Installing VOID Linux

Introduction

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For several years, Manjaro Linux served as the default operating system on Belkast laptops. It proved to be a stable and reliable choice, with seamless OS and package updates. Many additional packages were installed via the Arch User Repository (AUR), which also functioned effectively.

However, over time, the number of packages installed from the AUR became cumbersome. Additionally, there was always a level of discomfort in relying on packages not fully supported by the OS maintainer.

After watching numerous YouTube videos about VOID Linux, the idea of switching to this distribution became appealing.

VOID Linux utilizes runit for service management, which appears to offer a more straightforward and resource-efficient system compared to systemd. This made it an ideal candidate for installation on an Acer Chromebook. The following sections detail the installation process and subsequent experiences.

Preparation for Installation

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The first step involved downloading the x64 glibc base ISO from the VOID Linux download page. Once the ISO was downloaded, it was written to a USB drive, which was then used to boot the laptop.

At the initial command prompt, the following credentials were used:

• Username: root
• Password: voidlinux

Installation Process

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The VOID Linux installer is based on ncurses and is generally intuitive, except for the partitioning section. To initiate the installer, the following command was executed:

void-installer

Partitioning

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The partitioning process required careful attention. The existing partitions were reviewed, and new ones were created as needed to accommodate the VOID Linux installation.

Package Selection

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During installation, the base system was selected, along with additional packages to ensure a functional environment. The installer provided options to configure the system, including:

• Locale and timezone settings
• Keyboard layout
• Network configuration
• Root password and user creation

Post-Installation Steps

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After completing the installation, the system was rebooted, and the following steps were undertaken to ensure a fully operational setup.

Package Installation

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A comprehensive list of packages was installed using the xbps-install package manager. The following packages were added to the system:

7zip
accountsservice
age
alsa-utils
arandr
archiver
at
atril
baobab
base-devel
bash-completion
bat
bluez
blueman
bspwm
catfish
cloc
cmake
cmus
coreutils
curl
dconf-editor
dmenu
dunst
e2fsprogs
evince
exa
feh
file-roller
firefox
flatpak
font-adobe-100dpi
font-adobe-75dpi
font-adobe-source-han-sans-jp
font-adobe-source-han-sans-kr
font-adobe-source-han-sans-tw
font-adobe-utrgothic
font-bitstream-vera
font-dejavu
font-liberation
font-misc-meltho
font-misc-ethiopic
font-noto
font-noto-cjk
font-noto-color-emoji
font-noto-extra
font-opensymbol
font-urw-base35
fzf
galculator
gawk
gcr
geany
gimp
git
glib
gmrun
gnome-calculator
gnome-disk-utility
gnome-font-viewer
gnome-keyring
gnome-screenshot
gnome-system-monitor
gnome-terminal
gparted
grep
gucharmap
gvfs
gvfs-afc
gvfs-mtp
gvfs-smb
gzip
hardinfo
htop
imagemagick
inotify-tools
jq
libreoffice
libreoffice-extension-pdfimport
libreoffice-extension-writer2latex
libreoffice-extension-writer2xhtml
libreoffice-extension-texmaths
libreoffice-extension-texformula
libreoffice-extension-tex4ht
libreoffice-gtk3
libreoffice-help-en
libreoffice-langpack-en
libreoffice-writer
libreoffice-calc
libreoffice-impress
libreoffice-draw
libreoffice-math
libreoffice-base
lsb-release
lua
lua5.4
lua5.3
lua5.2
lua5.1
lua5.0
luajit
lynx
m4
make
mc
mesa-dri
mesa-vdpau-va-gl
mesa-va-drivers
mesa-dri-drivers
mime-types
mpv
neofetch
net-tools
network-manager-applet
nm-connection-editor
noto-fonts
noto-fonts-cjk
noto-fonts-emoji
noto-fonts-extra
ntfs-3g
numlockx
p7zip
pandoc
pango
pciutils
picom
polkit
polkit-gnome
poppler
poppler-utils
pulseaudio
pulseaudio-utils
python3
python3-pip
python3-setuptools
python3-wheel
python3-pillow
python3-requests
python3-beautifulsoup4
python3-lxml
python3-markdown
python3-yaml
python3-jinja2
python3-pygments
qalculate
qpdfview
qt5ct
qt5-styleplugins
qt6ct
ranger
rofi
rxvt-unicode
socat
sqlite
sshfs
sxhkd
tar
thunar
thunar-archive-plugin
thunar-media-tags-plugin
thunar-volman
tigervnc-viewer
tmux
tree
unzip
usbutils
vim
void-repo-multilib
void-repo-multilib-nonfree
void-repo-nonfree
vscode
wget
wireplumber
wmctrl
xauth
xcolor
xclip
xdotool
xdpyinfo
xev
xinput
xmirror
xmlstarlet
xorg-fonts
xorg-input-drivers
xorg-minimal
xorg-video-drivers
xournalpp
xrandr
xrdb
xsetroot
xwallpaper
xwininfo
yad
yewtube
yt-dlp
zip
zoxide
zsh
zsh-autosuggestions
zsh-completions

Additional Configurations

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Flatpak Setup

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To enable Flatpak support, the Flathub repository was added:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

File and Configuration Restorations

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• Restored blezz files from backup.
• Restored warp (wd) from backup.
• Imported GPG keys (keys.asc).
• Ensured pinentry was configured correctly.
• Generated a goCryptFS configuration file.

GTK 3.0 Settings

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Added the following to the gtk-3.0/settings.ini file:

gtk-icon-theme-name=Papirus

NAS Mounting

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Updated /etc/fstab to include mounting of the NAS.

Themes

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Added the following environment variables to /etc/environment:

QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME=qt5ct
QT_STYLE_OVERRIDE=kvantum
SUDO_ASKPASS=/usr/local/bin/dpass

Custom Scripts

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The /usr/local/bin directory was populated with the following scripts:

• dmenu
• dpass
• get_iplayer

AppImage Package Manager

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Installed the AppImage package manager (AM) using:

wget -q https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ivan-hc/AM/main/AM-INSTALLER && chmod a+x ./AM-INSTALLER && ./AM-INSTALLER

get_iplayer

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Configured a cron job to update BBC iPlayer content:

*/15 * * * * /home/karmst/scripts/iPlayer/bbc_update.sh >/dev/null 2>&1

Installed the following Perl modules for get_iplayer:

• perl-Mojolicious
• perl-HTML-Parser
• perl-HTTP-Cookies
• perl-LWP
• perl-XML-LibXML
• perl-LWP-Protocol-https