View source for How to run Spice Agent

=How To Run Spice Agent in Alpine=

This is a guide on how to run Spice Agent in Alpine Linux 3.12.1-standard. 

The Spice Agent can be used to get some additional features when running Alpine Linux in a Qemu/Libvirt VM.

=Features=
Working:
* Client mouse mode
* Automatic adjustment of the X-session resolution
* Clipboard sharing

Not working:
* The <code>State</code> field in Libvirt - it always shows "disconnected", even when it is working

Not tested:
* Transferring files
* Multiple displays/screens

=Before You Start=
Most features of the Spice Agent are only useful when running a graphical interface.
I roughly followed the [[Awesome(wm)_Setup]] guide, but substituted <code>awesome</code> with <code>i3wm</code> as that has my preference (you have to install <code>i3status</code> manually, and use <code>i3</code> in the <code>.xinitrc</code> file).

For the Spice Agent to work, don't remove the <code>Channel spice</code> that is automatically added by Libvirt.

=Building the Spice Agent=
Install the dependencies:
  # apk add alpine-sdk autoconf automake glib-dev libxfixes-dev libxrandr-dev libxinerama-dev spice-protocol alsa-lib-dev dbus-dev libdrm-dev libpciaccess-dev

Get the source code:
  $ git clone https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/spice/linux/vd_agent.git
  $ cd vd_agent
  $ git checkout spice-vdagent-0.20.0
We need this specific version because the newest version requires a newer <code>spice-protocol</code> version than is provided by the repositories (version 0.14.1). If you follow this guide with a later version of Alpine, you may want to get a newer version from git as well.

Build the code (still in the {{Path|vd_agent}} directory):
  $ ./autogen.sh
  $ make

Install the program (should be optional when running manually, but I haven't tried it without yet):
  # make install


=Running the Spice Agent=

==Running manually==
First start the <code>spice-vdagentd</code>:
  # modprobe uinput
  # mkdir /run/spice-vdagentd
  # spice-vdagentd -d -x -X
<small>You can also remove the lower-case <code>-x</code> flag to deamonize the <code>spice-vdagentd</code>.</small>

Then start the <code>spice-vdagent</code>:
  $ spice-vdagent -x -d
Notice that there is no need to run this last command as root.

==Running with init script==
''This assumes you ran <code>make install</code> at the end of building. If you have not, you'll have to change this accordingly. It also requires that <code>uinput</code> can be loaded with <code>modprobe</code>. If you cannot, look at [[#Using_the_virt_edition_of_Alpine]].''

To run with an init script, we will use the Gentoo init script, although we have to change the paths to make it work properly (latest commit is <code>b3b3e1d9a13c389f17e01c78c6c1a996d08420b5</code> at the time of writing):
  $ wget https://gitweb.gentoo.org/repo/gentoo.git/plain/app-emulation/spice-vdagent/files/spice-vdagent.initd-4
  $ sed 's,/var/run,/run,g;s,/usr/sbin,/usr/local/sbin,g' spice-vdagent.initd-4 > spice-vdagentd
Then we move the file to the right location, change the ownership, make it executable and add it to the default runlevel:
  # mv spice-vdagentd /etc/init.d/
  # chown root:root /etc/init.d/spice-vdagentd
  # chmod +x /etc/init.d/spice-vdagentd
  # rc-update add spice-vdagentd default


=Using the virt edition of Alpine=
This currently does not work on the virt edition (version 3.12.1), as it doesn't have <code>uinput</code> enabled in the kernel. However, there are still several ways to get it working.

==Run without uinput==
You can make the <code>spice-vdagentd</code> work without the uinput module by starting it as follows, but it will disable the cursor while the <code>spice-vdagent</code> is running:
  # mkdir /run/spice-vdagentd
  # spice-vdagentd -d -x -X -u /dev/null -f

==Build uinput as module==
{{Draft|The following contains all necessary information, but has to be rewritten to be more clear.}}
Follow the steps in [[Creating_an_Alpine_package#Setup_your_system_and_account|Setup your system and account for building packages]] and cd to the {{Path|aports/main/linux-lts}} directory.
Check that the kernel version you've pulled is the same that you're running with <code>uname -r</code> and <code>head APKBUILD</code>.
If they mismatch, checkout the aports branch that has the same kernel version.
If they are the same, continue with the following steps:
  $ abuild deps
  $ abuild fetch verify
  $ abuild unpack
  $ abuild prepare
  $ cd src/build-virt-x86_64
Now change <code>CONFIG_INPUT_UINPUT</code> from not being included to <code>CONFIG_INPUT_UINPUT=m</code> in the <code>.config</code> file. Then proceed as follows:
  $ make modules_prepare
  $ make drivers/input/misc/uinput.ko
This builds the <code>uinput</code> module in the current directory. Every time you want to use it, you'll have to load it like this (still from {{Path|aports/main/linux-lts/src/build-virt-x86_64}}):
  # insmod drivers/input/misc/uinput.ko
After this, you can use the spice agent as described in [[How_to_run_Spice_Agent#Running_the_Spice_Agent|Running the Spice Agent]], except that the <code>modprobe uinput</code> is not necessary.

Alternatively, you can "install" the module by copying it to {{Path|/lib/modules/`uname -r`/extra}} (which you'll most likely have to create first) and running <code>depmod</code> (as root).
After this, you can load the module normally with <code>modprobe uinput</code>.
This is necessary if you want to use the init script as described in [[#Running_with_init_script]].

==Rebuild the kernel to include uinput==
See [[Custom_Kernel]] for pointers on how to build a custom kernel. The option you'll need to change in the config is <code>CONFIG_INPUT_UINPUT</code>.