Desktop configuration

When a machine is used by a single user, one might consider disk encryption enough authorization to access a machine, like a home desktop for instance. Execute the following command to bypass all other authentication windows.

sudo systemctl edit getty@tty1.service

### Editing /etc/systemd/system/getty@tty1.service.d/override.conf
### Anything between here and the comment below will become the new contents of the>

[Service]
ExecStart=
ExecStart=-/usr/bin/agetty --autologin USERNAME --noclear %I $TERM

### Lines below this comment will be discarded

Don’t forget to change the username in the override file.

Terminal setup with Alacritty #

Install needed packages:

yay -S foot ttf-iosevka-nerd

Shell setup with ZSH #

Install needed packages:

pacman -S zsh zsh-autosuggestions zsh-syntax-hightlighting zsh-theme-powerlevel10k

Change default shell:

chsh --list
chsh USERNAME
/bin/zsh

Setup simple rc file by creating ~/.zshrc:

Set Powerlevel10k as the default prompt theme:

echo 'source /usr/share/zsh-theme-powerlevel10k/powerlevel10k.zsh-theme' >>~/.zshrc

Sway window manager #

Sway is a tiling Wayland compositor and personally preferred over big DE’s like Gnome or KDE. Install Sway:

yay -S sway swaybg

Start sway after login (with the assumption that ZSH is the default shell):

echo "if [ -z $DISPLAY ] && [ "$(tty)" = "/dev/tty1" ]; then
  exec sway
fi" >> ~/.zprofile

Audio setup with Pipewire #

Install pipewire and pavucontrol:

yay -S pipewire pipewire-pulse pavucontrol
systemctl start --user pipewire-pulse.service

Reboot and test the audio with pavucontrol.

Base Gnome install #

This section is about setting up a functional desktop environment after my personal preference. Start by installing some base packages:

yay -Ss paper-icon-theme nordic-theme

Desktop additions #

Install other useful packages for a more complete desktop environment:

yay -S gedit nautilus gnome-tweaks gnome-control-center network-manager-applet

Hardware acceleration #

Packages for hardware acceleration on Ryzen and Radeon platform:

yay -S libva-mesa-driver mesa-vdpau radeontop

Miscellaneous #

Packages for personal use on desktops and laptops:

yay -S youtube-dl mutagen firefox firefox-ublock-origin

Automatic login #