Void Tutorial

Personal notes for configuring my Void Linux setup

Prerequisites

This section...

• is highly opinionated.
• is meant to be followed in exact order to ensure smoothest configuration.
• assumes you have already booted and logged into a fresh install of base Void Linux.
• will most likely require elevated privileges for most commands.

Configure WiFi Internet

1. Test WiFi: ip link show
2. Add WiFi with wpa_supplicant:
   • Private/Home WiFi (has password): wpa_passphrase WIFINAME WIFIPASSWORD >> /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
   • Public WiFi (no password): printf 'network={\n\tssid="PUBLICWIFINAME"\n\tkey_mgmt=NONE\n}\n' >> /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
3. Enable wpa_supplicant Service: ln -s /etc/sv/wpa_supplicant /etc/runit/runsvdir/default
4. Test Internet Connection: ping -c 5 voidlinux.org

Firmware

xbps-install -Su
xbps-install -S void-repo-nonfree
xbps-install -S void-repo-multilib
xbps-install -S void-repo-multilib-nonfree
xbps-install -S linux-firmware-amd
xbps-install -S linux-firmware

Desktop

xbps-install -S helix
xbps-install -S dbus 
ln -s /etc/sv/dbus /etc/runit/runsvdir/default
xbps-install -S nvidia
xbps-install -S xorg
xbps-install -S nerd-fonts
xbps-install -S elogind
xbps-install -S tlp 
ln -s /etc/sv/tlp /etc/runit/runsvdir/default
xbps-install -S qt5-wayland qt6-wayland
echo "QT_QPA_PLATFORM=wayland" >> /etc/environment
xbps-install -S kwayland
echo "ELM_DISPLAY=wl" >> /etc/environment
echo "SDL_VIDEODRIVER=wayland,x11" >> /etc/environment
xbps-install -S xorg-server-xwayland
echo "XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland" >> /etc/environment
xbps-install -S xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-gtk
xbps-install -S niri

Login Screen

xbps-install -S greetd tuigreet
hx /etc/greetd/config.toml

/etc/greetd/config.toml:

[terminal]
vt = 1

[default_session]
command = "tuigreet --time --remember --remember-session --cmd 'dbus-run-session niri --session'"
user = "greeter"

useradd -r -s /sbin/nologin -d /var/empty greeter
rm /var/service/agetty-tty1
ln -s /etc/sv/greetd /etc/runit/runsvdir/default
sv down acpid
rm -f /var/service/acpid
reboot

Essential Software

xbps-install -Su alacritty nushell broot fuzzel mako Waybar swaybg wl-clipboard grim slurp swaylock curl xz
curl -fsSL https://github.com/zen-browser/updates-server/raw/refs/heads/main/install.sh | $SHELL

Audio

xbps-install -S pipewire
mkdir -p /etc/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d
ln -s /usr/share/examples/wireplumber/10-wireplumber.conf /etc/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/
mkdir -p /etc/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d
ln -s /usr/share/examples/pipewire/20-pipewire-pulse.conf /etc/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/

Bluetooth

xbps-install -S libspa-bluetooth

Gaming

xbps-install -S steam xwayland-satellite libgcc-32bit libstdc++-32bit libdrm-32bit libglvnd-32bit libva-32bit nvidia-libs-32bit
xbps-install -Su

Notes

To be continued, with further instructions and more detail as I grow my personal daily-driver Void Linux system.

I just wanted a way to replicate my setup, since I often forget commands, applications, and configs; in case I need to reinstall Void Linux onto another device.

Final System

architecture	x86_64
cpu	AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS
gpu	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
filesystem	btrfs
init	runit
display_server	Wayland
compositor	niri
login_manager	greetd
audio	pipewire
shell	nushell
terminal	alacritty
editor	helix