linux-mef

This repository gathers a set of notes, scripts, tips gathered from my linux usage.

I wrote it for myself, but have no reason to keep it private.

Use at your own risks.

How to install BunsenLabs Carbon on a thinkpad laptop

The instructions below are relative to the installation of BusenLabs Carbon (based on Debian Trixie 13) on a Thinkpad laptop.

Previous versions:

• BunsenLabs Beryllium (based on Debian Bullseye), have a look at version tag v1.0.0.
• BunsenLabs Lithium (based on Debian Buster), have a look at version tag v0.3.0.
• BunsenLabs Helium (based on Debian Stretch), have a look at version tag v0.2.0.

Pre-install

• check ssh accesses, be sure not to end up locked out of some server.
• Run backup scripts
• save a copy of custom hosts /etc/hosts
• save a copy of dotfiles and any specific configs, e.g. nginx config files

Installation

Target hardware: Thinkpad laptops

• Download latest debian available ISO, and create a bootable USB with it.
• Disable EFI secure boot

During the installation process, in order to get the OS in English language and Euro sign as default currency symbol, choose the following:

• language: English
• location: [country]
• locale: Ireland

Disk partitioning layout

mount point	partition	size
/	/dev/sda1	30+ GB
/home	/dev/sda2	(all remaining space)
swap	/dev/sda4	1x RAM

Bunsen Beryllium

Follow instructions.

Post-install

Once bunsen is installed, and bl-welcome gets executed.

Decline when prompted to install cvs.

set trackpoint sensitivity

• Lookup current sensitivity value (libinput Accel Speed), using this command: xinput --list-props $(xinput list | grep TrackPoint | awk '{print $6}' | cut -c4,5)
• Experiment values to find suitable sensitiviy, e.g. -.35 here: xinput --set-prop $(xinput list | grep TrackPoint | awk '{print $6}' | cut -c4,5) "libinput Accel Speed" -.35
• Add command with desired sensitivity to ~/.config/bunsen/autostart, e.g.

xinput --set-prop $(xinput list | grep TrackPoint | awk '{print $6}' | cut -c4,5) "libinput Accel Speed" -.35 &

decrease swappiness

Add the following line to /etc/sysctl.conf:

vm.swappiness = 10

source.

setup and configure git

$ sudo apt install git
$ git config --global user.name "John Doe"
$ git config --global user.email johndoe@example.com
$ git config --global credential.helper cache

run automated installations

⚠️ Make sure that you know what you're doing. study the script before executing it, or run selected steps manually to be safe. ⚠️ the script bunsenlabs-carbon-setup.sh is designed to be executed only once.

N.B: when prompted, set keyboard layout as UK extended: select English (UK, international with dead keys extended WinKeys)

$ mkdir -p ~/development/other
$ cd ~/development/other
$ git clone https://github.com/mef/linux-mef.git
$ cd linux-mef
$ ./bunsenLabs-carbon-setup.sh

After running this script and restarting, open the wallpaper utility to update the wallpaper location (as ~/pictures is now lower case).

enable autologin

uncomment autologin-user inside /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf, using actual username:

[Seat:*]
autologin-user=username

Then add the user to the group autologin:

# groupadd -r autologin
# gpasswd -a username autologin

source

Add terminator theme

[TODO: xfce4 terminal is now default instead of terminator - whether it should be kept is to be evaluated.]

Add the following in the profiles section of .config/terminator/config:

  [[Monokai dark]]
    background_color = "#272822"
    background_darkness = 0.95
    background_type = transparent
    cursor_color = "#ffffff"
    foreground_color = "#f8f8f2"
    show_titlebar = False
    scrollback_infinite = True
    palette = "#75715e:#f92672:#a6e22e:#f4bf75:#66d9ef:#ae81ff:#2aa198:#f9f8f5:#272822:#f92672:#a6e22e:#f4bf75:#66d9ef:#ae81ff:#2aa198:#f9f8f5"
  [[Monokai mef]]
    background_color = "#272822"
    background_darkness = 0.95
    background_type = transparent
    cursor_color = "#ffffff"
    foreground_color = "#f8f8f2"
    show_titlebar = False
    scrollback_infinite = True
    palette = "#75715e:#f92672:#a6e22e:#f4bf75:#66d9ef:#ae81ff:#2aa198:#f9f8f5:#838383:#f92672:#a6e22e:#f4bf75:#66d9ef:#ae81ff:#2aa198:#f9f8f5"

bashrc

enable alias ll

custom keyboard shortcuts

Add or modify the following inside ~/.config/openbox/rc.xml:

• only one desktop

    <number>1</number>

• keyboard shortcuts

    
    <!-- Keybindings for brightness control -->
    <keybind key="W-F5">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>brightness down</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-F6">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>brightness up</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    
    <!-- Keybindings for volume control -->
    <keybind key="W-F2">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>vol down -i 10%</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    <keybind key="W-F3">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>vol up -i 10%</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>
    
    <!-- Override Ctrl-Q with dummy action -->
    <keybind key="C-Q">
      <action name="Execute">
        <command>/bin/false</command>
      </action>
    </keybind>

    <!-- Maximize current window -->
    <keybind key="W-Next">
      <action name="ToggleMaximize"/>
    </keybind>

Shortcuts in thunar

Manually define shortcuts in thunar

tlp

adjust battery charge thresholds in /etc/tlp.conf, and disable bluetooth on startup in the same file

configure awscli

cf. https://docs.aws.amazon.com/cli/latest/userguide/cli-chap-getting-started.html

Default region: eu-west-1 Default output format: json

Retrieve data sync scripts from s3, put them in bin directory

Geany

• select theme monokai-mef them in geany "View\Change color scheme" menu
• activate line wrap in geany Preferences/editor
• add Search field and Goto field to toolbar
• swap keybindings of Find and Switch to search bar

ssh

• generate key

ssh-keygen -o -a 100 -t ed25519

• create and complete .ssh/config
• add public key to relevant servers
• test all accesses

firefox setup

Setup firefox using Mozilla's apt repositories: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-linux#w_install-firefox-deb-package-for-debian-based-distributions

Run this for the keyu verification to succeed:

mkdir -p ~/.gnupg
chmod 700 ~/.gnupg

After repo setup:

sudo apt update
sudo apt purge firefox-esr
sudo apt autoremove

sudo apt install firefox firefox-devedition

web browsers config

1. install ublock origin in firefox and firefox developer edition (also in the VM) https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/?src=search
2. install ublock origin in chromium
3. retrieve userChrome.css and userContent.css from backup, and copy into firefox profile directories.
4. activate userChrome and userContent.css by setting toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets to true in about:config.
5. download client certificate an import in firefox
6. set proper scaling for HiDPI screen on Firefox 103+ (source):

• create a ui.textScaleFactor number config option, and set it to desired value (e.g. 120 for 120% scaling)
• Ensure that layout.css.devPixelsPerPx is set to -1
• Close and re-open the firefox window(s) to avoid undesired sire-effect on already open tabs.

anti-theft system

1. install prey .deb package from https://preyproject.com/download/
2. configure prey, it may be necessary to launch the gui manually: sudo /usr/lib/prey/current/bin/prey config gui

• during config, solve bug by applying this workaround. - if still relevant

3. enable prey service sudo -u prey /usr/lib/prey/current/bin/prey config activate
4. validate that it works by setting device to missing

nvm and node.js

cf. install using git.

Then nvm install --lts

vlc media player

## fix QT scaling for Hi-DPI screens for VLC media player
echo 'QT_AUTO_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTOR=0' | sudo tee -a /etc/environment

(effective after reboot)

gimp config

toggle Windows\Single-window mode

development

1. clone git repositories
2. install dependencies (npm install)
3. retrieve params / config files from backup
4. retrieve custom hosts and store in /etc/hosts

pip

For python 3:

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends python3-pip

Then add the path to python packages to bashrc file:

export PATH=/home/c-user/.local/bin:$PATH

Then use command pip3.

virtual machine setup (wip)

create the VM using virt-manager.

Lookup windows key with:

sudo cat /sys/firmware/acpi/tables/MSDM

If necessary, adapt VM name inside ~/bin/windows.

Docker

Add the Docker GPG key

sudo mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/debian/gpg | \
    sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg

Setup apt repository

echo \
  "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.gpg] \
  https://download.docker.com/linux/debian \
  $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

Install

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

Before starting Docker for the first time, configure to store data under /home:

sudo mkdir -p /home/docker
sudo chown root:root /home/docker
sudo chmod 711 /home/docker

Create or edit the file /etc/docker/daemon.json and add:

{
  "data-root": "/home/docker"
}

Start Docker

sudo systemctl start docker
sudo systemctl enable docker

Allow user to run docker without sudo

sudo groupadd docker  # This will fail harmlessly if the group already exists
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Activate the group change in current shell

newgrp docker

Verify setup

docker info
# Should include: Docker Root Dir: /home/docker

wip

• audacious or quodLibet as replacement of decibel-audio-player?
• raleway and roboto fonts
• ublock origin custom filters / rules

BIOS upgrade

Dependencies: genisoimage package.

sudo apt install genisoimage

1. Download the BIOS update utility as bootable CD iso file from lenovo website

2. convert the downloaded iso file to img file - (c.f. example command below)

3. use dd to copy the img file into a USB disk

4. Boot the laptop from USB and follow displayed instructions

   geteltorito -o x250.img downladed-iso-file-name.iso

Troubleshooting

Networking

Manual wi-fi setup /etc/network/interfaces.

Replace wlan0 by your actual interface name

auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
wpa-ssid "<network name>"
wpa-psk "<password>"

More config options here

Useful commands (as root):

• ip a
• iwconfig
• iwlist scan
• ip link set wlp0s20f3 up
• ifdown wlan0 && sudo ifup wlan0 (replace by proper interface name)