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README.md
Grandma
A guide and configuration files for setting up an operating system for Grandma.
Prerequisits
A USB or CD drive with Void Linux Glibc x86_64 written to it. The ISO image can be found here: https://voidlinux.org/download/
The computer that the OS is being installed needs to have a CPU architacture of x86_64. If it is not, you are on your own.
A resonable amount of skill and experience relivent to this guide.
Overview
The operating system that will be set up, is intended to be minimal, and strieghtfowerward for Grandma to use. It will hopefully be stable and reliable. If you have issues, please file an issue. Here is a list of features/specifications that the system will have:
- distro - Void Linux Glibc
- I chose Void Linux, because it is a minimal, lightweight, stable, rolling-release disto. The rollig release cycle is prefered because this system will be using newer packages.
- window manager/compositor - LabWC
- I chose Wayland as the display server protocal because it generally preforms better that Xorg. LabWC is the window manager because it is floating, lightweight, and minimal. It would be rediculous to expect Grandma to use a tiling window manager.
- application launcher/status bar - SFWBar and Lavalaunchers
- I chose these bar options because they are designed to do exactly what I need them to do. These two bars will provide an XFCE-like interface, which is the easiest to operate with.
- login manager - GreetD and TUIgreet
- I chose a terminal solution so that all Grandma has to do is type in her username and password. She does not have to deal with the mouse.
- search engine - https://paulgo.io
- I use this search engine daily. It is fast, and gets me good results. It is private, and open source.
- www client - Floorp
- I have never tried this browser, but I assume that it is an improved version of FF.
- File manager - Dolphin
- Easiest to use file manager.
- Office - Libre Office
- Best office application. The other option is Only Office. IDK.
- Crond - Scron
- A simple version of cron
- Notifications -
Wayherb/tiramisuSway Notification CenterA simple notification solution. You can use the sway one if your Grandma needs that.- Sway Notification Center has more features, and a better interface. Personally, I prefer a more minimal approach.
- Media Player - Haruna
- Haruna is easy to use, and looks good. It's UI, and features are very user-friendly.
- Image Viewer - Probably Gwenview
- For consistency purposes, mainly. It should be easy to use, and have easy fullscreen/slideshow mode. For a lighter-weight alternative, check out Ristretto.
- Wallpaper selector - SWWW and Waypaper
- Waypaper is a GUI frontend for SWWW or SwayBG. SWWW has smoth animations.
- Bluetooth manager - Blueman
- Blueman is an actively maintained GUI for bluetooth.
- Audio Daemon - Pipewire
- Pipewire works well, and is actively maintained.
- Screenshot utility - Flameshot
- Smooth selection + easy to use GUI.
- Screen lock - Swaylock
- Swaylock is easy to use and simple.
- Caulculator - Kcalc
- Picked for ease of use and consistency with the rest of the system.
- Unit Conversion - Convertall version 1
- Simple GUI for unit conversion.
Installation
Login
When prompted, log in as root. If you get stuck, press Ctrl + d to get a new prompt.
void-live login: root
Password: voidlinux
You will now be greated with a # root prompt.
Change the Keyboard Layout
To switch to Dvorak, run:
loadkeys dvorak
If you are using a different keymap, then replace dvorak with that keymap.
SSH
If you would like install over SSH, do the following:
Start the Bash shell, so that you can edit the command if you made a mistake (press Up).
bash
You will need to connect to the network with wpa_supplicant, or void-installer in the Network section.
Determin the IP address
ip addr | grep -e wlp -e wlan -e enp -e eth[[:digit:]] | grep inet | head -1 | awk '{print $2}' | awk -F/ '{print $1}'
Keep in mind that this command will favor ethernet connections.
On another system, run:
ssh anon@<ip address>
Replace <ip address> with the actual ip address.
Say "yes."
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? yes
The password is voidlinux.
Now login as root.
su root
Password: voidlinux
Start bash
bash
Set the $TERM vairiable
TERM=xterm
Gathering Important Information
Determining the Proper Disk to Install to
First, it is crutial to determine the proper device to install to. Run lsblk.
lsblk
Determine the proper drive to install to based on the size, type, and name. The drive should be one of the largest in size, the type disk, and named /dev/sdX or /dev/nvmeX, where X is a wildcard for additional numbers and letters. Keep in mind that drives may have partitions within them. To get a visual representation of that, run:
lsblk -T
The disk name will be important later on.
Determining If the System is UEFI or Legacy BIOS
If you are not familiar with manual partitioning, then you are in for a real treat. The first step is to determine whether your machine is UEFI or Legacy BIOS.
The easiest way to check that is to run:
[ -d "/sys/firmware/efi" ] && echo "UEFI" || echo "Legacy BIOS"
You will need to know this for disk partitioning later on.
From now on, follow the CLI or GUI installation guide.
CLI
Partitioning the Disk
UEFI
Recall the name of the disk that you want to install to, and run:
fdisk <disk name>
Replace <disk name> with the actual name of the drive; eg. /dev/sda.
You should now be greeted with some information, and a prompt that looks like this: Command (m for help): .
Type p, and press Enter. This will print out the information about the disk that you are writing to:
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 28.89 GiB, 31001149440 bytes, 60549120 sectors
Disk model: DataTraveler 2.0
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 21AAD8CF-DB67-0F43-9374-416C7A4E31EA
<!--T:194-->
Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 2099199 2097152 1G EFI System
/dev/sda2 2099200 10487807 8388608 4G Linux swap
/dev/sda3 10487808 60549119 50061311 23.9G Linux filesystem
Example outputs may be copied from the Gentoo wiki.
Run this periodically throughout the partitioning process, especially before writing changes.
If the GPT disklabel already exists (as seen in the example output of p), repeatedly run d to delete the existing partitions.
If the disklabel does not exist, run g to create the GPT disklabel. For Legacy BIOS you would create the MBR disklabel.
Created a new GPT disklabel (GUID: 87EA4497-2722-DF43-A954-368E46AE5C5F).
Create the ESP partition which stands for EFI System Partition. This is where the boot loader and other UEFI firmware is loaded during the bootstrapping process. The partition should be small (200 MiB - 1 GiB). I recommend 512 MiB, to be safe. Press n, Enter, Enter, Enter, +512M, Enter to create a new partition.
Command (m for help): n
Partition number (1-128, default 1): 1
First sector (2048-60549086, default 2048):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (2048-60549086, default 60549086): +512M
Created a new partition 1 of type 'Linux filesystem' and of size 512 MiB.
Now would be a good time to run p, and print the changes. Keep in mind that the disk wont be touched until the changes are writen.
Now make the partition an ESP (t, 1, 1):
Command (m for help): t
Selected partition 1
Partition type (type L to list all types): 1
Changed type of partition 'Linux filesystem' to 'EFI System'.
Next, create a SWAP partition. I recommend making it 4 GiB. Here is a chart explaining the amount of SWAP that should be added based on the amount of RAM that the system has. If you don't know how much RAM the system has, just guess. If the system is slow, you should probably do 8 GiB of SWAP.
Command (m for help): n
Partition number (2-128, default 2):
First sector (526336-60549086, default 526336):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (526336-60549086, default 60549086): +4G
Created a new partition 2 of type 'Linux filesystem' and of size 4 GiB.
And now make it a SWAP partition (t, 2, 19):
Command (m for help): t
Partition number (1,2, default 2): 2
Partition type (type L to list all types): 19
Changed type of partition 'Linux filesystem' to 'Linux swap'.
Finally, make a root partition. This will take up the rest of the disk.
Command (m for help): n
Partition number (3-128, default 3): 3
First sector (10487808-60549086, default 10487808):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (10487808-60549086, default 60549086):
Created a new partition 3 of type 'Linux filesystem' and of size 23.9 GiB.
It is a good idea to change the type of the partition.
Command(m for help): t
Partition number (1-3, default 3): 3
Partition type or alias (type L to list all): 23
Changed type of partition 'Linux filesystem' to 'Linux root (x86-64)'
Print the changes. It should look something like this (the sizes will not be exactly the same):
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 28.89 GiB, 31001149440 bytes, 60549120 sectors
Disk model: DataTraveler 2.0
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 87EA4497-2722-DF43-A954-368E46AE5C5F
Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 526335 524288 1G EFI System
/dev/sda2 526336 8914943 8388608 4G Linux swap
/dev/sda3 8914944 60549086 51634143 24.6G Linux root (x86-64)
When you are ready, write the changes, and you will be regreeted with the # .
Command (m for help): w
Once again, I recommend refering to the linked Gentoo Wiki page, if you want to well understand the partitioning process. If you followed this section, skip the Legacy BIOS section.
Legacy BIOS
Recall the name of the disk that you want to install to, and run:
fdisk <disk name>
Replace <disk name> with the actual name of the drive; eg. /dev/sda.
You should now be greeted with some information, and a prompt that looks like this: Command (m for help): .
Type p, and press Enter. This will print out the information about the disk that you are writing to:
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 28.89 GiB, 31001149440 bytes, 60549120 sectors
Disk model: DataTraveler 2.0
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 21AAD8CF-DB67-0F43-9374-416C7A4E31EA
Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 526335 524288 1G EFI System
/dev/sda2 526336 2623487 2097152 1G Linux swap
/dev/sda3 2623488 19400703 16777216 8G Linux filesystem
/dev/sda4 19400704 60549086 41148383 19.6G Linux filesystem
Example outputs may be copied from the Gentoo wiki.
Run this periodically throughout the partitioning process, especially before writing changes.
If the MBR disklabel already exists (look at the Disklabel type: section of your last output), repeatedly run d to delete the existing partitions.
If it is not MBR, or does not yet exist, enter o to create the MBR (also known as DOS) disklabel. UEFI generally uses GPT.
Command (m for help): o
Created a new DOS disklabel with disk identifier 0xe04e67c4.
The device contains 'gpt' signature and it will be removed by a write command. See fdisk(8) man page and --wipe option for more details.
Create the boot partition. The partition should be small (200 MiB - 1 GiB MiB). I recommend 512 MiB, to be safe. Press n, Enter, Enter, Enter, +512M, Enter to create a new partition.
Next create a SWAP partition. I recommend making it 4 GiB. Here is a chart explaining the amount of SWAP that should be added based on the amount of RAM that the system has. If you don't know how much RAM the system has, just guess. If the system is slow, you should probably do 8 GiB of SWAP.
Press n, Enter, Enter, +4G:
Command (m for help): n
Partition type
p primary (1 primary, 0 extended, 3 free)
e extended (container for logical partitions)
Select (default p): p
Partition number (1-4, default 1): 1
First sector (2048-60549119, default 0):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (2048-60549119, default 60549119): +4G
Created a new partition 1 of type 'Linux' and of size 4 GiB.
And now make it a SWAP partition (t, 2, 82):
Command (m for help): t
Selected partition 1
Hex code (type L to list all codes): 82
<!--T:179-->
Changed type of partition 'Linux' to 'Linux swap / Solaris'.
Next, make a root partition. This will take up the rest of the disk.
Command (m for help): n
Partition type
p primary (1 primary, 0 extended, 3 free)
e extended (container for logical partitions)
Select (default p): p
Partition number (2-4, default 2): 2
First sector (8390656-60549086, default 8390656):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (8390656-60549086, default 60549086):
Created a new partition 2 of type 'Linux' and of size 23.9 GiB.
Print the changes. It should look something like this (the sizes will not be exactly the same):
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 28.89 GiB, 31001149440 bytes, 60549120 sectors
Disk model: DataTraveler 2.0
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xe04e67c4
Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sda2 2048 8390654 8388606 4G 82 Linux
/dev/sda3 8390655 60549119 52158464 25.6G 83 Linux
When you are ready, write the changes, and you will be regreeted with the # .
Command (m for help): w
Once again, I recommend refering to the linked Gentoo Wiki page, if you want to well understand the partitioning process. If you followed this section, skip the Legacy BIOS section.
Creating the filesystems
UEFI
The boot partition should be vfat, the swap partition should be swap, and the root partition should be a linux filesystem.
Set the filesystem to vfat on the boot partition.
mkfs.vfat <boot partition>
Replace <boot partition> with the name of the boot partition (ie. /dev/sda1).
Set the filesystem to xfs on the root partition.
mkfs.xfs <root partition>
Replace <root partition> with the name of the root partition (ie. /dev/sda3).
Now initialize the swap parititon.
mkswap <swap partition>
Replace <swap partition> with the name of the root partition (ie. /dev/sda2).
Legacy BIOS
Set the filesystem to xfs on the root partition.
mkfs.xfs <root partition>
Replace <root partition> with the name of the root partition (ie. /dev/sda2).
Now initialize the swap parititon.
mkswap <swap partition>
Replace <swap partition> with the name of the root partition (ie. /dev/sda1).
Mount for Installation
Mount the filesystem.
mount <root partition> /mnt
Replace <root partition> with the root partition (ie. /dev/sda3).
If you are using UEFI, mount the boot partition.
mkdir -p /mnt/boot/efi/
mount <boot partiton> /mnt/boot/efi/
Replace <boot partition> with the boot partition (ie. /dev/sda1).
Installing the Base System
Choose the XPBS meathod or the ROOTFS meathod.
XBPS Meathod
Select a mirror from xmirror.voidlinux.org. Favor teir 1 mirrors. They are official. If you must visit the site through the terminal, intsall elinks.
The mirrors can also be viewed in xmirror's mirror list file..
cat /usr/share/xmirror/mirrors.lst
Now set the mirror as a shell variable.
REPO=<mirror>/current
Replace <mirror> with the mirror (ie. https://mirrors.servercentral.com/voidlinux/).
Copy the RSA keys into the system.
mkdir -p /mnt/var/db/xbps/keys
cp /var/db/xbps/keys/* /mnt/var/db/xbps/keys/
Use XBPS to install the base system.
XBPS_ARCH=x86_64 xbps-install -S -r /mnt -R "$REPO" base-system
ROOTFS Meathod
Select a mirror from xmirror.voidlinux.org. Favor teir 1 mirrors. They are official. If you must visit the site through the terminal, intsall elinks.
The mirrors can also be viewed in xmirror's mirror list file..
cat /usr/share/xmirror/mirrors.lst
Now set the mirror as a shell variable.
REPO=<mirror>/current
Replace <mirror> with the mirror (ie. https://mirrors.servercentral.com/voidlinux).
The Void Linux installation medium provides no way to download files from the web without running a long sring of commands. So I recommend installing wget to do so. If you must visit the site through the terminal, intsall elinks instead and use that to download.
Update the package manager.
xbps-install -R $REPO -u xbps
Install wget.
xbps-install -S -R $REPO wget
Visit the Download page. Locate the link to the ROOTFS tarball for glibc.
If using wget, then view/copy the link, and run:
wget <link>
Replace <link> with the link to the ROOTFS tarball.
Install the nessessary tool for unpacking tarballs
xbps-install -S -R $REPO xz
Now unpack it.
tar xvf void-*-ROOTFS*.tar.xz -C /mnt
Make sure you only download one ROOTFS tarball, or the wildcard will select more than one.
Setting the XBPS mirror
Set the XBPS mirror.
xmirror -r /mnt -s $REPO
Changing Root
To change root, you can use xchroot in the CLI installation. I tried to use xchroot after installing using the GUI meathod, and it did not work.
Chroot into the sytem.
xchroot /mnt /bin/bash
Updating System
If you followed the XBPS meathod, skip this section.
Update the system:
xbps-install -Su xbps
xbps-install -u
xbps-install base-system
xbps-remove base-voidstrap
Setting a Hostname
Set the hostname (the name of the computer).
echo <hostname> > /etc/hostname
Replace <hostname> with the the hostname (ie. SewingMachine). This should not have spaces in it.
Setting the timezone
A list of available timezones are found in /usr/share/zoneinfo
ls /usr/share/zoneinfo
ls /usr/share/zoneinfo/<region>
Replace <region> with the region found in the output of ls /usr/share/zoneinfo.
Now set the timezone.
ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/<region>/<timezone> /etc/localtime
Replace <region> with the region found in the output of ls /usr/share/zoneinfo, and <timezone> with timezone found in the output of ls /usr/share/zoneinfo/<region>, where of course <region> was replaced with the region found in the output of ls /usr/share/zoneinfo. (ie. America; Chicago).
Installing a Terminal Text Editor
Install a terminal text editor of choice
xbps-install -S vis
Setting he keyboard layout
Edit /etc/rc.conf.
vis /etc/rc.conf
Replace this
# Keymap to load, see loadkeys(8).
#KEYMAP="es"
with this
# Keymap to load, see loadkeys(8).
KEYMAP="<keyboard layout>"
where <keyboard layout> is replaced with the keyboard layout that you use (ie. dvorak). The keyboard layouts are listed in /usr/share/kbd/keymaps. The keyboard layout will be changed back to Grandma's keymap later.
ls /usr/share/kbd/keymaps/i386/
Setting the Locale
Edit /etc/default/libc-locales.
vis /etc/default/libc-locales
Uncomment the desired locales (remove the # at the beginning of the line).
en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8
Now reconfigure the locales.
xbps-reconfigure -f glibc-locales
Enabling services
Enable DHCPCD.
ln -s /etc/sv/dhcpcd /etc/runit/runsvdir/default/
Enable SSHD.
ln -s /etc/sv/sshd /etc/runit/runsvdir/default/
Setting the Root Password
Set the root password.
passwd
New password:
Retype new password:
Make it strong.
Configuring fstab
Generate /etc/fstab.
cp /proc/mounts /etc/fstab
echo "$(grep -v proc /etc/fstab | grep -v sys | grep -v devtmpfs | grep -v pts)" > /etc/fstab
echo "<swap partition> swap swap rw,noatime,discard 0 0" >> /etc/fstab
Replace <swap partition> with the swap partition (ie. /dev/sda2).
Now run blkid to see the UUID of each partition.
blkid | sed 's/"//g'
Replace /dev/* (all refrences to a partition) with their UUID.
UUID=66dfcdb5-0ec7-4c90-8e3a-7f13cc65698d / xfs rw,relatime,attr2,inode64,logbufs=8,logbsize=32k,noquota 0 0
UUID=E8F6-20BF /boot/efi vfat rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro 0 0
tmpfs /dev/shm tmpfs rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,inode64 0 0
LiveOS_rootfs /etc/resolv.conf overlay rw,relatime,lowerdir=/run/rootfsbase,upperdir=/run/overlayfs,workdir=/run/ovlwork 0 0
UUID=de4a6878-d346-4f66-9a38-78bcbe4866c9 swap swap rw,noatime,discard 0 0
Installing a Bootloader
Follow the directions for Grub, EFI stub, or LILO.
Grub
If you have issues, please refer to the official docummentation.
UEFI
Install Grub
xbps-install grub-x86_64-efi
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id="Void"
Legacy BIOS
Install Grub
xbps-install grub
grub-install <disk to install to>
Replace <disk to install to> with the disk that the system wis installed to.
Reconfiguring
Reconfigure for good measure
xbps-reconfigure -fa
Rebooting
Exit, unmount, and reboot.
exit
umount -R /mnt
shutdown -r now
GUI
Running the installer
Running the installer is simple.
void-installer
Now select Keyboard.
Now select the keyboard layout that you use (not the one that Grandma uses). There will be a lot of typing afterword. I will show you how to change the keyboard layout back afterword.
Now select Network.
Select your device, then enter the SSID, and passphrase if required.
I would say "yes" to this.
Now select Source.
Select either option. I'd pick Local if you couldn't get network working, or it is a slow connection.
Select Mirror.
Teir 1 mirrors are maintained by the Void Linux. Teir 2 mirrors are not managed by Void. Favor teir 1.
Select your region.
Select the closest mirror. Favor tier 1. If Grandma lives near Chicago, then this would be a great mirror to use.
Select Hostname.
Type in the name of Grandma's computer.
Now select Locale.
Select your locale.
Now select Timezone.
Select your country.
Now select your timezone.
Now select RootPassword.
Create a strong passphrase. Make sure that you write it down, put it in a password manager, or don't forget it. If you can't type this password, then you have to chroot into the system to fix it.
Now enter the root password again.
Now select UserAccount.
Type in the first name of Grandma in lowercase letters.
Next, type the first and last name of Grandma with capitol letters (where needed) and spaces.
Enter the password that Grandma will be using to sign in. This should be short and easy to remember (like a 4-number PIN).
Now enter the password again.
The default groups are good, for now.
Now select BootLoader.
You have two options. You can select the disk that you would like to install the operating system to if you want to install GRUB as the bootloader, or you can select none, and install a different bootloader. In this guide, I will give instructions on how to install a different bootloader. I recommend you choose to install a different bootloader. The guide covers how to install EFIstub for UEFI systems, and LILO on BIOS systems.
It will ask you if you want to use a graphical terminal for the grub bootloader. This means it will display the void logo in the bootloader. It's a pretty nice feature. Disabling it might give you a slightly faster boot time. If you are not installing grub, then so "No."
Now select Partition.
Now select the disk that you want to partition. This is the disk that you are going to install to.
Now select fdisk. This guide provides instructions on how to use fdisk. If you are familiar with partitioning, then you can use cfdisk.
Partitioning the Disks
Here is additional information on partitioning: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook:AMD64/Installation/Disks
From the rest of this section, follow the instructions for firmware type UEFI or Legacy BIOS.
UEFI
You should now be greeted with some information, and a prompt that looks like this: Command (m for help): .
Type p, and press Enter. This will print out the information about the disk that you are writing to:
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 28.89 GiB, 31001149440 bytes, 60549120 sectors
Disk model: DataTraveler 2.0
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 21AAD8CF-DB67-0F43-9374-416C7A4E31EA
<!--T:194-->
Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 2099199 2097152 1G EFI System
/dev/sda2 2099200 10487807 8388608 4G Linux swap
/dev/sda3 10487808 60549119 50061311 23.9G Linux filesystem
Example outputs may be copied from the Gentoo wiki.
Run this periodically throughout the partitioning process, especially before writing changes.
If the GPT disklabel already exists (as seen in the example output of p), repeatedly run d to delete the existing partitions.
If the disklabel does not exist, run g to create the GPT disklabel. For Legacy BIOS you would create the MBR disklabel.
Created a new GPT disklabel (GUID: 87EA4497-2722-DF43-A954-368E46AE5C5F).
Create the ESP partition which stands for EFI System Partition. This is where the boot loader and other UEFI firmware is loaded during the bootstrapping process. The partition should be small (200 MiB - 1 GiB). I recommend 512 MiB, to be safe. Press n, Enter, Enter, Enter, +512M, Enter to create a new partition.
Command (m for help): n
Partition number (1-128, default 1): 1
First sector (2048-60549086, default 2048):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (2048-60549086, default 60549086): +512M
Created a new partition 1 of type 'Linux filesystem' and of size 512 MiB.
Now would be a good time to run p, and print the changes. Keep in mind that the disk wont be touched until the changes are writen.
Now make the partition an ESP (t, 1, 1):
Command (m for help): t
Selected partition 1
Partition type (type L to list all types): 1
Changed type of partition 'Linux filesystem' to 'EFI System'.
Next, create a SWAP partition. I recommend making it 4 GiB. Here is a chart explaining the amount of SWAP that should be added based on the amount of RAM that the system has. If you don't know how much RAM the system has, just guess. If the system is slow, you should probably do 8 GiB of SWAP.
Command (m for help): n
Partition number (2-128, default 2):
First sector (526336-60549086, default 526336):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (526336-60549086, default 60549086): +4G
Created a new partition 2 of type 'Linux filesystem' and of size 4 GiB.
And now make it a SWAP partition (t, 2, 19):
Command (m for help): t
Partition number (1,2, default 2): 2
Partition type (type L to list all types): 19
Changed type of partition 'Linux filesystem' to 'Linux swap'.
Finally, make a root partition. This will take up the rest of the disk.
Command (m for help): n
Partition number (3-128, default 3): 3
First sector (10487808-60549086, default 10487808):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (10487808-60549086, default 60549086):
Created a new partition 3 of type 'Linux filesystem' and of size 23.9 GiB.
It is a good idea to change the type of the partition.
Command(m for help): t
Partition number (1-3, default 3): 3
Partition type or alias (type L to list all): 23
Changed type of partition 'Linux filesystem' to 'Linux root (x86-64)'
Print the changes. It should look something like this (the sizes will not be exactly the same):
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 28.89 GiB, 31001149440 bytes, 60549120 sectors
Disk model: DataTraveler 2.0
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 87EA4497-2722-DF43-A954-368E46AE5C5F
Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 526335 524288 1G EFI System
/dev/sda2 526336 8914943 8388608 4G Linux swap
/dev/sda3 8914944 60549086 51634143 24.6G Linux root (x86-64)
When you are ready, write the changes, and you will be regreeted with the # .
Command (m for help): w
Once again, I recommend refering to the linked Gentoo Wiki page, if you want to well understand the partitioning process. If you followed this section, skip the Legacy BIOS section.
Legacy BIOS
Recall the name of the disk that you want to install to, and run:
fdisk <disk name>
Replace <disk name> with the actual name of the drive; eg. /dev/sda.
You should now be greeted with some information, and a prompt that looks like this: Command (m for help): .
Type p, and press Enter. This will print out the information about the disk that you are writing to:
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 28.89 GiB, 31001149440 bytes, 60549120 sectors
Disk model: DataTraveler 2.0
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 21AAD8CF-DB67-0F43-9374-416C7A4E31EA
Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 526335 524288 1G EFI System
/dev/sda2 526336 2623487 2097152 1G Linux swap
/dev/sda3 2623488 19400703 16777216 8G Linux filesystem
/dev/sda4 19400704 60549086 41148383 19.6G Linux filesystem
Example outputs may be copied from the Gentoo wiki.
Run this periodically throughout the partitioning process, especially before writing changes.
If the MBR disklabel already exists (look at the Disklabel type: section of your last output), repeatedly run d to delete the existing partitions.
If it is not MBR, or does not yet exist, enter o to create the MBR (also known as DOS) disklabel. UEFI generally uses GPT.
Command (m for help): o
Created a new DOS disklabel with disk identifier 0xe04e67c4.
The device contains 'gpt' signature and it will be removed by a write command. See fdisk(8) man page and --wipe option for more details.
Create the boot partition. The partition should be small (200 MiB - 1 GiB MiB). I recommend 512 MiB, to be safe. Press n, Enter, Enter, Enter, +512M, Enter to create a new partition.
Next create a SWAP partition. I recommend making it 4 GiB. Here is a chart explaining the amount of SWAP that should be added based on the amount of RAM that the system has. If you don't know how much RAM the system has, just guess. If the system is slow, you should probably do 8 GiB of SWAP.
Press n, Enter, Enter, +4G:
Command (m for help): n
Partition type
p primary (1 primary, 0 extended, 3 free)
e extended (container for logical partitions)
Select (default p): p
Partition number (1-4, default 1): 1
First sector (2048-60549119, default 0):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (2048-60549119, default 60549119): +4G
Created a new partition 1 of type 'Linux' and of size 4 GiB.
And now make it a SWAP partition (t, 2, 82):
Command (m for help): t
Selected partition 1
Hex code (type L to list all codes): 82
<!--T:179-->
Changed type of partition 'Linux' to 'Linux swap / Solaris'.
Next, make a root partition. This will take up the rest of the disk.
Command (m for help): n
Partition type
p primary (1 primary, 0 extended, 3 free)
e extended (container for logical partitions)
Select (default p): p
Partition number (2-4, default 2): 2
First sector (8390656-60549086, default 8390656):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (8390656-60549086, default 60549086):
Created a new partition 2 of type 'Linux' and of size 23.9 GiB.
Print the changes. It should look something like this (the sizes will not be exactly the same):
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 28.89 GiB, 31001149440 bytes, 60549120 sectors
Disk model: DataTraveler 2.0
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xe04e67c4
Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sda2 2048 8390654 8388606 4G 82 Linux
/dev/sda3 8390655 60549119 52158464 25.6G 83 Linux
When you are ready, write the changes, and you will be regreeted with the # .
Command (m for help): w
Once again, I recommend refering to the linked Gentoo Wiki page, if you want to well understand the partitioning process. If you followed this section, skip the Legacy BIOS section.
Creating the filesystems
UEFI
The boot partition should be vfat, the swap partition should be swap, and the root partition should be a linux filesystem.
Set the filesystem to vfat on the boot partition.
mkfs.vfat <boot partition>
Replace <boot partition> with the name of the boot partition (ie. /dev/sda1).
Set the filesystem to xfs on the root partition.
mkfs.xfs <root partition>
Replace <root partition> with the name of the root partition (ie. /dev/sda3).
Now initialize the swap parititon.
mkswap <swap partition>
Replace <swap partition> with the name of the root partition (ie. /dev/sda2).
Legacy BIOS
Set the filesystem to xfs on the root partition.
mkfs.xfs <root partition>
Replace <root partition> with the name of the root partition (ie. /dev/sda2).
Now initialize the swap parititon.
mkswap <swap partition>
Replace <swap partition> with the name of the root partition (ie. /dev/sda1).
Setting the keybord layout
sed -i 's/us/dvorak/g' /etc/rc.conf
The keymaps are listed in /usr/share/kbd/keymaps. If you are using a different keymap, then replace dvorak with that keymap. The keymap will be changed back to Gradma's keymap later.
Mounting filesystems
Mount the filesystem.
mount <root partition> /mnt
Replace <root partition> with the root partition (ie. /dev/sda3).
If you are using UEFI, mount the boot partition.
mkdir -p /mnt/boot/efi/
mount <boot partiton> /mnt/boot/efi/
Replace <boot partition> with the boot partition (ie. /dev/sda1).
Now prepare for chroot.
mount -t proc none /mnt/proc
mount -t sysfs none /mnt/sys
mount --rbind /dev /mnt/dev
mount --rbind /run /mnt/run
Copy over network files.
cp /etc/resolv.conf /etc/hosts /mnt/
Now chroot.
chroot /mnt /bin/bash
GUI
Running the installer
Running the installer is simple.
void-installer
Now select Keyboard.
Now select the keyboard layout that you use (not the one that Grandma uses). There will be a lot of typing afterword. I will show you how to change the keyboard layout back afterword.
Now select Network.
Select your device, then enter the SSID, and passphrase if required.
I would say "yes" to this.
Now select Source.
Select either option. I'd pick Local if you couldn't get network working, or it is a slow connection.
Select Mirror.
Teir 1 mirrors are maintained by the Void Linux. Teir 2 mirrors are not managed by Void. Favor teir 1.
Select your region.
Select the closest mirror. Favor tier 1. If Grandma lives near Chicago, then this would be a great mirror to use.
Select Hostname.
Type in the name of Grandma's computer.
Now select Locale.
Select your locale.
Now select Timezone.
Select your country.
Now select your timezone.
Now select RootPassword.
Create a strong passphrase. Make sure that you write it down, put it in a password manager, or don't forget it. If you can't type this password, then you have to chroot into the system to fix it.
Now enter the root password again.
Now select UserAccount.
Type in the first name of Grandma in lowercase letters.
Next, type the first and last name of Grandma with capitol letters (where needed) and spaces.
Enter the password that Grandma will be using to sign in. This should be short and easy to remember (like a 4-number PIN).
Now enter the password again.
The default groups are good, for now.
Now select BootLoader.
You have two options. You can select the disk that you would like to install the operating system to if you want to install GRUB as the bootloader, or you can select none, and install a different bootloader. In this guide, I will give instructions on how to install a different bootloader. I recommend you choose to install a different bootloader. The guide covers how to install EFIstub for UEFI systems, and LILO on BIOS systems.
It will ask you if you want to use a graphical terminal for the grub bootloader. This means it will display the void logo in the bootloader. It's a pretty nice feature. Disabling it might give you a slightly faster boot time. If you are not installing grub, then so "No."
Now select Partition.
Now select the disk that you want to partition. This is the disk that you are going to install to.
Now select fdisk. This guide provides instructions on how to use fdisk. If you are familiar with partitioning, then you can use cfdisk.
Partitioning the Disks
Here is additional information on partitioning: https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook:AMD64/Installation/Disks
From the rest of this section, follow the instructions for firmware type UEFI or Legacy BIOS.
UEFI
You should now be greeted with some information, and a prompt that looks like this: Command (m for help): .
Type p, and press Enter. This will print out the information about the disk that you are writing to:
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 28.89 GiB, 31001149440 bytes, 60549120 sectors
Disk model: DataTraveler 2.0
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 21AAD8CF-DB67-0F43-9374-416C7A4E31EA
<!--T:194-->
Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 2099199 2097152 1G EFI System
/dev/sda2 2099200 10487807 8388608 4G Linux swap
/dev/sda3 10487808 60549119 50061311 23.9G Linux filesystem
Example outputs may be copied from the Gentoo wiki.
Run this periodically throughout the partitioning process, especially before writing changes.
If the GPT disklabel already exists (as seen in the example output of p), repeatedly run d to delete the existing partitions.
If the disklabel does not exist, run g to create the GPT disklabel. For Legacy BIOS you would create the MBR disklabel.
Created a new GPT disklabel (GUID: 87EA4497-2722-DF43-A954-368E46AE5C5F).
Create the ESP partition which stands for EFI System Partition. This is where the boot loader and other UEFI firmware is loaded during the bootstrapping process. The partition should be small (200 MiB - 1 GiB). I recommend 512 MiB, to be safe. Press n, Enter, Enter, Enter, +512M, Enter to create a new partition.
Command (m for help): n
Partition number (1-128, default 1): 1
First sector (2048-60549086, default 2048):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (2048-60549086, default 60549086): +512M
Created a new partition 1 of type 'Linux filesystem' and of size 512 MiB.
Now would be a good time to run p, and print the changes. Keep in mind that the disk wont be touched until the changes are writen.
I have done testing and you do not have to set the partition type. It is not the end of the world if you do.
Next, create a SWAP partition. I recommend making it 4 GiB. Here is a chart explaining the amount of SWAP that should be added based on the amount of RAM that the system has. If you don't know how much RAM the system has, just guess. If the system is slow, you should probably do 8 GiB of SWAP.
Command (m for help): n
Partition number (2-128, default 2):
First sector (526336-60549086, default 526336):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (526336-60549086, default 60549086): +4G
Created a new partition 2 of type 'Linux filesystem' and of size 4 GiB.
Finally, make a root partition. This will take up the rest of the disk.
Command (m for help): n
Partition number (3-128, default 3): 3
First sector (10487808-60549086, default 10487808):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (10487808-60549086, default 60549086):
Created a new partition 3 of type 'Linux filesystem' and of size 23.9 GiB.
Print the changes. It should look something like this (the sizes will not be exactly the same):
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 28.89 GiB, 31001149440 bytes, 60549120 sectors
Disk model: DataTraveler 2.0
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 87EA4497-2722-DF43-A954-368E46AE5C5F
Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 526335 524288 1G Linux
/dev/sda2 526336 8914943 8388608 4G Linux
/dev/sda3 8914944 60549086 51634143 24.6G Linux
When you are ready, write the changes.
Command (m for help): w
Once again, I recommend refering to the linked Gentoo Wiki page, if you want to well understand the partitioning process. If you followed this section, skip the Legacy BIOS section.
Legacy BIOS
You should now be greeted with some information, and a prompt that looks like this: Command (m for help): .
Type p, and press Enter. This will print out the information about the disk that you are writing to:
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 28.89 GiB, 31001149440 bytes, 60549120 sectors
Disk model: DataTraveler 2.0
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: gpt
Disk identifier: 21AAD8CF-DB67-0F43-9374-416C7A4E31EA
Device Start End Sectors Size Type
/dev/sda1 2048 526335 524288 1G EFI System
/dev/sda2 526336 2623487 2097152 1G Linux
/dev/sda3 2623488 19400703 16777216 8G Linux
/dev/sda4 19400704 60549086 41148383 19.6G Linux
Example outputs may be copied from the Gentoo wiki.
Run this periodically throughout the partitioning process, especially before writing changes.
If the MBR disklabel already exists (look at the Disklabel type: section of your last output), repeatedly run d to delete the existing partitions.
If it is not MBR, or does not yet exist, enter o to create the MBR (also known as DOS) disklabel. UEFI generally uses GPT.
Command (m for help): o
Created a new DOS disklabel with disk identifier 0xe04e67c4.
The device contains 'gpt' signature and it will be removed by a write command. See fdisk(8) man page and --wipe option for more details.
We do not need to create a boot partition on BIOS MBR.
First, create a SWAP partition. I recommend making it 4 GiB. Here is a chart explaining the amount of SWAP that should be added based on the amount of RAM that the system has. If you don't know how much RAM the system has, just guess. If the system is slow, you should probably do 8 GiB of SWAP.
Press n, Enter, Enter, +4G:
Command (m for help): n
Partition type
p primary (1 primary, 0 extended, 3 free)
e extended (container for logical partitions)
Select (default p): p
Partition number (1-4, default 1): 1
First sector (2048-60549119, default 0):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (2048-60549119, default 60549119): +4G
Created a new partition 1 of type 'Linux' and of size 4 GiB.
Next, make a root partition. This will take up the rest of the disk.
Command (m for help): n
Partition type
p primary (1 primary, 0 extended, 3 free)
e extended (container for logical partitions)
Select (default p): p
Partition number (2-4, default 2): 2
First sector (8390656-60549086, default 8390656):
Last sector, +/-sectors or +/-size{K,M,G,T,P} (8390656-60549086, default 60549086):
Created a new partition 2 of type 'Linux' and of size 23.9 GiB.
Print the changes. It should look something like this (the sizes will not be exactly the same):
Command (m for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 28.89 GiB, 31001149440 bytes, 60549120 sectors
Disk model: DataTraveler 2.0
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0xe04e67c4
Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
/dev/sda2 2048 8390654 8388606 4G 82 Linux
/dev/sda3 8390655 60549119 52158464 25.6G 83 Linux
When you are ready, write the changes.
Command (m for help): w
Once again, I recommend refering to the linked Gentoo Wiki page, if you want to well understand the partitioning process. If you followed this section, skip the Legacy BIOS section.
Back to the GUI
Next step is to create the file systems.
Now select FileSystems.
Now create the filesystems. Follow the directions dedicated to your firmware (UEFI/LegacyBIOS).
UEFI
For UEFI, the first partition, should be vfat, the second partition should be SWAP, and the third partition should be some sort of Linux file system.
Select the first partition.
Select vfat.
Type /boot/efi as the mountpoint.
Say "yes."
Now select the second partition.
Now select swap.
Now select the third partition.
Now select any Linux filesystem. This could be Ext4, BTRFS, or XFS. It doesn't really matter which one you pick.
Type / as the mountpoint.
Legacy BIOS
Select the second partition.
Now select swap.
Say "yes."
Now select the second partition.
Now select any Linux filesystem. This could be Ext4, BTRFS, or XFS. It doesn't really matter which one you pick.
Type / as the mountpoint.
UEFI and BIOS
Select Install.
While the process is running check tty8 to see a verbose output (Ctrl + Alt + 8). To return to the GUI, press (Ctrl + Alt + 1) to go back to tty1.
Do not reboot, unless you chose the grub bootloader. If you chose the grub bootloader, reboot, and skip the next section.
Installing a Different Bootloader
If you are installing a different bootloader, say "no" to the reboot prompt.
Now select Exit.
Mount the filesystem.
mount <root partition> /mnt
Replace <root partition> with the root partition (ie. /dev/sda3).
If you are using UEFI, mount the boot partition.
mkdir -p /mnt/boot/efi/
mount <boot partiton> /mnt/boot/efi/
Replace <boot partition> with the boot partition (ie. /dev/sda1).
Now prepare for chroot.
mount -t proc none /mnt/proc
mount -t sysfs none /mnt/sys
mount --rbind /dev /mnt/dev
mount --rbind /run /mnt/run
Copy over network files.
cp /etc/resolv.conf /etc/hosts /mnt/
Now chroot.
chroot /mnt /bin/bash
Update the package manager.
xbps-install -u xbps
UEFI
Install a terminal text editor of choice
xbps-install -S vis
Replace vis with the terminal text of your choice.
Edit /etc/default/efiboomgr-kernel-hook
vis /etc/default/efiboomgr-kernel-hook
Replace vis with the text editor that was installed
DIFY_EFI_ENTRIES="1"
DISK="<disk name>"
PART="<boot partition number>"
Replace <disk name> with the name of the disk that the system was installed on (ie. /dev/sda). Replace <boot partition number> with the number of the boot partion (probably 1).
Reconfigure the kernel.
xbps-reconfigure linux$(uname -r | awk -F. 'OFS="." {print $1,$2}')
Now reboot.
reboot
Legacy BIOS
Now install Git and LILO.
xbps-install -S git lilo
Enter the home directory of the regular user.
cd /home/<user>/
Replace <user> weth the name of the user.
Now create the .Git directory. This is where Git repos will be stored. Make sure you get the capitolization correct, or programs might mistake the home folder as a git repo.
mkdir .Git
Now enter that directory
cd .Git
Now clone the Git repo containing the configs that will be used throughout the guide.
git clone https://git.disroot.org/oink/Grandma.git
Copy the LILO config to /etc/
cp Grandma/Config/lilo/lilo.conf /etc/
Install a terminal text editor of choice
xbps-install -S vis
List the contents of the /boot directory.
ls /boot
The file you are looking for should look something like vmlinuz-6.3.12_1. Remember that filename.
Now edit the lilo.conf
vis /etc/lilo.conf
Change the the disk to the one that Void was installed on.
# Defines the boot device. This is where Lilo installs its boot
# block. It can be either a partition, or the raw device, in which
# case it installs in the MBR, and will overwrite the current MBR.
# With newer kernel you should use the ID of the boot device, which
# can be found here: /dev/disks/by-id/ata*.
boot = /dev/sda
Change the partition to the root partition.
# Defines the partition which is the root partition. This partition
# will be mounted at first from the kernel. With newer kernel you
# should use the UUID (UUID="...") of the root device, which can be
# found here: /dev/disks/by-uuid/*.
root = /dev/sda2
If you are testing in a VM, uncomment the last two lines of this snippet of the file.
# Defines non-standard parameters for the specified disk.
# Uncomment if using a virtual machine.
#disk = /dev/vda
# max-partitions=7
Change the partition to the root partition. Change the image to the file that you found in the ls output (ie. /boot/vmlinuz-6.3.12_1).
# Void Linux
image = /boot/vmlinuz-6.3.12_1
label = "Void Linux"
root = /dev/sda2
read-only
append = "quiet"
Reconfigure the kernel.
Now enable LILO.
lilo
Setting Up a GUI
Logging in
Login as root with the root password.
Installing the Package Manager
To install the package manager, run:
xbps-install -S xbps
The -S flag updates the repositories.
Installing a Terminal Text Editor
Install a terminal text editor of choice
xbps-install -S vis
Configuring/Installing sudo/opendoas
sudo is the default tool that runs commands as other users. doas (opendoas) is another option, that I prefer because it is more minimal.
sudo
sudo is already installed.
Edit the sudoers file:
EDITOR=vis visudo
Replace vis with your prefered text editor.
Locate the line that says
# %wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL
Remove the # from the beginning of the line.
After this snippet:
## Uncomment to allow members of group sudo to execute any command
# %sudo ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL
Add this snippet:
## Uncomment to allow user _greeter to execute poweroff and reboot commands without a password
_greeter ALL=NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/poweroff, /usr/bin/reboot
Now remove /etc/sudoers.d/wheel:
rm /etc/sudoers.d/wheel
doas
Installing a Window Manager
To install LabWC, run:
xbps-install -S dbus libudev pam_rundir seatd xorg-server-xwayland xorg-fonts labwc
Now edit /etc/pam.d/system-login:
vis /etc/pam.d/system-login
Add -session optional pam_rundir.so to the end of the file.
Enable the seatd service
ln -s /etc/sv/seatd /var/service/
Check that the service is running
sv status seatd
If it is not running, start it
sv start seatd
Enable the dbus service
ln -s /etc/sv/dbus /var/service/
Add the user to the _seatd group
usermod -aG _seatd <username>
Remember to replace <username> with the regular user's username.
Installing a Terminal
To install Foot, run:
xbps-install -S foot
Testing the GUI
Log out of root with Ctrl + d, and log back in with the username for the regular user.
To start LabWC, run:
labwc -s foot
Setting Up the Display Manager
Logout of the regular user, and log back in as root.
Install greetd and tuigreet:
xbps-install -S greetd tuigreet
Now enable the service
ln -s /etc/sv/greetd /var/service/
Configure greetd to use tuigreet, and start labwc
vis /etc/greetd/config.toml
The login manager, and desktop will be started in tty7. to change tty(s), press Ctrl + Alt + n, where n is the number of the tty.
The login manager will start LabWC with dbus-run-session labwc.
If you mess it up that command, and the display manager cannot start a GUI, then remember the tty keybind to change to a tty CLI.
Here is what the file should look like after changing it:
[terminal]
# The VT to run the greeter on. Can be "next", "current", or a number
# designating the VT
vt = 7
# The default session, also known as the greeter.
[defaut_session]
# `agetty` is the bundled agetty/login-lookalike. You can replace `/bin/sh`
# with whatever you want such as `sway`.
command = "tuigreet --power-shutdown 'sudo poweroff' --power-reboot 'sudo reboot'"
# The user to run the command as. The privlages this user must have depends
# on the greeter. A graphical greeter may for example require the user to be
# in the `video` group.
user = "_greeter"
The only line you should have had to change was this one:
command = "tuigreet --power-shutdown 'sudo shutdown now' --power-reboot 'sudo reboot'"
Ignore the lines starting with #. Those are comments.
Reboot the system to test it out.
reboot
Log in as your regular user at the prompt.
Setting Up the Filesystem
Right click on the screen and click Exit. Then press Ctrl + Alt + F1 to go to tty1.
Log in as your regular user at the prompt.
Install git.
sudo xbps-install git
Create directories.
mkdir -p .local/share/themes .config/labwc .Git/catppccin Desktop Backup Documents/PDF Documents/Emails Downloads Misc Music Pictures/Screenshots Videos/Movies
Enter the .Git directory. Remain in this directory from now on.
cd .Git
Clone the repo with the configuration files used in this guide.
git clone https://git.disroot.org/oink/Grandma
Configuring LabWC
Copy the LabWC configuration files into the configuration directory.
cp Grandma/labwc/* ~/.config/labwc/
Now clone the Openbox themes Git repo.
git clone https://github.com/catppuccin/openbox catppuccin/openbox
Copy the themes to the themes directory:
cp -r catppuccin/openbox/Catppuccin-Macchiato/ ~/.local/share/themes/
Change the keyboard layout.
vis ~/.config/labwc/environment
Replace these line
# XKB_DEFAULT_LAYOUT=se
With this
XKB_DEFAULT_LAYOUT=<layout>
XKB_DEFAULT_VARIANT=<variant>
Replace <layout> with the keyboard layout (ie. us), and <variant>, with the variant (ie. dvorak).
Configuring Foot
Copy the config directory into ~/.config.
cp Grandma/Config/foot/ ~/.config/
Credit Catppuccin
Create the fonts directory.
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/fonts
Change to that directory.
cd ~/.local/share/fonts
Now install the nerd font:
wget https://github.com/ryanoasis/nerd-fonts/releases/download/v3.1.1/Mononoki.zip
Install unzip.
sudo xbps-install unzip
Unpack the zip file.
unzip Mononoki.zip
Remove the LICENCE.txt and README.md.
rm LICENSE.txt README.md
Ruturn to the previous directory.
cd -
Changing the Themes
Install the icon theme.
sudo xbps-install papirus-icon-theme
Copy the gtk-3.0 config directory into ~/.config.
cp Grandma/Config/gtk-3.0/ ~/.config/
ZSH
Install ZSH.
sudo xbps-install -S zsh
Create a directory for plugins.
mkdir -p ~/.config/zsh/Plugins
Install Starship
sudo xbps-install starship
Clone the Git repo containing the starship config.
git clone https://github.com/catppuccin/starship catppuccin/starship
Copy the starship config into ~/.config.
cp catppuccin/starship/starship.toml ~/.config
Now change to the Plugins directory.
cd ~/.config/zsh/Plugins
Clone the plugins.
git clone https://github.com/z-shell/F-Sy-H
git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions
git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-history-substring-search
Copy the ZSH config into $HOME.
cp ~/.Git/Grandma/Config/zsh/.zshrc ~/
Make ZSH the default shell
chsh -s /usr/bin/zsh
Wallpaper
Create the wallpapers directory.
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/wallpapers
Copy the wallpaper over
cp ~/.Git/Grandma/Config/Wallpapers/* ~/.local/share/wallpapers
Swww
Now clone the swww repo.
git clone https://github.com/LGFae/swww
Change to the directory.
cd swww
Now install cargo.
sudo xbps-install cargo
Now install the dependencies.
sudo xbps-install lz4 scdoc
Build with Cargo.
cargo build --release
Put the binaries in the $PATH.
sudo cp target/release/swww target/release/swww-daemon /usr/local/bin
Generate the man pages.
./doc/gen.sh
Put the man pages in the manpath.
sudo cp doc/generated/* /usr/local/share/man/man1
Audio
Install Pipewire.
sudo xbps-install -S pipewire
Create the config.
: "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:=${HOME}/.config}"
mkdir -p "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d"
ln -s /usr/share/examples/wireplumber/10-wireplumber.conf "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/"
ln -s /usr/share/examples/pipewire/20-pipewire-pulse.conf "${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/"