sway on arch

desktop as a code: setup for arch+sway.

preparation before install, few options:

• prepare installation media with binary included, see archiso note
• format usb stick with two partitions (arch-sway format-dev) and copy binary to storage partition
• use vanilla iso, and copy binary to device running archiso environment (using curl/ssh/etc)

installation

run arch-sway install and follow the instructions.

tmux can help to keep several terminals open for debugging: CTRL+b and SHIFT+" or SIFT+% to split, CTRL+b and up|down to change focus.

notes

manual wifi configuration

WIFI_SSID='somessid'
WIFI_PASSWD='p4$$w0rd'
ip link set wlan0 up
wpa_supplicant -B -i wlan0 -c <(wpa_passphrase "$WIFI_SSID" "$WIFI_PASSWD")
dhcpcd

wavemon can help to scan wifi networks

archiso

to crete iso with arch-sway binary included:

• install dependency pacman -Sy archiso
• run arch-sway build-iso archiso doc - https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/archiso

running on VM

• select QXL video device in QEMU, run sway via WLR_NO_HARDWARE_CURSORS=1 sway
• archiso environment have sshd and root password access enabled - easy to upload binary and start installation using scp/ssh

flashing black screen during installation

laptop may enter into loop with flashing black screen after selecting install from boot menu. select install, but press e instead of enter to edit kernel parameters, add nomodeset parameter:

linux /boot/vmlinuz-linux ... nomodeset 
initrd ...

press ctrl+x to save and load.

ref: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Kernel_parameters

disable mitigations

this may increase CPU performance, but potentially dangerous. disable hardware vulnerability mitigations by setting mitigations=off kernel parameter.

gpm

gpm may help to navigate and copypaste during tty stages:

pacman -S gpm
gpm -m /dev/input/mice -t imps2 # usb mouse
gpm -m /dev/input/mice -t exps2 # touchpad
gpm -m /dev/psaux -t ps2        # ps/2 mouse

pipewire

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PipeWire set flag to enable WebRTC in chrome: chrome://flags/#enable-webrtc-pipewire-capturer

bluetooth pairing

$ bluetoothctl
agent KeyboardOnly
default-agent
power on
scan on
pair 00:12:34:56:78:90
connect 00:12:34:56:78:90

ref: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/bluetooth#Pairing

screen resolution

run swaymsg -t get_outputs to get list of outputs and man sway-output for more options. use wdisplays for GUI configuration.

appearance

use lxappearance to set GTK theme and appearance settings. lxappearance stores config in ~/.gtkrc-2.0. more themes: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/GTK#Themes

connecting android devices via USB

based on: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Media_Transfer_Protocol

install dependencies:

sudo pacman -Sy android-udev android-file-transfer

restart may be needed.

connect phone, select File Transfer (MTP), keep screen unlocked. mount phone storage:

mkdir -p ~/mnt
aft-mtp-mount ~/mnt

keybindings

use wev to get key code

yay -Sy wev

zoom

use web app, works well with chrome. desktop app may crash when joining the meeting, with following error:

ANOM_ABEND auid=1000 uid=1000 gid=1000 ses=1 pid=4324 comm="QSGRenderThread" exe="/opt/zoom/zoom" sig=11 res=1

try to set env var for Qt:

QSG_RENDER_LOOP=basic zoom

encrypted volume

TODO