Revision as of 11:02, 24 June 2019

Initial setup

Start by booting up Alpine (see these instructions on how to do that)
When you Alpine is up and running, do the initial setup.

# setup-alpine

# setup-xorg-base

Installing packages

Install basic desktop system and gnome packages. As of right now, these are in the testing repo.
This might take a few minutes depending on your network speed.

# apk add gnome

If you want to you can also install additional GNOME apps for a more complete GNOME experience with:

# apk add gnome-apps

Setting up udev

You'll have to enable udev in order for GNOME to function properly.

# apk add udev

/etc/init.d/udev start && /etc/init.d/udev-trigger start && /etc/init.d/udev-settle start
rc-update add udev sysinit
rc-update add udev-trigger sysinit
rc-update add udev-settle sysinit

Setting up Xorg

Even when using GNOME Wayland you'll still need a setup Xorg for XWayland.

Video packages

$ apk search xf86-video

Then install the driver matching to your card, e.g. if you have an Intel iGPU:

# apk add xf86-video-intel

Input packages

Usually libinput is the best choice, as it's integrated best with GNOME and offers advanced functionality (e.g. palm rejection for touchpads).

# apk add xf86-input-libinput

Starting your desktop

Start GDM and login with your user.

rc-service gdm start

Once you have verified that it actually works you can make gdm start up at boot:

rc-update add gdm

Troubleshooting

If you are unable to login, check /var/log/gdm/greeter.log, there may be output there from X to indicate failed modules, etc.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Draft|It doesn't produce the result expected YET}}
 = Initial setup =
 Start by booting up Alpine (see [[Installation|these]] instructions on how to do that)<BR>
 When you Alpine is up and running, do the initial setup.
-{{Cmd|setup-alpine}}
+{{Cmd|# setup-alpine}}
-{{Cmd|setup-xorg-base}}
+{{Cmd|# setup-xorg-base}}
-= Install packages =
+= Installing packages =
-Install basic desktop system and gnome packages. For Alpine Linux 3.3 and later, these packages are in the [[Enable_Community_Repository|community]] repo.<BR>
+Install basic desktop system and gnome packages. As of right now, these are in the testing repo.<BR>
 This might take a few minutes depending on your network speed.
-{{Cmd|apk add alpine-desktop gnome-base lxdm}}
+{{Cmd|# apk add gnome}}
 <BR>
-Lxdm is a display manager.  You can use a different one such as slim by replacing {{Cmd|lxdm}} with {{Cmd|slim}}
-== Optional packages ==
+If you want to you can also install additional GNOME apps for a more complete GNOME experience with:<BR>
-=== Video and Input packages ===
+{{Cmd|# apk add gnome-apps}}
-You <u>might</u> also want to install a package suitable for your video chipset and input devices.<BR>
+<BR>
-For example, if you have an Sis video chipset install 'xf86-video-sis', for Intel video chipset install 'xf86-video-intel'.<BR>
-{{Cmd|apk add xf86-video-sis}}
-and / or
-{{Cmd|apk add xf86-input-synaptics}}
-If you are running a virtual machine (i.e in VirtualBox or VMware) you probably also want these video drivers:
+== Setting up udev ==
-{{Cmd|apk add xf86-video-vmware}}
+You'll have to enable udev in order for GNOME to function properly.
-Run 'apk search xf86-video*' to see available xf86-video packages.<BR>
+{{Cmd|# apk add udev
-Run 'apk search xf86-input*' to see available xf86-input packages.<BR>
+# /etc/init.d/udev start && /etc/init.d/udev-trigger start && /etc/init.d/udev-settle start
+# rc-update add udev sysinit
+# rc-update add udev-trigger sysinit
+# rc-update add udev-settle sysinit
+}}
-=== acpid ===
+== Setting up Xorg ==
-If you installed your Alpine Linux as a VirtualBox or VMWare guest you might find it handy be able send ACPI shutdown.<BR>
+Even when using GNOME Wayland you'll still need a setup Xorg for XWayland.
-{{Cmd|rc-update add acpid}}
-= Configure xorg-server (optional) =
+=== Video packages ===
-You can configure xorg-server and make your modifications
-{{Cmd|Xorg -configure}}
-This will result in `/root/xorg.conf.new`. You can modify this file to fit your needs.<BR>
-(When finished modifying and testing the above configuration file, move it to `/etc/X11/xorg.conf` for normal usage.)
-== udev ==
+{{cmd|$ apk search xf86-video}}
-Adding udev might help you with some finicky hardware like touchpads.
-{{Cmd|apk add udev
-/etc/init.d/udev start && /etc/init.d/udev-postmount start
-rc-update add udev sysinit
-rc-update add udev-postmount default
-}}
-Adding evdev might also be necessary, for example if the keyboard doesn't work in X...
-{{Cmd|apk add xf86-input-evdev}}
-= Create user accounts =
+Then install the driver matching to your card, e.g. if you have an Intel iGPU:
-Create a normal user account.
-{{Cmd|adduser ncopa}}
-Optionally, give that user sudo permissions in /etc/sudoers.
+{{cmd|# apk add xf86-video-intel}}
-= Start your desktop =
+=== Input packages ===
-Start lxdm and log in with your new user.
-{{Cmd|rc-service lxdm start}}
-Once you have verified that it actually works you can make lxdm start up at boot:
+Usually libinput is the best choice, as it's integrated best with GNOME and offers advanced functionality (e.g. palm rejection for touchpads).
-{{Cmd|rc-update add lxdm}}
-Or if using slim:
+{{cmd|# apk add xf86-input-libinput}}
-{{Cmd|rc-service slim start}}
+= Starting your desktop =
+Start GDM and login with your user.
+{{Cmd|rc-service gdm start}}
-and once confirmed as working enable it at boot:
+Once you have verified that it actually works you can make gdm start up at boot:
-{{Cmd|rc-update add slim}}
+{{Cmd|rc-update add gdm}}
 = Troubleshooting =
-If you are unable to login, check /var/log/lxdm.log, there may be output there from X to indicate failed modules, etc.
+If you are unable to login, check /var/log/gdm/greeter.log, there may be output there from X to indicate failed modules, etc.
-<BR>
-If you are unable to login, or you see an error "Failed to execute login command", you should check ~/.xinitrc with your preferred text editor (vi, nano, etc) and ensure that it is set to boot into gnome.  To do this, the 'exec' line (usually the last line in the file) should read "exec gnome-session".
-If ~/.xinitrc does not exist, create it and add the exec line.  this command will do it:
-{{Cmd|touch ~/.xinitrc && echo "exec gnome-session" >> ~/.xinitrc}}
 [[Category:Desktop]]