Dotfiles managed with chezmoi.
Install chezmoi with:
sh -c "$(curl -fsLS git.io/chezmoi)"Install and apply configuration with:
./bin/chezmoi init https://github.com/nicholaschiang/dotfiles.git --applyFirst, install brew:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"Then, you can install my preferred development tooling:
brew install atuin bat btop eza fastfetch fish fzf git-delta kubectx k9s mise neovim rust starship tmux uv zoxideYou can then use mise to configure global node and python installations:
mise use --global node@22 python@3When you first launch vim (or, rather, neovim), you will need to:
:PlugInstall
...to install all of my vim plugins (configured via vim-plug).
I also install rust CLI tooling directly using cargo:
cargo install just ruplacerYou can use brew to install my preferred GUI applications on MacOS:
brew install --cask docker-desktop firefox figma font-iosevka notion-calendar raycast wezterm alacrittyI typically use wezterm with tmux on MacOS, but alacritty is also very good.
From my experience, alacritty is faster than wezterm but is less feature rich (e.g. it does not support ligatures).
My preferred distro of choice is currently Arch Linux, primarily because (a) I love that it comes with essentially nothing baked-in, (b) it has absolutely stellar documentation, and (c) it has an incredible package ecosystem in AUR.
First, install Arch. I referenced these two guides (1, 2) when I installed Arch alongside an existing Windows 11 installation. I had to resolve an issue with GRUB and LUKS encryption this way.
To configure WiFi:
❯ iwctl
To configure Bluetooth:
❯ bluetoothctl
To inspect the system:
❯ btop
❯ hostnamectl
❯ fastfetch
❯ neofetch
❯ uname -r
❯ pacman -Qs
In /var/lib/iwd/eduroam.8021x:
[Security]
EAP-Method=PEAP
EAP-Identity=anonymous@byu.edu
EAP-PEAP-Phase2-Method=MSCHAPV2
EAP-PEAP-Phase2-Identity=nhchiang@byu.edu
EAP-PEAP-Phase2-Password=REPLACE_ME
[Settings]
AutoConnect=true
I no longer use GRUB (it is slow and bloated).
I no longer encrypt the kernel .img files (doing so is unnecessary).
I was going to setup Limine instead (which Omarchy uses), but Limine lacks the ability to select the next boot entry programmatically, which is a must-have for me to create a Windows desktop shortcut in Arch. I also do not use many of the features of Limine (e.g. snapshots). The CachyOS Wiki has a good bootloader comparison table.
Instead, I use systemd-boot.
I configured systemd-boot via bootctl by referencing the Arch Linux Wiki and this guide.
I copied the necessary kernel options to load my encrypted BTRFS volume from my previous grub.cfg.
I could have also gotten the necessary persistent block device UUIDs from lsblk -f or blkid.
In /boot/efi/loader/entries/arch.conf:
title Arch Linux
linux /vmlinuz-linux
initrd /initramfs-linux.img
options root=UUID=2bdd61b8-be29-44b5-a699-a2118aa6305e rw rootflags=subvol=@ cryptdevice=UUID=1459c007-fe70-4092-a22b-363eda9eaede:root zswap.enabled=0 rootfstype=btrfs
In /boot/efi/loader/entries/arch-fallback.conf:
title Arch Linux (fallback initramfs)
linux /vmlinuz-linux
initrd /initramfs-linux-fallback.img
options root=UUID=2bdd61b8-be29-44b5-a699-a2118aa6305e rw rootflags=subvol=@ cryptdevice=UUID=1459c007-fe70-4092-a22b-363eda9eaede:root zswap.enabled=0 rootfstype=btrfs
My BTRFS setup aligns with the default provided by the archinstall TUI:
❯ sudo btrfs subvolume list /
[sudo] password for nchiang:
ID 256 gen 174764 top level 5 path @
ID 257 gen 174764 top level 5 path @home
ID 258 gen 174764 top level 5 path @log
ID 259 gen 174617 top level 5 path @pkg
ID 260 gen 7603 top level 256 path var/lib/portables
ID 261 gen 7603 top level 256 path var/lib/machines
❯ lsblk -f
NAME FSTYPE FSVER LABEL UUID FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
sda
├─sda1
└─sda2 exfat 1.0 X9 Pro ACA5-33DF
sdb iso9660 Joliet Extension ARCH_202509 2025-09-01-16-37-02-00
├─sdb1 iso9660 Joliet Extension ARCH_202509 2025-09-01-16-37-02-00
└─sdb2 vfat FAT32 ARCHISO_EFI 68B5-CBAE
zram0 swap 1 zram0 585a6947-4e2d-48fe-8411-448e13116955 [SWAP]
nvme0n1
├─nvme0n1p1 vfat FAT32 SYSTEM 48EA-8E84
├─nvme0n1p2
├─nvme0n1p3 BitLocker 2 79e130d4-0616-41ff-b4ed-9fa641aff8a9
├─nvme0n1p4 ntfs 8CE06ED7E06EC754
├─nvme0n1p5 ntfs RESTORE 4EEC1B1BEC1AFD41
├─nvme0n1p6 vfat FAT32 MYASUS 341B-2A97
├─nvme0n1p7 vfat FAT32 FFBD-D04F 150.3M 50% /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p8 swap 1 27a98047-7832-4e79-b613-5b536d5bc626 [SWAP]
└─nvme0n1p9 crypto_LUKS 2 1459c007-fe70-4092-a22b-363eda9eaede
└─root btrfs 2bdd61b8-be29-44b5-a699-a2118aa6305e 75.3G 50% /var/log
/var/cache/pacman/pkg
/home
/
❯ sudo findmnt -nt btrfs
/ /dev/mapper/root[/@] btrfs rw,relatime,compress=zstd:3,ssd,space_cache=v2,subvolid=256,subvol=/@
├─/home /dev/mapper/root[/@home] btrfs rw,relatime,compress=zstd:3,ssd,space_cache=v2,subvolid=257,subvol=/@home
├─/var/cache/pacman/pkg /dev/mapper/root[/@pkg] btrfs rw,relatime,compress=zstd:3,ssd,space_cache=v2,subvolid=259,subvol=/@pkg
└─/var/log /dev/mapper/root[/@log] btrfs rw,relatime,compress=zstd:3,ssd,space_cache=v2,subvolid=258,subvol=/@log
...the extra partitions on my SSD (nvme0n1) are used by the existing Windows installation.
I copied the kernel files from /boot (which lives on the encrypted BTRFS partition) to /boot/efi (which is the 300MB EFI partition).
Previously, grub handled decrypting /boot before loading the kernel.
This was very slow, required entering the same decryption passphrase twice, and systemd-boot does not support loading encrypted kernel files.
I was unable to copy the initramfs-linux-fallback.img file from the /boot directory (on my encrypted BTRFS partition) due to lack of space (on my 300MB EFI partition mounted to /boot/efi).
While systemd-boot will automatically check at boot time for /EFI/Microsoft/Boot/Bootmgfw.efi, my "Windows Boot Manager" was located in a separate EFI partition and thus required configuration.
I determined the FS alias of the EFI partition by using the UEFI shell (installed via edk2-shell) and comparing the output with sudo blkid:
Shell> map
Mapping table
FSO: Alias(s):CD0f0b:;BLK2:
PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x14,0x0)/USB(0x5,0x0)/CDROM(0x1)
FS1: Alias(s):HD1b:;BLK7:
PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0xE,0x0)/NVMe(0x1,C2-96-5C-3C-01-75-A0-00)/HD(1,GPT,DECF284C-0B62-4D09-A598-8B06198A20EE,0x800,0X82000)
FS2: Alias(s):HD1g:;BLK12:
PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0xE,0X0)/NVMe(0x1,C2-96-5C-3C-01-75-A0-00)/HD(6,GPT,FF98FCA0-7E96-4279-92FF-C24D7B0A4ED1,0X7733B000,0x82000)
...
❯ sudo blkid
/dev/nvme0n1p9: UUID="1459c007-fe70-4092-a22b-363eda9eaede" TYPE="crypto_LUKS" PARTUUID="143b6881-0878-4534-a943-70e763abb1ea"
/dev/nvme0n1p7: UUID="FFBD-D04F" BLOCK_SIZE="512" TYPE="vfat" PARTUUID="86c94f64-f9d3-49a5-ac2c-ea4f1b26b93e"
/dev/nvme0n1p5: LABEL="RESTORE" BLOCK_SIZE="512" UUID="4EEC1B1BEC1AFD41" TYPE="ntfs" PARTLABEL="Basic data partition" PARTUUID="2b42c37e-564a-4ae0-98e7-973d50744b62"
/dev/nvme0n1p3: UUID="79e130d4-0616-41ff-b4ed-9fa641aff8a9" TYPE="BitLocker" PARTLABEL="Basic data partition" PARTUUID="7ffde51e-2f89-449b-9675-4d3c2fcac1a6"
/dev/nvme0n1p1: LABEL="SYSTEM" UUID="48EA-8E84" BLOCK_SIZE="512" TYPE="vfat" PARTLABEL="EFI system partition" PARTUUID="decf284c-0b62-4d09-a598-8b06198a20ee"
/dev/nvme0n1p8: UUID="27a98047-7832-4e79-b613-5b536d5bc626" TYPE="swap" PARTUUID="4b56fe9c-b512-4c31-8929-e9804f9a0a55"
/dev/nvme0n1p6: LABEL="MYASUS" UUID="341B-2A97" BLOCK_SIZE="512" TYPE="vfat" PARTLABEL="Basic data partition" PARTUUID="ff98fca0-7e96-4279-92ff-c24d7b0a4ed1"
/dev/nvme0n1p4: BLOCK_SIZE="512" UUID="8CE06ED7E06EC754" TYPE="ntfs" PARTUUID="5f93ca63-50b1-441d-a0e7-f7535faa0b95"
/dev/nvme0n1p2: PARTLABEL="Microsoft reserved partition" PARTUUID="660bc4ee-985b-4a71-bb21-da13bc2a17c9"
/dev/sdb2: LABEL_FATBOOT="ARCHISO_EFI" LABEL="ARCHISO_EFI" UUID="68B5-CBAE" BLOCK_SIZE="512" TYPE="vfat" PARTUUID="2d9d5c0b-02"
/dev/sdb1: BLOCK_SIZE="2048" UUID="2025-09-01-16-37-02-00" LABEL="ARCH_202509" TYPE="iso9660" PARTUUID="2d9d5c0b-01"
/dev/mapper/root: UUID="2bdd61b8-be29-44b5-a699-a2118aa6305e" UUID_SUB="4b804401-8ba4-4014-a088-67feca675a34" BLOCK_SIZE="4096" TYPE="btrfs"
/dev/sda2: LABEL="X9 Pro" UUID="ACA5-33DF" BLOCK_SIZE="512" TYPE="exfat" PARTLABEL="Basic data partition" PARTUUID="80b33855-35c4-4a15-8e81-f0430ec2e66b"
/dev/sda1: PARTLABEL="Microsoft reserved partition" PARTUUID="ecfc4322-72f3-4cc1-b3e6-8d3f63ef2cf0"
/dev/zram0: LABEL="zram0" UUID="585a6947-4e2d-48fe-8411-448e13116955" TYPE="swap"
In /boot/efi/loader/entries/windows.conf:
title Windows
efi /shellx64.efi
options -nointerrupt -nomap -noversion HD1b:EFI\Microsoft\Boot\Bootmgfw.efi
In /boot/efi/loader/loader.conf, I configured systemd-boot to load arch.conf by default:
default arch.conf
timeout 0
console-mode max
After confirming systemd-boot worked as expected, I removed grub:
sudo pacman -Rcnsu grub
sudo rm -rf /boot/grub /boot/efi/grub
I booted from a USB to move /boot/efi to /boot by editing /etc/fstab and removing the contents of /boot.
I use SDDM to automatically login and launch sway after disk decryption.
❯ yay -S sddm
❯ sudo systemctl enable sddm.service
In /etc/sddm.conf.d/autologin.conf:
[Autologin]
User=nchiang
Session=sway
In /usr/share/wayland-sessions/sway.desktop:
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Sway
Comment=An i3-compatible Wayland compositor
Exec=sway --unsupported-gpu
Type=Application
DesktopNames=sway;wlroots
I added the --unsupported-gpu option which is required to use the nvidia-open GPU drivers with sway.
I use Plymouth to enter my disk decryption password on login.
In /etc/mkinitcpio.conf:
HOOKS=(base udev autodetect microcode modconf kms keyboard keymap consolefont block plymouth encrypt filesystems fsck)
To ensure the nvidia-open GPU drivers are loaded before Plymouth runs:
In /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia.conf:
options nvidia_drm modeset=1
In /etc/mkinitcpio.conf:
MODULES=(nvidia nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm btrfs)
...these changes were inspired by this Omarchy script.
I then regenerated the initramfs:
❯ sudo mkinitcpio -P
I have a 2023 ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 (GU604VI-M16.I94070). I had to go into the BIOS and set the display mode to "dGPU" (to always use the discrete NVIDIA 4070 laptop GPU). I had to switch my primary LG 45GX950A-B display cable to the USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C with DisplayPort 1.4 port (right side). This USB-C port (right side) is connected to the discrete GPU while the USB 4 Type-C with Thunderbolt 4 port (left side) is connected to the integrated Intel GPU. I have a secondary display (a 65" LG TV mounted above my desk) connected to the HDMI 2.1 port (left side). This HDMI port is also connected to the discrete GPU. Other Zephyrus laptops have similar port configurations.
Then, from your fresh Arch installation, install yay:
sudo pacman -S --needed git base-devel
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay
makepkg -siThen, you can install my preferred development tooling. I currently have the following packages installed:
❯ yay -Qe
1password 8.11.22-27
adwaita-qt5-git 1.4.1.r29.g0a77436-1
adwaita-qt6-git 1.4.1.r29.g0a77436-1
alacritty 0.16.1-1
android-studio 2025.2.2.7-1
apple-fonts 7.0.3-1
asusctl 6.1.22-0.1
atuin 18.10.0-1
aws-cli-v2 2.32.16-1
base 3-2
base-devel 1-2
bat 0.26.1-1
bind 9.20.16-1
bluez 5.85-1
bottom 0.11.4-1
brightnessctl 0.5.1-3
btop 1.4.5-1
btrfs-progs 6.17.1-1
chatblade 0.7.0-2
chezmoi 2.68.1-1
chromium 143.0.7499.109-1
cmatrix 2.0-4
countryfetch 0.2.0-1
croc 1:10.3.1-1
ddgr 2.2-1
discord 1:0.0.119-1
dmidecode 3.6-1
dnsmasq 2.91-1
docker 1:29.1.3-1
docker-compose 5.0.0-1
dunst 1.13.0-1
edk2-shell 202508-1
efibootmgr 18-3
eog 47.0-3
eza 0.23.4-1
fastfetch 2.56.0-1
fd 10.3.0-1
ffmpegthumbnailer 2.2.4-1
firefox 146.0-1
fish 4.2.1-1
flameshot 13.3.0-2
fzf 0.67.0-1
git 2.52.0-2
git-delta 0.18.2-6
git-lfs 3.7.1-1
github-cli 2.83.2-1
globalprotect-openconnect-git 2.4.5.r0.g2aa875a-1
gnome-themes-extra 1:3.28-1
gst-plugin-pipewire 1:1.4.9-2
helix 25.07.1-1
huenicorn 1.0.11-4
icloudpd-bin 1.32.2-1
imagemagick 7.1.2.11-1
impala 0.6.0-1
imv 5.0.1-1
intel-ucode 20251111-1
iwd 3.10-1
jira-cli 1.7.0-1
jujutsu-git 0.35.0.r91.g54511ee3f-1
just 1.45.0-1
k9s 0.50.16-1
kanshi 1.8.0-2
kubectx 0.9.5-1
less 1:685-1
libpulse 17.0+r93+gbe2efb69b-1
libvirt 1:11.10.0-1
linux 6.17.9.arch1-1
linux-firmware 20251125-2
linux-headers 6.17.9.arch1-1
localsend 1.17.0-2
lutris 0.5.19-6
magic-wormhole 0.21.1-1
man-db 2.13.1-1
man-pages 6.16-1
mediainfo 25.10-1
minecraft-launcher 1:2.1.3-3
mise 2025.11.3-1
mpv 1:0.40.0-7
mullvad-vpn 2025.14-1
neofetch 7.1.0-2
neovim 0.11.5-1
nginx 1.28.0-4
nmap 7.98-3
nnn 5.1-1
noto-fonts-emoji 1:2.051-1
nvidia-open 580.105.08-6
obs-studio 32.0.2-2
ollama 0.13.3-1
ollama-docs 0.13.3-1
openssh 10.2p1-2
os-prober 1.83-1
otf-aurulent-nerd 3.4.0-1
otf-codenewroman-nerd 3.4.0-1
otf-comicshanns-nerd 3.4.0-1
otf-commit-mono-nerd 3.4.0-1
otf-droid-nerd 3.4.0-1
otf-firamono-nerd 3.4.0-1
otf-geist-mono-nerd 3.4.0-1
otf-hasklig-nerd 3.4.0-1
otf-hermit-nerd 3.4.0-1
otf-monaspace-nerd 3.4.0-1
otf-opendyslexic-nerd 3.4.0-1
otf-overpass-nerd 3.4.0-1
pamixer 1.6-3
pandoc-bin 3.8.3-1
pandoc-eisvogel-template 3.3.0-1
pipewire 1:1.4.9-2
pipewire-alsa 1:1.4.9-2
pipewire-docs 1:1.4.9-2
pipewire-jack 1:1.4.9-2
pipewire-pulse 1:1.4.9-2
polychromatic 0.9.5-1
postgresql 18.1-1
power-profiles-daemon 0.30-1
prismlauncher 9.4-1
python-poetry 2.2.1-1
qemu-full 10.1.2-3
racket 9.0-1
razer-cli 2.3.0-3
ripgrep 15.1.0-1
rofi 2.0.0-1
rofi-bluetooth-git r41.0cca4d4-1
rog-control-center 6.1.22-0.1
rsync 3.4.1-2
rustcraft 0.8-3
satty 0.20.0-1
sddm 0.21.0-6
signal-desktop 7.82.0-1
slack-desktop-wayland 4.46.96-1
slugify 1.0.1-1
sof-firmware 2025.05.1-1
speedtest-cli 2.1.3-9
starship 1.24.1-1
steam 1.0.0.85-1
sway-contrib 1.11-1
sway-git 1.12.r7616.b54d120-1
swaybg 1.2.1-1
swayidle 1.9.0-1
swaylock 1.8.4-1
swtpm 0.10.1-1
tailscale 1.92.1-1
tectonic 0.15.0-4
thefuck 3.32-11
thunar 4.20.6-1
tldr 3.4.3-2
tmux 3.6_a-1
traceroute 2.1.6-1
ttc-iosevka 33.3.6-1
ttf-0xproto-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-3270-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-agave-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-anonymouspro-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-arimo-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-bigblueterminal-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-bitstream-vera-mono-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-cascadia-code-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-cascadia-mono-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-cousine-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-d2coding-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-daddytime-mono-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-dejavu-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-envycoder-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-fantasque-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-firacode-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-font-awesome-4 4.7.0-7
ttf-go-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-gohu-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-hack-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-heavydata-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-iawriter-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-ibmplex-mono-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-inconsolata-go-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-inconsolata-lgc-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-inconsolata-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-intone-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-iosevka-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-iosevkaterm-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-iosevkatermslab-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-jetbrains-mono-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-lekton-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-liberation-mono-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-lilex-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-martian-mono-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-meslo-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-monofur-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-monoid-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-mononoki-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-mplus-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-nerd-fonts-symbols 3.4.0-1
ttf-nerd-fonts-symbols-mono 3.4.0-1
ttf-noto-emoji-monochrome 1.1.0-2
ttf-noto-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-profont-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-proggyclean-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-recursive-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-roboto-mono-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-sharetech-mono-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-sourcecodepro-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-space-mono-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-terminus-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-tinos-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-ubuntu-mono-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-ubuntu-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-victor-mono-nerd 3.4.0-1
ttf-zed-mono-nerd 3.4.0-1
tumbler 4.20.1-1
turso-cli 0.87.2-1
unzip 6.0-23
usage 2.6.0-1
usbutils 019-1
uv 0.9.17-1
v4l2loopback-dkms 0.15.3-1
v4l2loopback-utils 0.15.3-1
vim 9.1.1975-1
virt-manager 5.1.0-1
vlc 3.0.21-32
vlc-plugin-ffmpeg 3.0.21-32
vulkan-nouveau 1:25.3.1-2
vulkan-tools 1.4.335.0-1
waybar 0.14.0-5
webtorrent-cli 5.1.3-1
wezterm-git 20240203.110809.r790.gd3b0fda-1
wf-recorder 0.6.0-1
wget 1.25.0-3
wireplumber 0.5.12-1
wl-clipboard 1:2.2.1-3
wlroots-git 0.20.0.r7653.106f0f95-1
woff2-font-awesome 7.1.0-1
xdg-desktop-portal-gtk 1.15.3-1
xdg-desktop-portal-wlr-git 0.8.0.r0.g0ab4f6f-1
xorg-xwayland 24.1.9-1
yay 12.5.7-1
yt-dlp 2025.12.08-1
zip 3.0-11
zoom 6.6.11-1
zoxide 0.9.8-2
zram-generator 1.2.1-1
My current /etc/mkinitcpio.conf, modified to load NVIDIA drivers and keyboard detection before prompting for a drive decryption password:
# vim:set ft=sh
# MODULES
# The following modules are loaded before any boot hooks are
# run. Advanced users may wish to specify all system modules
# in this array. For instance:
# MODULES=(usbhid xhci_hcd)
MODULES=(nvidia nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm btrfs)
# BINARIES
# This setting includes any additional binaries a given user may
# wish into the CPIO image. This is run last, so it may be used to
# override the actual binaries included by a given hook
# BINARIES are dependency parsed, so you may safely ignore libraries
BINARIES=(/usr/bin/btrfs)
# FILES
# This setting is similar to BINARIES above, however, files are added
# as-is and are not parsed in any way. This is useful for config files.
FILES=()
# HOOKS
# This is the most important setting in this file. The HOOKS control the
# modules and scripts added to the image, and what happens at boot time.
# Order is important, and it is recommended that you do not change the
# order in which HOOKS are added. Run 'mkinitcpio -H <hook name>' for
# help on a given hook.
# 'base' is _required_ unless you know precisely what you are doing.
# 'udev' is _required_ in order to automatically load modules
# 'filesystems' is _required_ unless you specify your fs modules in MODULES
# Examples:
## This setup specifies all modules in the MODULES setting above.
## No RAID, lvm2, or encrypted root is needed.
# HOOKS=(base)
#
## This setup will autodetect all modules for your system and should
## work as a sane default
# HOOKS=(base udev autodetect modconf block filesystems fsck)
#
## This setup will generate a 'full' image which supports most systems.
## No autodetection is done.
# HOOKS=(base udev modconf block filesystems fsck)
#
## This setup assembles a mdadm array with an encrypted root file system.
## Note: See 'mkinitcpio -H mdadm_udev' for more information on RAID devices.
# HOOKS=(base udev modconf keyboard keymap consolefont block mdadm_udev encrypt filesystems fsck)
#
## This setup loads an lvm2 volume group.
# HOOKS=(base udev modconf block lvm2 filesystems fsck)
#
## This will create a systemd based initramfs which loads an encrypted root filesystem.
# HOOKS=(base systemd autodetect modconf kms keyboard sd-vconsole sd-encrypt block filesystems fsck)
#
## NOTE: If you have /usr on a separate partition, you MUST include the
# usr and fsck hooks.
HOOKS=(base udev keyboard autodetect microcode modconf kms keymap consolefont block encrypt filesystems fsck)
# COMPRESSION
# Use this to compress the initramfs image. By default, zstd compression
# is used for Linux ≥ 5.9 and gzip compression is used for Linux < 5.9.
# Use 'cat' to create an uncompressed image.
#COMPRESSION="zstd"
#COMPRESSION="gzip"
#COMPRESSION="bzip2"
#COMPRESSION="lzma"
#COMPRESSION="xz"
#COMPRESSION="lzop"
#COMPRESSION="lz4"
# COMPRESSION_OPTIONS
# Additional options for the compressor
#COMPRESSION_OPTIONS=()
# MODULES_DECOMPRESS
# Decompress loadable kernel modules and their firmware during initramfs
# creation. Switch (yes/no).
# Enable to allow further decreasing image size when using high compression
# (e.g. xz -9e or zstd --long --ultra -22) at the expense of increased RAM usage
# at early boot.
# Note that any compressed files will be placed in the uncompressed early CPIO
# to avoid double compression.
#MODULES_DECOMPRESS="no"
I use fish as my default shell:
chsh -s /usr/bin/fishI also disable Bluetooth reconnecting to avoid erroneously reconnecting my earbuds after I switch to my phone:
# /etc/bluetooth/main.conf
ReconnectAttempts=0
To quickly set a system-wide dark theme:
yay -S gnome-themes-extra adwaita-qt5-git adwaita-qt6-git
export GTK_THEME=Adwaita:dark
export GTK2_RC_FILES=/usr/share/themes/Adwaita-dark/gtk-2.0/gtkrc
export QT_STYLE_OVERRIDE=Adwaita-Dark...these are also set in the fish configuration.
To configure the default browser:
/usr/share/applications🔒
❯ xdg-mime default firefox.desktop x-scheme-handler/http
/usr/share/applications🔒
❯ xdg-mime default firefox.desktop x-scheme-handler/https
Finally, you'll probably want to launch sway:
swayI configured starship to use nerd fonts.
The waybar uses font-awesome for its icons.
yay -S otf-font-awesome ttf-nerd-fonts-symbols
I have an iPhone (blue bubbles matter to me, unfortunately). I am used to the Apple emoji set.
yay -S ttf-apple-emoji
I configure fan curves on my laptop with asusctl:
❯ asusctl fan-curve -m Balanced -e true
Starting version 6.1.12
~
❯ asusctl fan-curve -g
Starting version 6.1.12
CPU: enabled: true, 30c:9%,62c:17%,66c:23%,70c:30%,74c:45%,78c:53%,78c:53%,78c:53%
GPU: enabled: true, 30c:9%,62c:16%,66c:22%,70c:29%,74c:44%,78c:51%,78c:51%,78c:51%
MID: enabled: true, 30c:0%,62c:0%,66c:0%,70c:0%,74c:0%,78c:80%,78c:80%,78c:80%
~
❯ asusctl fan-curve -m Performance -g
Starting version 6.1.12
CPU: enabled: true, 30c:9%,62c:17%,66c:23%,70c:30%,74c:45%,78c:53%,78c:53%,78c:53%
GPU: enabled: true, 30c:9%,62c:16%,66c:22%,70c:29%,74c:44%,78c:51%,78c:51%,78c:51%
MID: enabled: true, 30c:0%,62c:0%,66c:0%,70c:0%,74c:0%,78c:80%,78c:80%,78c:80%
Fan curves for Performance
[
(
fan: CPU,
pwm: (45, 79, 117, 137, 175, 234, 234, 234),
temp: (30, 64, 68, 72, 76, 80, 80, 80),
enabled: false,
),
(
fan: GPU,
pwm: (45, 79, 117, 137, 175, 242, 242, 242),
temp: (30, 64, 68, 72, 76, 80, 80, 80),
enabled: false,
),
(
fan: MID,
pwm: (2, 2, 2, 2, 206, 206, 206, 206),
temp: (30, 64, 68, 72, 76, 80, 80, 80),
enabled: false,
),
]
~
❯ asusctl fan-curve -m Balanced -f cpu -D "30c:0%,62c:0%,66c:10%,70c:20%,74c:35%,78c:55%,78c:80%,78c:95%"
Starting version 6.1.12
~
❯ asusctl fan-curve -m Balanced -f gpu -D "30c:0%,62c:0%,66c:10%,70c:20%,74c:35%,78c:55%,78c:80%,78c:95%"
Starting version 6.1.12
~
❯ asusctl fan-curve -g
Starting version 6.1.12
CPU: enabled: false, 30c:0%,62c:0%,66c:10%,70c:20%,74c:34%,78c:54%,78c:80%,78c:94%
GPU: enabled: false, 30c:0%,62c:0%,66c:10%,70c:20%,74c:34%,78c:54%,78c:80%,78c:94%
MID: enabled: true, 30c:0%,62c:0%,66c:0%,70c:0%,74c:0%,78c:80%,78c:80%,78c:80%To run a macOS virtual machine on Arch (primarily to sideload my own iOS applications on my iPhone using Xcode), I use QEMU/KVM. I tried following this popular OSX-KVM guide, but got stuck in an infinite loop where booting from my installation drive (which I named "Macintosh HD") kept bringing me back to the boot selection screen or macOS recovery. I also tried following this guide to using OSX with Docker, but I encountered the same issues. Eventually, I got Quickemu to work after some fiddling (documented below).
I turned off dGPU only in BIOS, as the OSX-KVM guide mentions that:
Modern NVIDIA GPUs are supported on HighSierra but not on later versions of macOS.
...although that never fixed the issue with OSX-KVM, it may or may not have affected my later success with Quickemu.
I had to install quickemu-git to resolve this issue:
yay -S quickemu-git
I followed these instructions to setup a macOS sonoma virtual machine.
❯ quickget macos sonoma
❯ quickemu --vm macos-sonoma.conf --width 2560 --height 1600
Quickemu 4.9.8 using /usr/bin/qemu-system-x86_64 v10.1.2
- Host: Arch Linux running Linux 6.18.2-arch2-1 beru
- CPU: 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-13900H
- CPU VM: host, 1 Socket(s), 4 Core(s), 2 Thread(s)
- RAM VM: 10G RAM
- BOOT: EFI (macOS), OVMF (OVMF_CODE.fd), SecureBoot (off).
- Disk: macos-sonoma/disk.qcow2 (128G)
- Display: SDL, VGA, GL (on), VirGL (off) @ (2560 x 1600)
- Sound: intel-hda (hda-micro)
- ssh: On host: ssh user@localhost -p 22220
- 9P: On guest: sudo mount_9p Public-nchiang
- 9P: On host: chmod 777 /home/nchiang/Public
Required for macOS integration 👆
- USB: Host pass-through requested:
o Apple, Inc. iPhone 5/5C/5S/6/SE/7/8/X/XR on bus 003 device 008 is accessible.
- Network: User (virtio-net-pci)
/usr/bin/quickemu: line 621: warning: command substitution: ignored null byte in input
/usr/bin/quickemu: line 621: warning: command substitution: ignored null byte in input
- Monitor: On host: socat -,echo=0,icanon=0 unix-connect:macos-sonoma/macos-sonoma-monitor.socket
- Process: Started macos-sonoma.conf as macos-sonoma (5864)acos-sonoma/macos-sonoma-serial.socket
...where macos-sonoma.conf was slightly modified to support USB pass-through and increase performance (I bumped the default ram and cpu_cores configuration):
#!/usr/bin/quickemu --vm
guest_os="macos"
disk_img="macos-sonoma/disk.qcow2"
img="macos-sonoma/RecoveryImage.img"
disk_size="128G"
macos_release="sonoma"
ram="10G"
cpu_cores="8"
usb_devices=("05ac:12a8")
I found the relevant USB device by connecting my iPhone and then:
❯ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 003: ID 05ac:024f Apple, Inc. Aluminium Keyboard (ANSI)
Bus 003 Device 004: ID 0b05:19b6 ASUSTek Computer, Inc. N-KEY Device
Bus 003 Device 005: ID 1532:00aa Razer USA, Ltd Razer Basilisk V3 Pro
Bus 003 Device 006: ID 3277:0018 Sonix Technology Co., Ltd. USB2.0 FHD UVC WebCam
Bus 003 Device 007: ID 8087:0033 Intel Corp. AX211 Bluetooth
Bus 003 Device 008: ID 05ac:12a8 Apple, Inc. iPhone 5/5C/5S/6/SE/7/8/X/XR
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
I had to modify the quickemu executable a bit (following this issue):
❯ sudo vim $(which quickemu)
# USB_PASSTHROUGH="${USB_PASSTHROUGH} -device usb-host,bus=hostpass.0,vendorid=0x${VENDOR_ID},productid=0x${PRODUCT_ID}"
USB_PASSTHROUGH="${USB_PASSTHROUGH} -usb -device usb-ehci,id=ehci -device usb-host,bus=ehci.0,vendorid=0x${VENDOR_ID},productid=0x${PRODUCT_ID},guest-reset=false,id=iphone"
...I also followed these instructions, but I'm not sure how relevant those changes actually were. After connecting my iPhone, restarting the virtual machine, and clicking "Trust This Computer" in iOS, the VM detected my iPhone:
To be able to login with my Apple ID in Xcode (which is required to sign apps for installation on my iPhone), I had to follow these instructions and use ./GenSMBIOS.command to ensure my virtual machine had a unique serial number.
I also followed these instructions and used qe_mac_apid to modify the bootloader file with a unique serial number.
I'm not sure which approach actually solved the issue.
I did both (probably unnecessarily).
I also had to set the kern.hv_vmm_present kernel parameter to 0 by following these instructions.
I found the relevant volume via diskutil (the EFI partition on the disk that has the "Linux Filesystem"):
% sudo diskutil list
Password:
/dev/disk0 (internal, physical):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *137.4 GB disk0
1: EFI EFI 209.7 MB disk0s1
2: Apple_APFS Container disk2 137.2 GB disk0s2
/dev/disk1 (internal, physical):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID_partition_scheme *402.7 MB disk1
1: EFI EFI 152.6 MB disk1s1
2: Linux Filesystem 247.0 MB disk1s2
/dev/disk2 (synthesized):
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: APFS Container Scheme - +137.2 GB disk2
Physical Store disk0s2
1: APFS Volume Macintosh HD - Data 53.0 GB disk2s1
2: APFS Volume Preboot 2.7 GB disk2s2
3: APFS Volume Recovery 1.3 GB disk2s3
4: APFS Volume Macintosh HD 11.3 GB disk2s4
5: APFS Snapshot com.apple.os.update-... 11.3 GB disk2s4s1
6: APFS Volume VM 1.1 MB disk2s6
I mounted the volume:
% sudo diskutil mount /dev/disk1s1
Volume EFI on /dev/disk1s1 mounted
% sudo vim /Volumes/EFI/EFI/OC/config.plist
...and then appended the relevant patches to /Volumes/EFI/EFI/OC/config.plist:
<dict>
...
<key>Kernel</key>
<dict>
...
<key>Patch</key>
<array>
...
<dict>
<key>Arch</key>
<string>x86_64</string>
<key>Base</key>
<string></string>
<key>Comment</key>
<string>Sonoma VM BT Enabler - PART 1 of 2 - Patch kern.hv_vmm_present=0</string>
<key>Count</key>
<integer>1</integer>
<key>Enabled</key>
<true/>
<key>Find</key>
<data>aGliZXJuYXRlaGlkcmVhZHkAaGliZXJuYXRlY291bnQA</data>
<key>Identifier</key>
<string>kernel</string>
<key>Limit</key>
<integer>0</integer>
<key>Mask</key>
<data></data>
<key>MaxKernel</key>
<string></string>
<key>MinKernel</key>
<string>20.4.0</string>
<key>Replace</key>
<data>aGliZXJuYXRlaGlkcmVhZHkAaHZfdm1tX3ByZXNlbnQA</data>
<key>ReplaceMask</key>
<data></data>
<key>Skip</key>
<integer>0</integer>
</dict>
<dict>
<key>Arch</key>
<string>x86_64</string>
<key>Base</key>
<string></string>
<key>Comment</key>
<string>Sonoma VM BT Enabler - PART 2 of 2 - Patch kern.hv_vmm_present=0</string>
<key>Count</key>
<integer>1</integer>
<key>Enabled</key>
<true/>
<key>Find</key>
<data>Ym9vdCBzZXNzaW9uIFVVSUQAaHZfdm1tX3ByZXNlbnQA</data>
<key>Identifier</key>
<string>kernel</string>
<key>Limit</key>
<integer>0</integer>
<key>Mask</key>
<data></data>
<key>MaxKernel</key>
<string></string>
<key>MinKernel</key>
<string>22.0.0</string>
<key>Replace</key>
<data>Ym9vdCBzZXNzaW9uIFVVSUQAaGliZXJuYXRlY291bnQA</data>
<key>ReplaceMask</key>
<data></data>
<key>Skip</key>
<integer>0</integer>
</dict>
...
...after rebooting the virtual machine, I was able to login with my Apple ID in Xcode ("Xcode ❯ Settings ❯ Apple Accounts ❯ Add Apple Account") and configure certificates ("Runner ❯ Targets ❯ Runner ❯ Signing & Capabilities ❯ Team ❯ Nicholas Chiang (Personal Team)") for my Flutter "Runner" application (open ~/repos/humble/ios/Runner.xcodeproj).
I set my "Bundle Identifier" to com.nicholaschiang.humble.
I followed the instructions in the error message that appeared after running flutter run for the first time:
On my iPhone (running iOS 26.2), I had to go to "General ❯ VPN & Device Management" and select my apple@nicholaschiang.com developer profile and click "Trust".
I also had to go to "General ❯ Transfer or Reset iPhone ❯ Reset ❯ Reset Network Settings" to resolve an issue where verifying applications resulted in a persistent "Unable to Verify App. An Internet connection is required to verify the trust of the developer." error message.
After all of this, I was able to get the default flutter create application to run on my iPhone (both via flutter run and flutter install).
Now, I will investigate running macOS headless.
All I really need to be able to do is flutter install, after all.
Or, even better, flutter run on macOS with hot reload on my physical iPhone while editing the source from the host Arch Linux machine.
I was able to SSH into the virtual machine and, after unlocking the login keychain, successfully flutter run from my host machine over SSH:
❯ ssh nchiang@localhost -p 22220
nchiang in macos-sonoma in ~/repos/humble is v1.0.0+1 via took 18s
❯ security unlock-keychain login.keychain
password to unlock login.keychain:
nchiang in macos-sonoma in ~/repos/humble is v1.0.0+1 via took 2s
❯ flutter run
Resolving dependencies...
Downloading packages...
characters 1.4.0 (1.4.1 available)
matcher 0.12.17 (0.12.18 available)
material_color_utilities 0.11.1 (0.13.0 available)
test_api 0.7.7 (0.7.8 available)
Got dependencies!
4 packages have newer versions incompatible with dependency constraints.
Try `flutter pub outdated` for more information.
Launching lib/main.dart on iPhone in debug mode...
Automatically signing iOS for device deployment using specified development team in Xcode project: 8H39634522
Running Xcode build...
Xcode build done. 9.4s
Installing and launching... 15.0s
Syncing files to device iPhone... 39ms
Flutter run key commands.
r Hot reload. 🔥🔥🔥
R Hot restart.
h List all available interactive commands.
d Detach (terminate "flutter run" but leave application running).
c Clear the screen
q Quit (terminate the application on the device).
A Dart VM Service on iPhone is available at: http://127.0.0.1:49587/_zxQcRmPapU=/
The Flutter DevTools debugger and profiler on iPhone is available at: http://127.0.0.1:49587/_zxQcRmPapU=/devtools/?uri=ws://127.0.0.1:49587/_zxQcRmPapU=/ws