arch-desktop/todo.md

todo

Major working update plus plans for big changes.

libvirt

Create a libvirt branch to test this setup process!

Create libvirt/ and write up the libvirt/kvm/qemu/ovmf-uefi implementation again!

Copy the files back to my laptop to test it there, since I already have libvirt setup.

I'll need to get back to a working state with the packer.json and Vagrantfile for libvirt as well, thankfully I kept the branch and diffs!

https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=238615

sway

Create a sway branch to test building a minimal install with a brand new window manager and removing xorg packages!

This will likely require significant refinement, as I'll need to test configurations on real hardware to validate multi-monitor behavior.

Further, it will require some time to get used to it, but from rudimentary tests I have been able to run every game of interest on it, and with significantly increased performance!

References:

https://www.fosskers.ca/en/blog/wayland https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Sway#Manage_Sway-specific_daemons_with_systemd https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Sway#Application_launchers https://github.com/swaywm/sway/issues/1174 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRIGYUWQfYU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWgZrES4t3U https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki#program-launchers https://github.com/lyfeyaj/sublime-text-imfix https://www.reddit.com/r/swaywm/comments/eksf1p/steam_now_fully_works_under_sway/

Installed packages:

sway
alacritty
wofi
waybar
xorg-xwayland
xorg-xlsclients
qt5-wayland
glfw-wayland
grim
slurp
xdg-desktop-portal-wlr
libpipewire02
ttf-font-awesome
wl-clipboard
lxsession-gtk3

Next create a config for sway:

mkdir -p ~/.config/sway
cp /etc/sway/config ~/.config/sway/config

I'm still tinkering with one using wofi for $menu and waybar, but it's not nearly ready.

Migrate as many hotkeys from rc.xml as possible to sway config

Added to ~/.bash_profile:

export MOZ_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1
export SDL_VIDEODRIVER="wayland"

The SDL_VIDEODRIVER is for steam, and may break in many games, so I'll need to add overrides for incompatible titles using SDL_VIDEODRIVER=x11 in steam launch commands, or if more games fail than no I can invert my setup so I add the override for games that I know work with wayland.

Switch to waybar in sway config (this is a massive improvement over the default):

bar {
    swaybar_command waybar
}

I need to research how to fully customize waybar, because it has a lot of data and could be refined!

I need to test wayland native alternatives to urxvt and pcmanfm; one recommendation is alacritty as a urxvt replacement, and pcmanfm-gtk3 is supposedly wayland-compatible without xwayland. Needs to be tested.

I also need to test a base install with no GUI packages and manually installing the sway dependencies to ensure a minimal build.

Add logic to sway config that starts sway-session target:

exec_always "systemctl --user import-environment; systemctl --user start sway-session.target"

Delete legacy userspace service files, and edit/change others for sway-session compatibility.

Create new systemd service files for:

• update-desktop-database (oneshot)
• xdg-user-dirs-update (oneshot)
• gtk3-settings (oneshot)

Verify whether we can delete .Xdefaults and .Xresources, as both should be legacy xorg specific; eg. urxvt.

Replace /usr/local/bin/screenshot:

grim -o $(swaymsg -t get_outputs | jq -r '.[] | select(.focused) | .name') "$(xdg-user-dir PICTURES)/screenshots/$(date +'%Y%m%d_%H%M%S%N.png')"

Replace /usr/local/bin/screenshot-selection:

dimensions=$(slurp 2>/dev/null)
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
    grim -g "$dimensions" "$(xdg-user-dir PICTURES)/screenshots/$(date +'%Y%m%d_%H%M%S%N.png')"
else
    grim -g "$(swaymsg -t get_tree | jq -j '.. | select(.type?) | select(.focused).rect | "\(.x),\(.y) \(.width)x\(.height)"')" "$(xdg-user-dir PICTURES)/screenshots/$(date +'%Y%m%d_%H%M%S%N.png')"
fi

Replace /usr/local/bin/wallpaper:

#!/bin/bash

# set sane defaults
[ -z "$wallpaper_sleep_for" ] && wallpaper_sleep_for="180"
[ -z "$wallpaper_path" ] && wallpaper_path="$(xdg-user-dir PICTURES)/wallpaper"
mkdir -p "$wallpaper_path"

# validate wallpaper path
[ $(find "$wallpaper_path" -type f | wc -l) -gt 0 ] || exit 1

# there can be only one
while [ $(ps aux | grep -v 'grep' | grep -c "$0") -gt 2 ]; do
    kill $(ps aux | grep -v 'grep' | grep -v $$ | grep "$0" | awk '{print $2}') &> /dev/null
done

# infinitely change wallpaper
while true; do
    sway_outputs=( $(swaymsg -t get_outputs | jq -r '.[].name') )
    for op in "${sway_outputs[@]}"; do
        wp="$(find $wallpaper_path -type f | sort -R | tail -1)"
        swaymsg "output $op bg $wp" fit \#001E27
    done
    sleep $wallpaper_sleep_for
done

• research firefox auto-configuration or copying configuration files (eg. if plain text can add to dot-files):

  • https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/customizing-firefox-using-autoconfig
  • verify if it remembers workspaces when re-opened

• test/fix multimedia keys for volume change support (may require actual hardware; would also consider popup icons?)

  • https://www.reddit.com/r/swaywm/comments/bwwxg0/xf86_audio_keys/

• add yad to packages as a wayland-native zenity alternative

  • add messages to waybar for battery
  • add messages to pash for volume changes?

• install cmst from aur and try it out as an option for wifi support

  • https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/cmst/

• investigate using scratchpad feature of sway for persistent terminal with toggle hotkey

• investigate creating workspace affinities for things like fullscreen games so it automates placement/movement

• set sway config to load userspace .d directory for custom settings

  • touchpad-specific configuration; we may be able to add a default if we can identify ideal settings...
  • display-specific configuration

• on real hardware I'll need to test/refine sway config hotkeys for better navigation

  • test creating workspace "affinity" for games and videos etc... so they open into a desirable placement?
  • multi-monitor support and configuration; I'll need hotkeys that move applications between displays
    • supposedly each monitor is treated as a separate workspace, so this might work well
      • https://www.reddit.com/r/swaywm/comments/gr7yvt/assigning_workspaces_to_specific_outputs/
      • https://fedoramagazine.org/how-to-setup-multiple-monitors-in-sway/
      • https://www.reddit.com/r/swaywm/comments/ftuiqa/is_it_possible_to_set_my_starting_workspace/
  • test left/right arrow navigation; both changing workspaces and also displays
    • can this be used for all workspaces or only numbered?
    • Does it loop?

testing

• sway launched without any issues
• waybar is awesome, basically replaces both tint2 AND conky at the same time
  • can we resize and adjust what is displayed?
  • can we add cmst and launch from right click?
  • can we auto-hide/show with modifier keys so fullscreen apps work?
• wofi is very fast and very clean, but it seems to be pulling from .desktop and not raw command line
  • can we disable history so when it cannot find something it doesn't launch the last thing it had?
  • figure out how to add and run raw cli commands and we'd be set!
  • can use mod+d for apps and mod+space for terminal commands!
  • I can also load a custom css to style it very nicely
• alacritty is fast and works great so far, need to test unicode character support, but if so it might be time...
  • can possibly dump .Xdefaults?
• firefox ran without xwayland, so it's native!! Woohoo!
• wine, and specifically genshin, ran natively without using xwayland? Holy shit!
• sublime text loaded and is wayland native (eg. no xlsclients)
• Resolution was resolved, but adaptive sync only works with display port not hdmi sadly
  • genshin now perfectly launches filling the screen without waybar, so maybe it's a non-issue?
• used mozilla gum_test to verify webcam, mic, and screen sharing worked
• I should also investigate get_inputs to see what config options I have there!
  • namely for mouse and touchpad fine-tuning defaults; if they aren't already

https://developers.redhat.com/blog/2016/10/28/what-comes-after-iptables-its-successor-of-course-nftables https://wiki.nftables.org/wiki-nftables/index.php/Main_differences_with_iptables https://wiki.nftables.org/wiki-nftables/index.php/Moving_from_iptables_to_nftables https://ungleich.ch/en-us/cms/blog/2018/08/18/iptables-vs-nftables/ https://github.com/swaywm/sway/issues/3319 https://github.com/swaywm/sway/blob/master/config.in https://github.com/jdonofrio728/swaywm-bg-changer/blob/master/swaywm-bg-changer https://github.com/jdonofrio728/swaywm-bg-changer https://www.reddit.com/r/swaywm/comments/ehqsuw/autochanging_background_for_sway/ https://github.com/swaywm/sway/issues/5006 https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Polkit https://forums.centos.org/viewtopic.php?t=70139 https://github.com/swaywm/sway/wiki/GTK-3-settings-on-Wayland https://www.reddit.com/r/swaywm/comments/epp0r4/unable_to_configure_the_cursor_theme/ https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/x_resources