asking anyone for permission about anything.
↗DHH discusses Linux and Omarchyyoutube.com 5th of 9 in this recording
- 5 days earlier
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Their wordsI don't know when we'll literally get "The Year of Linux on the Desktop", but I've never been as convinced that its coming as I am now. There's enough dissent in the water. Enough dissatisfaction with both Apple and Microsoft.
- 6 weeks earlier
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Their wordsopen-source Linux is able to run laps around Apple in the workloads that many developers need
↗Cheap mini PCs have gotten really goodworld.hey.com 2nd of 2 in this piece
- 8 months earlier
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Their wordsdo you know what is a differentiating experience if you if you run Linux and that's just a virtue of it being the path less taken
↗DHH Is Right About Everythingyoutube.com 12th of 8 in this recording
- 3 months earlier
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Our readingLinux can look and feel good out of the box
Their wordsLinux can look and feel so good, but it often doesn't out of the box
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Their wordsHaving good, curated defaults that integrate all the many tools in a coherent feel and look can help more developers acquire a taste for Linux
- 6 weeks earlier
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Their wordsif the idea of having to occasionally tinker with kernel parameters or display drivers give you nightmares, you probably shouldn't run Linux on your primary computer
↗I could have been happy with Windowsworld.hey.com 1st of 2 in this piece