Number</th>	Size</th>	FS Code</th>	FS Format</th>	Use as</th>	Mountpoint</th></tr></thead>
1</td>	1g</td>	ef00</td>	vfat</td>	EFI system partition</td>	/boot/efi</td></tr>
2</td>	64g</td>	8300</td>	ext4</td>	Root partition</td>	/</td></tr>
3</td>	>END</td>	8309</td>	luks/ext4</td>	Encrypted partition</td>	/home</td></tr> </tbody></table> Create the EFI system partition:</p> sgdisk -n "${esp_part}:1m:+1g" -t "${esp_part}:ef00" -c 0:esp $disk</span></span></code></pre> Create the root partition:</p> sgdisk -n "${root_part}:0:+64g" -t "${root_part}:8300" -c 0:root $disk</span></span></code></pre> Create the home partition:</p> sgdisk -n "${home_part}:0:0" -t "${home_part}:8309" -c 0:home $disk</span></span></code></pre> Display layout:</p> partprobe $disk && sgdisk -p $disk</span></span></code></pre>Encrypt the home partition</h3> cryptsetup luksFormat --type luks2 -y $home_device</span></span></code></pre> Unlock home_device:</p> cryptsetup open $home_device crypthome</span></span></code></pre> Set a variable for crypthome</code>:</p> luks_dev_home="crypthome"</span></span></code></pre>Format the partitions</h3> NOTE</strong> Labels on file systems are optional, but helpful. They are a more reliable way to identify the correct partition than simple device nodes and allow for easy mounting without a UUID.</p> mkfs.fat -n ESP -F 32 $esp_device</span></span> mkfs.ext4 -L rootfs $root_device</span></span> mkfs.ext4 -L homefs /dev/mapper/${luks_dev_home}</span></span></code></pre>Installation</h2> Expert mode</h3> Open a new tab in the terminal.</p> Launch the LMDE installer in expert-mode</code>:</p> sudo live-installer-expert-mode</span></span></code></pre> Proceed as normal up to Installation Type</code>. Select Manual Partitioning</code>.</p> In the Partitioning</code> window, click Expert mode</code>.</p> Before continuing, we mount our file systems on /target</code>.</p> Mount partition file systems</h3> Switch back to the root terminal.</p> Mount:</p> mount --mkdir LABEL=rootfs /target</span></span> mount --mkdir LABEL=homefs /target/home</span></span> mount --mkdir LABEL=ESP /target/boot/efi</span></span></code></pre>Install LMDE</h3> Switch back to the installer window and click Next</code>.</p> Proceed to Summary</code> and confirm:</p> Home encryption: disabled</code> _# entire partition is LUKS-encrypted</li> Install bootloader on /dev/[disk]</code> # example: /dev/sda</code> with no partition number</em></li> Use already mounted /target</code></li> </ul> When satisfied, click Install</code>.</p> LMDE install proceeds as per usual up to Installation paused</code>.</p> Do the following before continuing the install:</p> Create a swapfile</h3> Create a (example: 2G</code>) swapfile:</p> fallocate -l 2G /swapfile</span></span></code></pre> Set correct permissions:</p> chmod 600 /swapfile</span></span></code></pre> Format the file as swap</code>:</p> mkswap /swapfile</span></span></code></pre>Add to fstab</h3> Add file systems to fstab</code> to be mounted at boot:</p> echo "LABEL=ESP /boot/efi vfat defaults 0 0" >> /target/etc/fstab</span></span> echo "LABEL=rootfs / ext4 defaults 0 1" >> /target/etc/fstab</span></span> echo "LABEL=homefs /home ext4 defaults 0 2" >> /target/etc/fstab</span></span></code></pre> Add swapfile</code>:</p> echo "/swapfile none swap sw 0 0" >> /target/etc/fstab</span></span></code></pre>Add to crypttab</h3> Set home</code> to be opened at boot:</p> echo "$luks_dev_home PARTLABEL=home none luks,discard" >> /target/etc/crypttab</span></span></code></pre>Finish the install</h3> Switch back to installer window and click Next</code> to finish the install.</p> When prompted Do you want to restart your computer to use the new system?</code> choose No</code>.</p> Mount virtual file systems</h3> Switch back to the root terminal.</p> Mount:</p> mount --bind /dev /target/dev</span></span> mount --bind /dev/pts /target/dev/pts</span></span> mount -t proc /proc /target/proc</span></span> mount -t sysfs /sys /target/sys</span></span></code></pre>Enter chroot</h3> Copy resolv.conf</code> to enable network access inside chroot environment:</p> cp /etc/resolv.conf /target/etc/resolv.conf</span></span></code></pre> Make changes inside the local installed system via chroot</code>:</p> chroot /target/ /bin/bash</span></span></code></pre> Change the prompt to highlight actions inside chroot</code>:</p> export PS1="(chroot) $PS1"</span></span></code></pre>Add packages</h3> Update the package repository contents and install extra packages:</p> apt update && apt install systemd-cryptsetup</span></span></code></pre>Finish Up</h2> Exit chroot</h3> exit</span></span> cd</span></span></code></pre>Unmount and close</h3> NOTE</strong> Partition /target/boot/efi</code> is auto-unmounted by the installer.</em></p> umount /target/home && umount -l -n -R /target</span></span></code></pre> Remove encrypted home</code> mapping:</p> cryptsetup close $luks_dev_home</span></span></code></pre>Reboot</h3> Reboot the system.</p> User is prompted for the passphrase to unlock the encrypted home</code> partition. Upon success, boot resumes...</p> Welcome to LMDE!</strong></p> Troubleshooting</h3> The default Plymouth (boot) theme mint-logo</code> fails to display properly rendered text for the password prompt on the splash screen to unlock home</code> partition (except for this detail it otherwise works correctly).</p> After a successful first boot, possible workarounds are: 1. switch to another built-in plymouth theme; or 2. disable plymouth and use a text-based password prompt.</p> 1. Switch theme</h4> Plymouth theme bgrt</code> renders text correctly:</p> sudo plymouth-set-default-theme bgrt && sudo update-initramfs -u</span></span></code></pre>2. Text-based prompt</h4> Modify /etc/default/grub.d/50_lmde.cfg</code> by removing splash</code> from GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT</code>. Save changes, then run update-grub</code>.</p> Resources</h2> Release notes for LMDE 7</a> and upstream Debian 13 "Trixie"</a>. Pay particular attention to "Issues to be aware of for trixie"</a> (especially #5).</li> </ul> You can like, share, or comment on this post on Mastodon</a> 💬 </p> Zswap Makes Swap Go Zoom Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Linux kernel features zswap</strong> and zram</strong> both provide a compressed storage area in RAM for swap memory. But each takes a very different approach to achieve a fast(er) swap.</p> Start Here</a></li> Configure the Bootloader</a> GRUB</a></li> ZBM</a></li> </ul> </li> Verify</a> Cmdline</a></li> Dmesg</a></li> Parameters</a></li> Statistics</a></li> </ul> </li> Troubleshooting</a></li> Resources</a></li> </ul> Start Here</h2> The most apparent difference between the two approaches to swap management are that while zswap</code> works in tandem with a swapfile or swap partition, zram</code> does not require a backing swap device. So zram</code> all the way, right? At least I thought so. I've used zram</code> in the past to keep swap contents in speedy RAM vs not-as-speedy-storage, but after reading this comprehensive debunking of zswap and zram myths</a> I've switched to zswap</code> on my machines.</p> Different bootloaders initiate zswap</code> differently. For the purposes of this HOWTO I profile two systems, each with a different bootloader: a Void Linux</a> desktop using ZFSBootMenu</strong> (ZBM</a>), and a Linux Mint Debian Edition</a> (LMDE</a>) laptop using GRUB</strong>. Both systems were provisioned with a swap partition during install.</p> To use zswap</code>, I need to supply the desired arguments to the kernel at boot. These are the arguments I use:</p> zswap.enabled=1</code> # the master switch</li> zswap.compressor=lz4</code> # prioritize the lowest latency vs a higher compression ratio</li> zswap.zpool=zsmalloc</code> # most modern and efficient memory allocator</li> zswap.max_pool_percent=10</code> # zswap can use up to 10% of physical RAM</li> </ul> Configure the Bootloader</h2> GRUB</h3> If the system bootloader is GRUB, view the current boot arguments by inspecting cmdline</code>:</p> $ cat /proc/cmdline</span></span> BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.12.95+deb13-amd64 root=UUID=<long_string_of_characters> ro quiet splash</span></span></code></pre> Add the desired zswap</code> boot arguments to GRUB by modifying the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT</code> setting, which exists in /etc/default/grub</code>.</p> However, settings in this file can be overridden if additional config files exist in the /etc/default/grub.d</code> directory. In LMDE this is indeed the case, which has a /etc/default/grub.d/50_lmde.cfg</code> file. Higher numbered files in this directory are read later by GRUB in generating its config, and take precedence over earlier settings.</p> Since any changes made to 50_lmde.cfg</code> may be lost in a future system upgrade, I create a custom file to hold the boot arguments:</p> echo 'GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash zswap.enabled=1 zswap.zpool=zsmalloc zswap.max_pool_percent=10"' \| sudo tee /etc/default/grub.d/99_cmdline.cfg</span></span></code></pre> NOTE</strong> I've made a slight alteration here, dropping the zswap.compressor=lz4</code> argument. The reason is that on (all?) Debian-based distros like LMDE, the default lzo</code> compressor is loaded very early in the boot process before the lz4</code> modules are considered (even if included in the initramfs) and the argument will fail. An alternative is described below in "Troubleshooting".</p> Update GRUB:</p> sudo update-grub</span></span></code></pre> Reboot the system.</p> ZBM</h3> If the system bootloader is ZBM, view the current boot arguments for (example) zroot/ROOT</code>:</p> $ zfs get org.zfsbootmenu:commandline zroot/ROOT</span></span> NAME PROPERTY VALUE SOURCE</span></span> zroot/ROOT org.zfsbootmenu:commandline quiet hibernate=no local</span></span></code></pre> NOTE</strong> I had added the quiet</code> and hiberate=no</code> parameters earlier during the Void install</a>.</p> Add the following boot arguments to ZBM:</p> sudo zfs set org.zfsbootmenu:commandline="quiet hiberate=no zswap.enabled=1 zswap.compressor=lz4 zswap.zpool=zsmalloc zswap.max_pool_percent=10" zroot/ROOT</span></span></code></pre> Reboot the system.</p> Verify</h2> Cmdline</h3> Arguments used to boot the system:</p> GRUB on LMDE</strong></p> $ cat /proc/cmdline</span></span> BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.12.95+deb13-amd64 root=UUID=<long_string_of_characters> ro quiet splash zswap.enabled=1 zswap.zpool=zsmalloc zswap.max_pool_percent=10</span></span></code></pre> ZBM on Void</strong></p> $ cat /proc/cmdline </span></span> root=zfs:zroot/ROOT/void quiet hiberate=no zswap.enabled=1 zswap.compressor=lz4 zswap.zpool=zsmalloc zswap.max_pool_percent=10 spl.spl_hostid=0x00bab10c</span></span></code></pre>Dmesg</h3> Confirm zswap</code> was loaded during boot:</p> LMDE</strong></p> $ sudo dmesg \| grep zswap</span></span> .</span></span> .</span></span> .</span></span> [ 0.746379] zswap: loaded using pool lzo/zsmalloc</span></span></code></pre> Void</strong></p> $ sudo dmesg \| grep zswap</span></span> .</span></span> .</span></span> .</span></span> [ 0.507529] zswap: loaded using pool lz4</span></span></code></pre>Parameters</h3> NOTE</strong> On systems that are running more recent (6.18+) kernels (like Void) zsmalloc</code> is now the exclusive backend for zswap, and the zpool</code> option has been removed.</p> View live settings:</p> Void</strong></p> $ grep -r . /sys/module/zswap/parameters/</span></span> /sys/module/zswap/parameters/enabled:Y</span></span> /sys/module/zswap/parameters/shrinker_enabled:N</span></span> /sys/module/zswap/parameters/max_pool_percent:10</span></span> /sys/module/zswap/parameters/compressor:lz4</span></span> /sys/module/zswap/parameters/accept_threshold_percent:90</span></span></code></pre> LMDE</strong></p> $ grep -r . /sys/module/zswap/parameters/</span></span> /sys/module/zswap/parameters/enabled:Y</span></span> /sys/module/zswap/parameters/shrinker_enabled:N</span></span> /sys/module/zswap/parameters/max_pool_percent:10</span></span> /sys/module/zswap/parameters/compressor:lzo</span></span> /sys/module/zswap/parameters/zpool:zsmalloc</span></span> /sys/module/zswap/parameters/accept_threshold_percent:90</span></span></code></pre>Statistics</h3> View how zswap</code> is performing:</p> sudo grep -r . /sys/kernel/debug/zswap/</span></span></code></pre> If the above command outputs the error message:</p> grep: /sys/kernel/debug/zswap/: No such file or directory</span></span></code></pre> ...mount debugfs</code>:</p> sudo mount -t debugfs none /sys/kernel/debug</span></span></code></pre> ...and re-run grep</code>.</p> Troubleshooting</h2> To use the zswap compressor of our choice on a system that won't accept it as a boot argument (i.e. lz4</code> on LMDE), one approach is to create a systemd service file that will switch compressors after zswap</code> starts at boot.</p> Create zswap-compress.service</code>:</p> sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/zswap-compress.service</span></span></code></pre> Add:</p> [Unit]</span></span> Description=Configure zswap compressor to LZ4</span></span> After=systemd-modules-load.service</span></span> </span> [Service]</span></span> Type=oneshot</span></span> ExecStart=/bin/bash -c 'echo lz4 > /sys/module/zswap/parameters/compressor'</span></span> RemainAfterExit=yes</span></span> </span> [Install]</span></span> WantedBy=multi-user.target</span></span></code></pre> Save changes and exit.</p> Enable the service:</p> sudo systemctl enable --now zswap-compress.service</span></span></code></pre> Verify:</p> cat /sys/module/zswap/parameters/compressor</span></span></code></pre> It should output lz4</code>.</p> On the next reboot, dmesg</code> may show a lz4 not available, using default</code> log entry from the beginning of boot, but the systemd service will override it seconds later. After login, running the cat</code> command above will output the current compressor handling the swap pool.</p> Resources</h2> Essential reading: Debunking zswap and zram myth</a></li> Linux Kernel Admin Guide: zswap</a></li> Arch Wiki: Zswap</a></li> </ul> You can like, share, or comment on this post on the Fediverse</a> 💬 </p> Virtualization in Void Linux Using KVM + QEMU + Libvirt Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Set up a stack of virtualization tools on a Void Linux</a> host for creating and managing virtual machines (VMs).</p> Start Here</a></li> Directories</a></li> Permissions</a></li> Services</a></li> Create VM</a></li> Resize VM guest window</a></li> Video Acceleration</a></li> Virsh and Virt-clone</a></li> Resources</a></li> </ul> Start Here</h2> KVM</a> (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is built into the Linux kernel and handles the CPU and memory details. QEMU</a> (Quick EMUlator) emulates the various hardware components of a physical machine. Finally, libvirt</a> provides the tools for creating and managing VMs. I use virt-manager</code> and virsh</code> as graphical and console interfaces respectively.</p> First, check whether the host computer's CPU supports virtualization:</p> egrep -c '(vmx\|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo</span></span></code></pre> A result of 1</code> or more means the CPU supports virtualization extensions. A result of 0</code> means it does not, though double-check the BIOS and see if the extensions are available and just need to be enabled.</p> Install packages:</p> sudo xbps-install -S libvirt virt-manager qemu dbus polkit</span></span></code></pre> Add [my_username_goes_here]</code> to the kvm</code> and libvirt</code> groups:</p> sudo usermod -a -G libvirt,kvm [my_username_goes_here]</span></span></code></pre> Log out and back in.</p> Directories</h2> Default directory to store VM images is /var/lib/libvirt/images</code>.</p> The large amounts of space that these VM images occupy might pose an issue if /var</code> is mounted separately, or its included with the root</code> directory on a relatively small partition (i.e. separate root</code> and home</code> partitions). If this is the case, consider storing VMs on the partition with the greatest amount of free storage and symlink to that location.</p> Additionally, if using BTRFS or ZFS</a> to make snapshots of root</code>, its probably not desirable to have VMs bulking up the snapshots, nor have them deleted/reverted back to earlier states upon a system rollback.</p> My installation of Void uses ZFS</a>, so I create a vm</code> dataset to store the VM images:</p> sudo zfs create -o mountpoint=/vm zroot/vm</span></span></code></pre> Create the images</code> directory:</p> sudo mkdir -p /vm/libvirt/images</span></span></code></pre> Delete the existing (empty) images</code> directory and create a symlink to the new location in vm</code>:</p> sudo rmdir /var/lib/libvirt/images</span></span> sudo ln -s /vm/libvirt/images /var/lib/libvirt/images</span></span></code></pre> I also create an iso</code> directory to store ISO install images, accessible to my USER</code>:</p> sudo mkdir /vm/libvirt/iso</span></span> sudo chown $USER:$USER /vm/libvirt/iso</span></span></code></pre>Permissions</h2> libvirt.conf</h3> Create libvirt.conf</code>:</p> mkdir ~/.config/libvirt</span></span> cp /etc/libvirt/libvirt.conf ~/.config/libvirt/</span></span></code></pre> Open the file for editing and uncomment:</p> uri_default = "qemu:///system"</span></span></code></pre> Save changes and exit.</p> qemu.conf</h3> For storage file permissions, modify /etc/libvirt/qemu.conf</code> by setting user</code> to [my_username_goes_here]</code> and group</code> to libvirt</code>:</p> user = "[my_username_goes_here]"</span></span> group = "libvirt"</span></span></code></pre>Services</h2> Enable necessary services:</p> sudo ln -s /etc/sv/dbus /var/service/</span></span> sudo ln -s /etc/sv/libvirtd /var/service/</span></span> sudo ln -s /etc/sv/virtlockd /var/service/</span></span> sudo ln -s /etc/sv/virtlogd /var/service/</span></span></code></pre>Create VM</h2> Create a VM using virt-manager</code>. Click the +</code> icon to add a new VM, and work through the series of dialog boxes to configure.</p> </p> During the creation of a VM, the network selection option defaults to Virtual network 'default': NAT</code>. If the default</code> network is not active, virt-manager</code> will prompt to start it.</p> Or start manually with:</p> virsh net-start default</span></span></code></pre> Each VM (in default</code> network) will be a member of 192.168.122.0/24</code>, with an IP address in the range of 192.168.122.2</code> to 192.168.122.254</code>, and are accessible via SSH from the host.</p> Resize VM guest window</h2> In the virt-manager</code> console window, navigate to Edit > Preferences > Console</code> and set:</p> Graphical console scaling</code> to Always</code> Resize guest with window</code> to On</code></li> </ul> </li> </ul> Install a spice agent</strong> inside a VM (example: for Debian and Debian-based VMs):</p> sudo apt install spice-vdagent</span></span></code></pre> Reboot the VM.</p> In the VM guest window, navigate to View > Scale display</code> and check Always</code> and Auto resize VM with window</code>.</p> Now click-and-drag the window edge to resize display, or use xrandr</code> to set display size.</p> Video acceleration</h2> Using VirtIO</em> its possible to create a virtual 3D accelerated GPU and pass through the hardware capabilities of the VM host's graphics card.</p> With the VM shutdown, open the VM hardware details window. Click on Video Virtio</code> and set Model: Virtio</code>, check the box for 3D acceleration</code>, and Apply</code> the modifications.</p> </p> Click on Display Spice</code>, set Type: Spice Server</code> and Listen type: None</code>, check the box for OpenGL</code>, and Apply</code> the modifications.</p> </p> Virsh and virt-clone</h2> Some useful commands:</p> Start network: virsh net-start <network_name></code></li> List networks: virsh net-list</code></li> List VMs: virsh list --all</code></li> Start, reboot, and shutdown VM: virsh start <VM></code>, virsh reboot <VM></code>, and virsh shutdown <VM></code></li> Show IP addresses: virsh net-dhcp-leases <network_name></code></li> </ul> Resources</h2> Void Linux Handbook: libvirt</a></li> Arch Linux Wiki: libvirt</a></li> Running VMs with VirtIO 3D Acceleration</a></li> </ul> You can like, share, or comment on this post on the Fediverse</a> 💬 </p> Just Enough Void Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 I've only been using Void Linux</a> for a few weeks, but I think this</strong> Linux has put a stop to my distro-hopping for a while.</p> Void meets all the criteria I especially value when evaluating a desktop Linux distro for my personal use:</p> Built by a community and built from scratch (not a fork).</li> Maintains a rolling release</strong> model of continuous, incremental upgrades.</li> Provides init</code> system alternative(s) to systemd</code>.</li> Decent project documentation to get started and perform basic tasks.</li> Tinkering friendly.</strong></li> </ul> What with all this rolling and tinkering I require a robust means of recovery when things go awry. To satisfy this need I turn to the combination of OpenZFS</a> for making snapshots of system states and ZFSBootMenu</a> to boot and rollback to former, better times.</p> Working my way through this excellent installation guide</a>, I show the choices I make to create an encrypted Root-On-ZFS minimal Linux system</strong> with "just enough" to provide a solid foundation to build upon further: whether that be setting up a desktop, laptop, or server.</p> Start Here</a> Acquire an installation image</a></li> Prepare the USB installation media</a></li> </ul> </li> Configure the Live Environment</a> Set larger console font</a></li> Set temporary console keyboard</a></li> Verify network connectivity</a></li> Remote login to installer</a></li> Verify boot mode</a></li> </ul> </li> Prepare the Disk</a> Define disk variables</a></li> Wipe the disk</a></li> Partition the disk</a></li> </ul> </li> Configure the ZFS Pool</a> Create the encryption keyfile</a></li> Create the encrypted pool</a></li> Define ID variable</a></li> Create the datasets</a></li> Export and re-import pool for installation</a></li> Mount the datasets</a></li> </ul> </li> Installation</a></li> Configure the System</a> Generate the fstab</a></li> Generate the hostid</a></li> Enter chroot</a></li> Set the root password</a></li> Create the superuser</a></li> Add package repository</a></li> Install extra packages</a></li> Set console keymap, font, and hardware clock</a></li> Set the timezone</a></li> Set the locale</a></li> Assign the hostname</a></li> Enable services</a></li> Create encrypted swap</a></li> Regenerate initramfs</a></li> </ul> </li> ZFSBootMenu</a> Set boot properties</a></li> Format and mount the ESP partition</a></li> Install the prebuilt executable</a></li> Configure EFI boot entries</a></li> </ul> </li> Finish Up</a> Exit chroot</a></li> Unmount and export</a></li> Reboot</a></li> </ul> </li> Resources</a></li> </ul> Start Here</h2> Throughout this HOWTO, if you see square brackets []</code> in code blocks, that means the word of code (square brackets included) should be replaced with something else. This is detailed in the instructions before or after the code block.</p> Void Linux is installed as the sole operating system</strong> on a single disk</strong> using a three-partition layout</strong>:</p> Partition esp</code> serves as the EFI system partition and is formatted with the fat32</code> file system.</li> Partition swap</code> provides swap</code> space with encryption courtesy of dm-crypt</code>.</li> Partition pool</code> contains root</code> and is formatted with the zfs</code> file system using native encryption.</li> </ul> A few assumptions:</p> Target device is x86_64</code> architecture using UEFI to boot.</li> Use glibc</code> as system libc.</li> Secure boot is disabled on target device.</li> Installation image is prepared on a Linux/BSD system.</li> Network access during install uses a wired interface.</li> System does not require hibernation support.</li> </ul> Acquire an installation image</h3> The standard Void live</code> images do not include support for the ZFS file system. A Void team member</a> maintains the hrmpf rescue system</a>. These prebuilt images are extensions of the Void images that include precompiled ZFS modules in addition to other useful tools.</p> From the releases</a> directory, download hrmpf-x86_64-[RELEASE].iso</code>.</p> As of June 29 2026, [RELEASE]</code> is 20251231</code>.</p> The SHA256</code> strings are printed in the directory. Verify the image integrity:</p> sha256sum hrmpf-x86_64-20251231.iso</span></span></code></pre>Prepare the USB installation media</h3> Write the installer to an unmounted</strong> USB storage device running the dd</code> command as root.</p> ALERT</strong> Be very careful to note the proper device (which can be identified with the lsblk</code> command). All contents on the device will be lost!</strong></p> Example: On a Linux system, if a USB stick appears as sdx1</code>, then write the installer to sdx</code> (omit partition number):</p> dd bs=4M conv=fsync oflag=direct status=progress \</span></span> if=hrmpf-x86_64-20251231.iso of=/dev/sdx</span></span></code></pre>Configure the Live Environment</h2> Boot the target device from the hrmpf</code> installation media. User is automatically logged in as user root</code> to the first virtual console.</p> Set larger console font</h3> Console fonts are located in /usr/share/kbd/consolefonts/</code> and a different font can be set with setfont</code>, omitting the path and file extension.</p> If the existing font size appears too small, running:</p> setfont -d</span></span></code></pre> ... will double the size.</p> Set temporary console keyboard</h3> Default console keymap is us</code>. Available keymaps are listed in /usr/share/kbd/keymaps/</code>.</p> If some other keymap is desired, set a different keymap temporarily with loadkeys</code>:</p> loadkeys [keymap]</span></span></code></pre> ... where [keymap]</code> is the desired keyboard layout.</p> Example: I configure the system to use my preferred colemak</code> layout:</p> loadkeys colemak</span></span></code></pre>Verify network connectivity</h3> Wired network interfaces should be auto-enabled and connected at boot.</p> Verify the network interface is active, has been assigned an address, and the internet is reachable:</p> ip addr</span></span> ping -c 3 8.8.8.8</span></span> ping -c 3 voidlinux.org</span></span></code></pre>Remote login to installer</h3> Make this manual installation process easier (i.e. cut-n-paste commands) by remotely logging into the installer via ssh</code> from another computer.</p> The sshd</code> daemon is auto-started at boot. Switch to the other computer and ssh</code> into the target device as anon:voidlinux</code>:</p> ssh anon@[ip_address]</span></span></code></pre> ... where [ip_address]</code> is the target device’s address obtained with the ip addr</code> command above.</p> Switch to root</code> (password voidlinux</code>):</p> su -</span></span></code></pre>Verify boot mode</h3> Confirm target device is using UEFI boot mode:</p> cat /sys/firmware/efi/fw_platform_size</span></span></code></pre> If the command returns 64</code>, then system is booted in UEFI with 64-bit x64 UEFI and we are good to go.</p> ALERT</strong> If the file does not exist, the device is not using UEFI and these instructions will not produce a working system.</strong></p> Prepare the Disk</h2> Set up a custom partition layout on a single disk before implementing the Void base installation.</p> Define disk variables</h3> Identify the disk where Void will be installed by listing block devices:</p> lsblk -f</span></span></code></pre> Set variables for the partitions:</p> export esp_part="1"</span></span> export swap_part="2"</span></span> export pool_part="3"</span></span></code></pre> Set disk variables for either a SATA or NVMe disk:</p> SATA</h4> Example disk: sda</code></p> export disk="/dev/sda"</span></span> export esp_device="${disk}${esp_part}"</span></span> export swap_device="${disk}${swap_part}"</span></span> export pool_device="${disk}${pool_part}"</span></span> echo $esp_device && echo $swap_device && echo $pool_device</span></span></code></pre>NVMe</h4> Example disk: nvme0n1</code></p> export disk="/dev/nvme0n1"</span></span> export esp_device="${disk}p${esp_part}"</span></span> export swap_device="${disk}p${swap_part}"</span></span> export pool_device="${disk}p${pool_part}"</span></span> echo $esp_device && echo $swap_device && echo $pool_device</span></span></code></pre>Wipe the disk</h3> If there was previously a ZFS pool on disk, run:</p> zpool labelclear -f $disk</span></span></code></pre> If disk was previously configured with LVM, bring down the volume group:</p> vgchange -an</span></span></code></pre> Wipe existing file systems and partition table on disk:</p> wipefs -af $disk && sgdisk --zap-all --clear $disk</span></span></code></pre> Notify the system of changes to the partition table:</p> partprobe $disk</span></span></code></pre>Partition the disk</h3> NOTE</strong> Many partitioning guides assign 256-512M of space to the EFI system partition. I like to future-proof the partition for whatever else Linux might want to store there by assigning a more generous 2G of space.</p> Create a GPT partition table on disk with the following layout:</p> Number</th> Size</th> FS Code</th> FS Format</th> Use as</th> Mountpoint</th></tr></thead> 1</td> 2g</td> ef00</td> vfat</td> EFI system partition</td> /efi</td></tr> 2</td> 8g</td> 8200</td> swap</td> Swap partition</td> (not applicable)</td></tr> 3</td> ->END</td> bf00</td> zfs</td> ZFS pool partition</td> /</td></tr> </tbody></table> Create the EFI system partition:</p> sgdisk -n "${esp_part}:1m:+2g" -t "${esp_part}:ef00" -c 0:esp $disk</span></span></code></pre> Create the swap partition:</p> sgdisk -n "${swap_part}:0:+8g" -t "${swap_part}:8200" -c 0:swap $disk</span></span></code></pre> Create the ZFS pool partition:</p> sgdisk -n "${pool_part}:0:0" -t "${pool_part}:bf00" -c 0:pool $disk</span></span></code></pre> Display disk layout:</p> partprobe $disk && sgdisk -p $disk</span></span></code></pre>Configure the ZFS Pool</h2> When adding disks or partitions to ZFS pools, it is advisable to refer to them by the symbolic links created in /dev/disk/by-partuuid</code> so that ZFS will identify the right devices even if disk naming should change at some point. Using device nodes like /dev/sda2</code> may cause import failures.</p> So I create a pool_id</code> variable:</p> pool_id=/dev/disk/by-partuuid/$( blkid -s PARTUUID -o value $pool_device )</span></span></code></pre> Verify:</p> ls -al /dev/disk/by-partuuid/ && echo "pool_id = $pool_id"</span></span></code></pre>Create the encryption keyfile</h3> Store the encryption passphrase for the ZFS pool in a keyfile:</p> echo 'SuperSecretPassphrase' > /etc/zfs/zroot.key</span></span> chmod 000 /etc/zfs/zroot.key</span></span></code></pre>Create the encrypted pool</h3> Create the pool with native encryption</strong> enabled:</p> zpool create -f \</span></span> -o ashift=12 \</span></span> -o autotrim=on \</span></span> -o compatibility=openzfs-2.3-linux \</span></span> -O acltype=posixacl \</span></span> -O xattr=sa \</span></span> -O compression=lz4 \</span></span> -O encryption=aes-256-gcm \</span></span> -O keylocation=file:///etc/zfs/zroot.key \</span></span> -O keyformat=passphrase \</span></span> -O relatime=on \</span></span> -m none zroot "$pool_id"</span></span></code></pre>Define ID variable</h3> File os-release</code> defines variables that describe the current operating system. Use the $ID</code> variable to set the short name of the Linux distribution in later commands:</p> . /etc/os-release && export ID && env \| grep ID</span></span></code></pre>Create the datasets</h3> NOTE</strong> It is necessary to explicitly set the canmount=noauto</code> on every boot environment you create.</p> zfs create -o mountpoint=none zroot/ROOT</span></span> zfs create -o mountpoint=/ -o canmount=noauto zroot/ROOT/${ID}</span></span></code></pre> Set the preferred boot file system:</p> zpool set bootfs=zroot/ROOT/${ID} zroot</span></span></code></pre> I create an additional home</code> dataset for each system:</p> zfs create zroot/ROOT/${ID}/home</span></span></code></pre> This allows me to keep user config files unique to each boot environment that I might create in the future. It also separates user data from system data, which is useful for ZFS snapshots and enables system rollbacks while leaving user data untouched.</p> To share data between boot environments, I create a data</code> dataset to store files common to all of them:</p> zfs create -o mountpoint=/data zroot/data</span></span></code></pre>Export and re-import pool for installation</h3> zpool export zroot</span></span> zpool import -N -R /mnt zroot</span></span> zfs load-key -L prompt zroot</span></span></code></pre>Mount the datasets</h3> zfs mount zroot/ROOT/${ID}</span></span> zfs mount zroot/ROOT/${ID}/home</span></span> zfs mount zroot/data</span></span></code></pre> Verify:</p> # mount -t zfs</span></span> zroot/ROOT/void on /mnt type zfs (rw,relatime,xattr,posixacl,casesensitive)</span></span> zroot/ROOT/void/home on /mnt/home type zfs (rw,relatime,xattr,posixacl,casesensitive)</span></span> zroot/data on /mnt/data type zfs (rw,relatime,xattr,posixacl,casesensitive)</span></span></code></pre> Update device symlinks:</p> udevadm trigger</span></span></code></pre>Installation</h2> Install the base-system</code>:</p> XBPS_ARCH=x86_64 xbps-install -S -R https://repo-default.voidlinux.org/current -r /mnt base-system</span></span></code></pre>Configure the System</h2> Generate the fstab</h3> xgenfstab /mnt > /mnt/etc/fstab && cat /mnt/etc/fstab</span></span></code></pre>Generate the hostid</h3> Generate hostid</code> hexadecimal identifier for use by ZFSBootMenu (0x00bab10c</code> is the default value used internally</a>):</p> zgenhostid -f 0x00bab10c && hostid</span></span></code></pre>Enter chroot</h3> Copy files into the mounted ZFS file system:</p> cp /etc/hostid /mnt/etc/</span></span> mkdir /mnt/etc/zfs && cp /etc/zfs/zroot.key /mnt/etc/zfs/</span></span> mkdir -p /mnt/var/db/xbps/keys && cp /var/db/xbps/keys/* /mnt/var/db/xbps/keys/</span></span></code></pre> Enter the chroot environment:</p> xchroot /mnt</span></span></code></pre>Set the root password</h3> passwd</span></span></code></pre>Create the superuser</h3> Create a user account with superuser privileges:</p> useradd -m -G wheel [username]</span></span></code></pre> ... where [username]</code> is the desired name for the account.</p> Set a password for [username]</code>:</p> passwd [username]</span></span></code></pre> Activate wheel</code> group access for the sudo</code> command:</p> sed -i "s/# %wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL/%wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL/" /etc/sudoers</span></span></code></pre>Add package repository</h3> Add the nonfree</code> subrepo (required for proprietary firmware) and sync mirrors:</p> xbps-install void-repo-nonfree && xbps-install -S && xbps-query -L</span></span></code></pre>Install extra packages</h3> Identify the processor vendor:</p> grep vendor_id /proc/cpuinfo</span></span></code></pre> Define a variable for an appropriate microcode package to load updates and security fixes:</p> ucode="[vendor]"</span></span></code></pre> ... where [vendor] for Intel processors is intel-ucode</code> and AMD processors is linux-firmware-amd</code>.</p> Install:</p> xbps-install $ucode cryptsetup curl dkms efibootmgr nano terminus-font zfs</span></span></code></pre>Set console keymap, font, and hardware clock</h3> NOTE</strong> For terminus</code> font settings, see /usr/share/kbd/consolefonts/README.Lat2-Terminus16</code> for details.</p> rc.conf</code> is read during boot and configures the system. Open the file:</p> nano /etc/rc.conf</span></span></code></pre> Set the KEYMAP</code>, FONT</code>, and HARDWARECLOCK</code>.</p> Example:</p> HARDWARECLOCK="UTC"</span></span> KEYMAP="us"</span></span> FONT="ter-u24b"</span></span></code></pre> Save changes and exit.</p> Set the timezone</h3> Timezones are located in /usr/share/zoneinfo/[Region]/[City]</code>, where [Region]</code> is the geographical region (Africa, America, Europe, ...) and the [City]</code> within that region.</p> Example: Create the localtime</code> symbolic link to the timezone where Toronto</code> is located:</p> ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/Toronto /etc/localtime</span></span> hwclock --systohc && date</span></span></code></pre>Set the locale</h3> Open the libc-locales</code> file:</p> nano /etc/default/libc-locales</span></span></code></pre> Uncomment the desired system locales (example: en_CA</code> and en_US</code>):</p> en_CA.UTF-8 UTF-8</span></span> en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8</span></span></code></pre> Save changes and exit.</p> Generate the locales:</p> xbps-reconfigure -f glibc-locales</span></span></code></pre> Set the default system locale:</p> echo "LANG=en_CA.UTF-8" > /etc/locale.conf</span></span></code></pre>Assign the hostname</h3> Create the hostname</code> file:</p> echo [hostname] > /etc/hostname</span></span></code></pre> ... where [hostname]</code> is the desired name of the system (single word, no spaces):</p> echo voidlinux > /etc/hostname</span></span></code></pre>Enable services</h3> Wired networks can be configured statically or dynamically with dhcpcd</code>.</p> Enable the service:</p> ln -s /etc/sv/dhcpcd /etc/runit/runsvdir/default/</span></span></code></pre> Default activity is for dhcpcd</code> to configure all interfaces with DHCP. Changes are made in /etc/dhcpcd.conf</code>. See dhcpcd.conf(5)</code> for more details.</p> Enable the sshd</code> service to allow remote logins:</p> ln -s /etc/sv/sshd /etc/runit/runsvdir/default/</span></span></code></pre>Create encrypted swap</h3> Using raw dm-crypt</code> enables the system to generate a random, one-time encryption key at boot that requires no action from the user to encrypt swap</code>. At shutdown the key is discarded, rendering any remaining data effectively destroyed.</p> Retrieve the PARTUUID</code> of swap_device</code>:</p> blkid \| grep $swap_device</span></span></code></pre> Configure dm-crypt</code> to set up swap at boot by adding an entry to crypttab</code>:</p> echo 'swap PARTUUID=[long_string_of_characters] /dev/urandom swap,cipher=aes-xts-plain64,size=512' >> /etc/crypttab</span></span></code></pre> ... where [long_string_of_characters]</code> is replaced with the string retrieved by blkid</code>.</p> Add swap device to fstab</code>:</p> echo '/dev/mapper/swap none swap defaults 0 0' >> /etc/fstab</span></span></code></pre>Regenerate initramfs</h3> Configure dracut</code> for ZFS boot support by creating the zfs.conf</code> file:</p> nano /etc/dracut.conf.d/zfs.conf</span></span></code></pre> NOTE</strong> Make sure to enter spaces surrounding the module and item names.</p> Add:</p> nofsck="yes"</span></span> add_dracutmodules+=" zfs "</span></span> omit_dracutmodules+=" btrfs resume "</span></span> force_drivers+=" zfs "</span></span> install_items+=" /etc/zfs/zroot.key "</span></span></code></pre> Save changes and exit.</p> Ensure all installed packages are configured properly and a working initramfs is generated:</p> xbps-reconfigure -fa</span></span></code></pre>ZFSBootMenu</h2> Install the ZBM bootloader to support Root-on-ZFS</strong> boot environments on Linux.</p> Set boot properties</h3> NOTE</strong> Add the hibernate=no</code> argument to ensure that no process can trigger a suspend-to-disk action, which is consistent with the goal of using an ephemeral, random-key swap space.</p> Assign command-line arguments to be used when booting the kernel:</p> zfs set org.zfsbootmenu:commandline="quiet hibernate=no" zroot/ROOT</span></span></code></pre> Configure key caching:</p> zfs set org.zfsbootmenu:keysource="zroot/ROOT/${ID}" zroot</span></span></code></pre>Format and mount the ESP partition</h3> NOTE</strong> Labels on file systems are optional, but helpful. They are a more reliable way to identify the correct partition than simple device nodes and allow for easy mounting without a UUID.</p> Create a fat32</code> file system on the partition:</p> mkfs.fat -n ESP -F 32 $esp_device</span></span></code></pre> Add the partition to fstab</code>:</p> echo 'LABEL=ESP /efi vfat defaults 0 0' >> /etc/fstab</span></span></code></pre> Mount:</p> mkdir /efi && mount $esp_device /efi</span></span></code></pre>Install the prebuilt executable</h3> Install a prebuilt ZBM executable to the ESP:</p> mkdir -p /efi/EFI/ZBM</span></span> curl -o /efi/EFI/ZBM/VMLINUZ.EFI -L https://get.zfsbootmenu.org/efi</span></span> cp /efi/EFI/ZBM/VMLINUZ.EFI /efi/EFI/ZBM/VMLINUZ-BACKUP.EFI</span></span></code></pre>Configure EFI boot entries</h3> efibootmgr -c -d "$disk" -p "$esp_part" -L "ZFSBootMenu (Backup)" \</span></span> -l '\EFI\ZBM\VMLINUZ-BACKUP.EFI'</span></span> efibootmgr -c -d "$disk" -p "$esp_part" -L "ZFSBootMenu" \</span></span> -l '\EFI\ZBM\VMLINUZ.EFI'</span></span></code></pre>Finish Up</h2> Exit chroot</h3> exit</span></span> cd</span></span></code></pre>Unmount and export</h3> Unmount:</p> umount /mnt/home && umount /mnt/data && umount /mnt/efi && umount -l -n -R /mnt</span></span></code></pre> Export the zpool:</p> zpool export zroot</span></span></code></pre>Reboot</h3> reboot</span></span></code></pre> NOTE</strong> When prompted for passphrase to unlock zpool</code>, keymap is us</code> regardless of the keymap that might have been set in /etc/rc.conf</code>.</p> User is prompted for the passphrase to unlock the encrypted ZFS pool</code>. Upon success, boot resumes...</p> voidlinux login:</span></span></code></pre> Welcome to Void!</strong></p> Resources</h2> ZFSBootMenu: Void Linux Guide</a></li> Void Linux Handbook: Full Disk Encryption</a> and Root on ZFS</a></li> hrmpf rescue system: github.com/leahneukirchen/hrmpf</a></li> OpenZFS Man Pages: zpoolprops.7</a> and zfsprops.7</a></li> Practical ZFS: Linux home directory on ZFS</a></li> Arch Linux Wiki: Swap encryption</a></li> </ul> Next:</strong> Void Linux: After the First Boot</em> (TODO)</p> You can like, share, or comment on this post on the Fediverse</a> 💬 </p> FreeBSD: After the First Boot Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Part of the "FreeBSD on a Laptop"</a> series.</em></p> After the first boot of my new FreeBSD installation</a>, these are some extra steps I like to make right away to get a system off to a good start!</p> Package management</a></li> Set pkg manager to default to yes</a></li> Allow designated users to run commands as root</a></li> Use a larger font in console</a></li> Add user to additional groups</a></li> Alias for root mail</a></li> Switch user shell from sh to fish</a></li> Create SSH keys</a></li> Boot delay</a></li> Message of the day</a></li> Clear system console at logout</a></li> </ul> Package management</h2> Package management is one area where the differences between the Linux philosophy and the BSD philosophy about how to build a system becomes apparent.</p> Linux</strong> is an operating system kernel. Developers take this kernel and combine it with various independent software projects in a collection of packages</strong> that is released as a Linux distribution</strong> (Ubuntu, Debian</a>, Fedora, etc.).</p> In contrast, each of the BSDs develop their own kernel and combine it with system components that are developed together "in-house" and released as a whole. The idea being that this approach leads to a more robust and tightly integrated core operating system. Third-party "userland" packages not included in the core may still be installed at the discretion of the user, with source code and binary packages provided from a ports</strong> repository.</p> A major change in FreeBSD 15.0 is the introduction of a new method for installing and managing the core operating system using the pkg(8)</code> package manager. Currently marked as being a "technology preview", the plan is it will become the default method for managing all base and userland binary packages on the system when FreeBSD 16.0 is released.</p> When I ran my fresh install of FreeBSD, I opted to use this pkg</code> tool in combination with a network install, and the base system was installed as a set of packages from the "FreeBSD-base" repository.</p> To keep packages up-to-date, compare installed packages to the versions in ports</code>, and generate a list of packages due for an upgrade, run the command:</p> pkg upgrade</span></span></code></pre> To add a package:</p> pkg install [package]</span></span></code></pre> One of the first packages I like to install on any BSD or Linux system is htop(1)</code>:</p> pkg install htop</span></span></code></pre> More: FreeBSD Handbook - Installing Applications: Packages and Ports</a></p> Set pkg manager to default to yes</h2> From pkg.conf(5)</code>:</p> > DEFAULT_ALWAYS_YES: boolean</span></span> When this option is enabled pkg(1) will default to "yes"</span></span> for all questions which require user confirmation before</span></span> doing anything. Default: NO.</span></span></code></pre> Open the file for editing:</p> vi /usr/local/etc/pkg.conf</span></span></code></pre> Change:</p> #DEFAULT_ALWAYS_YES = false;</span></span></code></pre> ... to:</p> DEFAULT_ALWAYS_YES = true;</span></span></code></pre> Save changes and exit.</p> Allow designated users to run commands as root</h2> I created a user account (example: foo</code>) during installation and added myself to the wheel</code> group.</p> Install doas</code> to run root-level access commands, and allow members of wheel</code> to do so by default, by creating doas.conf</code>:</p> pkg install doas</span></span> echo "permit :wheel" > /usr/local/etc/doas.conf</span></span></code></pre> To allow user foo</code> to run commands as root without asking for a password:</p> echo "permit nopass keepenv foo" >> /usr/local/etc/doas.conf</span></span></code></pre> Log out as root</code>, log back in as your user, and use doas</code> to run any commands that require root privileges.</p> Use a larger font in console</h2> On some of the higher-resolution displays I find the default font size in the console pretty small. The base system includes a selection of console fonts in /usr/share/vt/fonts</code>.</p> Try a different, larger font size:</p> doas vidcontrol -f terminus-b32</span></span></code></pre> Download (in raw</code> format) this nice selection of terminus fonts of different sizes</a>, converted for use in the FreeBSD console.</p> Unpack the .txz</code> package and copy the fonts to /usr/share/vt/fonts</code>:</p> tar xvf vt-font-terminus-.txz && doas cp terminus-font/ter-u /usr/share/vt/fonts/</span></span></code></pre> Try different font sizes:</p> doas vidcontrol -f ter-u28</span></span></code></pre> Use sysrc</code> to make a selection permanent by modifying rc.conf</code>:</p> doas sysrc allscreens_flags="-f ter-u28"</span></span></code></pre> More: Fix small font in FreeBSD</a></p> Add user to additional groups</h2> Add my user account created during installation to a group with the syntax:</p> doas pw groupmod [group_name] -m [username]</span></span></code></pre> Example: Permit powering off the system as a non-root user using shutdown</code> by adding my user foo</code> to the operator</code> group:</p> doas pw groupmod operator -m foo</span></span></code></pre>Alias for root mail</h2> Rather than login to root to collect system mail, I forward the root user's mail to my non-root user's inbox.</p> Open the aliases</code> file for editing:</p> doas vi /etc/aliases</span></span></code></pre> Modify:</p> # root: me@my.domain</span></span></code></pre> ... by uncommenting the line and replacing me@my.domain</code> with my foo</code> username:</p> root: foo</span></span></code></pre> Save changes and exit.</p> Let the MTA know about the modification by running the newaliases</code> command with no arguments:</p> doas newaliases</span></span></code></pre> Test whether mail is indeed being forwarded by using the mail</code> command as my user to send root a message:</p> $ mail root</span></span> Subject: Test new alias </span></span> Is it working?</span></span></code></pre> Press CTRL-d</code> to exit and send message.</p> It works!</p> $ mail</span></span> Mail version 8.1 6/6/93. Type ? for help.</span></span> "/var/mail/foo": 1 message 1 new</span></span> >N 1 dwa@tukturjuit.home. Thu Mar 19 15:05 13/427 "Test new alias"</span></span></code></pre> More: How to Forward Root’s Mail</a></p> Switch user shell from sh to fish</h2> If a user account is created during the install of FreeBSD, the default shell assigned is sh</code>. I prefer fish</a>, which is not included in the base system:</p> doas pkg install fish</span></span></code></pre> List available shells:</p> $ cat /etc/shells</span></span> </span> ...</span></span> </span> /bin/sh</span></span> /bin/csh</span></span> /bin/tcsh</span></span> /usr/local/bin/fish</span></span></code></pre> To change my user's shell from sh</code> to fish</code> it is strongly recommended</a> to make the change via .shrc</code> instead of chsh</code> system-wide.</p> Backup the current .shrc</code>:</p> mv ~/.shrc ~/.shrc.bak</span></span></code></pre> Create a new .shrc</code>:</p> vi ~/.shrc</span></span></code></pre> Add:</p> # ~/.shrc</span></span> #</span></span> # Switch to fish shell if interactive session</span></span> case "$-" in</span></span> i)</span></span> FISH_PATH=$(command -v fish 2>/dev/null)</span></span> if [ -n "$FISH_PATH" ]; then</span></span> export SHELL="$FISH_PATH"</span></span> # avoid the delay and primary device attribute warning (on freebsd)</span></span> export fish_features="no-query-term"</span></span> exec "$FISH_PATH" -l</span></span> fi</span></span> ;;</span></span> esac</span></span></code></pre> Save changes and exit.</p> Backup the current .profile</code>:</p> mv ~/.profile ~/.profile.bak</span></span></code></pre> Create a new .profile</code>:</p> vi ~/.profile</span></span></code></pre> Add:</p> # ~/.profile</span></span> #</span></span> if [ -f ~/.shrc ]; then</span></span> . ~/.shrc</span></span> fi</span></span></code></pre> Save changes and exit.</p> Log out and back in to start using the new shell.</p> Create SSH keys</h2> Create an SSH public/private key pair to facilitate passwordless logins to remote servers and (optional) configure remote access to the localhost. Read More</a></p> Boot delay</h2> By default the system will pause at the boot menu for 10 seconds. I shorten this to 3 seconds by setting:</p> echo 'autoboot_delay="3"' \| doas tee -a /boot/loader.conf</span></span></code></pre>Message of the day</h2> Quiet the "message of the day" (motd</code>) output after logging into the system by creating an empty .hushlogin</code> file:</p> touch ~/.hushlogin</span></span></code></pre>Clear system console at logout</h2> For the fish</code> shell I modify config.fish</code>:</p> vi ~/.config/fish/config.fish</span></span></code></pre> Add:</p> function on_exit --on-event fish_exit</span></span> clear</span></span> end</span></span></code></pre> Save changes and exit.</p> More: How to clear terminal after logging out?</a></p> You can like, share, or comment on this post on the Fediverse</a> 💬 </p>

Install Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE 7) in Expert Mode

Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I like to create encrypted storage space to hold the contents of my home</code> directory that is separate from the space that contains the root</code> filesystem. This makes it easier if I decide to re-install Linux on the target system while preserving user data.

During an install of LMDE 7 aka "Gigi"</a> - if you select the option to automatically erase and partition the disk using LUKS (Linux Unified Key Setup) - the installer creates a single encrypted partition formatted with LVM (Logical Volume Manager) containing two "virtual partitions" (Logical Volumes or LVs): a swap</code> LV, and a root</code> LV that uses all remaining disk storage. There is no option to add a home</code> LV to the automatic schema.

Previously I would resize the root</code> LV to make room for a home LV</a>, but in my daily use I've found LVM to be an extra layer of complexity whose benefits - such as resizing existing LVs and creating new ones - I never end up using. More significantly, LVM makes re-installing the OS while preserving the contents of home</code> more complicated on LMDE (which again is different than how its done on the Ubuntu-based Linux Mint).

My preferred alternative: LMDE offers an expert-mode install option that is considerably more flexible in handling a custom partition layout of disk storage. I use the live-installer-expert-mode</code> to create 4 partitions: a small EFI system partition, root</code> partition, swap</code> partition, and a LUKS encrypted home</code> partition.

Start Here</a> Acquire an installation image</a></li> Prepare the USB installation media</a></li> </ul> </li> Configure the Live Environment</a> Switch to root</a></li> Verify network connectivity</a></li> Verify boot mode</a></li> </ul> </li> Prepare the Disk</a> Define disk variables</a></li> Wipe the disk</a></li> Partition the disk</a></li> Encrypt the home partition</a></li> Format the partitions</a></li> </ul> </li> Installation</a> Expert mode</a></li> Mount partition file systems</a></li> Install LMDE</a></li> Create a swapfile</a></li> Add to fstab</a></li> Add to crypttab</a></li> Finish the install</a></li> Mount virtual file systems</a></li> Enter chroot</a></li> Add packages</a></li> </ul> </li> Finish Up</a> Exit chroot</a></li> Unmount and close</a></li> Reboot</a></li> Troubleshooting</a></li> </ul> </li> Resources</a></li> </ul> Start Here</h2> A few assumptions: LMDE is installed as the sole operating system on a single disk.</li> Target device is 64-bit</code> architecture using UEFI to boot.</li> Secure boot is disabled on target device.</li> Installation image is prepared on a Linux/BSD system.</li> Network access during install uses a wired interface.</li> System does not require hibernation support.</li> </ul> Acquire an installation image</h3> The latest live ISO install images are available here: Torrents and download mirrors</a> Download the lmde-7-cinnamon-64bit.iso</code> image and sha256sum.txt</code> file. Verify the image integrity: sha256sum -c --ignore-missing sha256sum.txt</code></pre>Prepare the USB installation media</h3> Write the installer to an unmounted USB storage device running the dd</code> command as root. ALERT Be very careful to note the proper device (which can be identified with the lsblk</code> command). All contents on the device will be lost! Example: On a Linux system, if a USB stick appears as sdx1</code>, then write the installer to sdx</code> (omit partition number): dd bs=4M conv=fsync oflag=direct status=progress \ if=lmde-7-cinnamon-64bit.iso of=/dev/sdx</code></pre>Configure the Live Environment</h2> Boot the target device from the lmde</code> installation media. User is automatically logged in to the Cinnamon desktop. Switch to root</h3> Open a terminal and switch to a root shell: sudo -i</code></pre>Verify network connectivity</h3> Wired network interfaces should be auto-enabled and connected at boot. Verify the network interface is active, has been assigned an address, and the internet is reachable: ip addr ping -c 3 8.8.8.8 ping -c 3 linuxmint.com</code></pre>Verify boot mode</h3> Confirm target device is using UEFI boot mode: cat /sys/firmware/efi/fw_platform_size</code></pre> If the command returns 64</code>, then system is booted in UEFI with 64-bit x64 UEFI and we are good to go. ALERT If the file does not exist, the device is not using UEFI and these instructions will not produce a working system. Prepare the Disk</h2> Set up a custom partition layout on a single disk before implementing the LMDE installation. Define disk variables</h3> Identify the disk where LMDE will be installed by listing block devices: lsblk -f</code></pre> Set variables for the partitions: esp_part="1" root_part="2" home_part="3"</code></pre> Set disk variables for either a SATA or NVMe disk: SATA</h4> Example disk: sda</code> disk="/dev/sda" esp_device=${disk}${esp_part} root_device=${disk}${root_part} home_device=${disk}${home_part} echo $esp_device && echo $root_device && echo $home_device</code></pre>NVMe</h4> Example disk: nvme0n1</code> disk="/dev/nvme0n1" esp_device=${disk}p${esp_part} root_device=${disk}p${root_part} home_device=${disk}p${home_part} echo $esp_device && echo $root_device && echo $home_device</code></pre>Wipe the disk</h3> If disk was previously configured with LVM, bring down the volume group: vgchange -an</code></pre> Wipe existing file systems and partition table on disk: wipefs -af $disk && sgdisk --zap-all --clear $disk</code></pre> Notify the system of changes to the partition table: partprobe $disk</code></pre>Partition the disk</h3> Create a GPT partition table on disk with the following layout: Number</th> Size</th> FS Code</th> FS Format</th> Use as</th> Mountpoint</th></tr></thead> 1</td> 1g</td> ef00</td> vfat</td> EFI system partition</td> /boot/efi</td></tr> 2</td> 64g</td> 8300</td> ext4</td> Root partition</td> /</td></tr> 3</td> >END</td> 8309</td> luks/ext4</td> Encrypted partition</td> /home</td></tr> </tbody></table> Create the EFI system partition: sgdisk -n "${esp_part}:1m:+1g" -t "${esp_part}:ef00" -c 0:esp $disk</code></pre> Create the root partition: sgdisk -n "${root_part}:0:+64g" -t "${root_part}:8300" -c 0:root $disk</code></pre> Create the home partition: sgdisk -n "${home_part}:0:0" -t "${home_part}:8309" -c 0:home $disk</code></pre> Display layout: partprobe $disk && sgdisk -p $disk</code></pre>Encrypt the home partition</h3> cryptsetup luksFormat --type luks2 -y $home_device</code></pre> Unlock home_device: cryptsetup open $home_device crypthome</code></pre> Set a variable for crypthome</code>: luks_dev_home="crypthome"</code></pre>Format the partitions</h3> NOTE Labels on file systems are optional, but helpful. They are a more reliable way to identify the correct partition than simple device nodes and allow for easy mounting without a UUID. mkfs.fat -n ESP -F 32 $esp_device mkfs.ext4 -L rootfs $root_device mkfs.ext4 -L homefs /dev/mapper/${luks_dev_home}</code></pre>Installation</h2> Expert mode</h3> Open a new tab in the terminal. Launch the LMDE installer in expert-mode</code>: sudo live-installer-expert-mode</code></pre> Proceed as normal up to Installation Type</code>. Select Manual Partitioning</code>. In the Partitioning</code> window, click Expert mode</code>. Before continuing, we mount our file systems on /target</code>. Mount partition file systems</h3> Switch back to the root terminal. Mount: mount --mkdir LABEL=rootfs /target mount --mkdir LABEL=homefs /target/home mount --mkdir LABEL=ESP /target/boot/efi</code></pre>Install LMDE</h3> Switch back to the installer window and click Next</code>. Proceed to Summary</code> and confirm: Home encryption: disabled</code> _# entire partition is LUKS-encrypted</li> Install bootloader on /dev/[disk]</code> # example: /dev/sda</code> with no partition number</li> Use already mounted /target</code></li> </ul> When satisfied, click Install</code>. LMDE install proceeds as per usual up to Installation paused</code>. Do the following before continuing the install: Create a swapfile</h3> Create a (example: 2G</code>) swapfile: fallocate -l 2G /swapfile</code></pre> Set correct permissions: chmod 600 /swapfile</code></pre> Format the file as swap</code>: mkswap /swapfile</code></pre>Add to fstab</h3> Add file systems to fstab</code> to be mounted at boot: echo "LABEL=ESP /boot/efi vfat defaults 0 0" >> /target/etc/fstab echo "LABEL=rootfs / ext4 defaults 0 1" >> /target/etc/fstab echo "LABEL=homefs /home ext4 defaults 0 2" >> /target/etc/fstab</code></pre> Add swapfile</code>: echo "/swapfile none swap sw 0 0" >> /target/etc/fstab</code></pre>Add to crypttab</h3> Set home</code> to be opened at boot: echo "$luks_dev_home PARTLABEL=home none luks,discard" >> /target/etc/crypttab</code></pre>Finish the install</h3> Switch back to installer window and click Next</code> to finish the install. When prompted Do you want to restart your computer to use the new system?</code> choose No</code>. Mount virtual file systems</h3> Switch back to the root terminal. Mount: mount --bind /dev /target/dev mount --bind /dev/pts /target/dev/pts mount -t proc /proc /target/proc mount -t sysfs /sys /target/sys</code></pre>Enter chroot</h3> Copy resolv.conf</code> to enable network access inside chroot environment: cp /etc/resolv.conf /target/etc/resolv.conf</code></pre> Make changes inside the local installed system via chroot</code>: chroot /target/ /bin/bash</code></pre> Change the prompt to highlight actions inside chroot</code>: export PS1="(chroot) $PS1"</code></pre>Add packages</h3> Update the package repository contents and install extra packages: apt update && apt install systemd-cryptsetup</code></pre>Finish Up</h2> Exit chroot</h3> exit cd</code></pre>Unmount and close</h3> NOTE Partition /target/boot/efi</code> is auto-unmounted by the installer. umount /target/home && umount -l -n -R /target</code></pre> Remove encrypted home</code> mapping: cryptsetup close $luks_dev_home</code></pre>Reboot</h3> Reboot the system. User is prompted for the passphrase to unlock the encrypted home</code> partition. Upon success, boot resumes... Welcome to LMDE! Troubleshooting</h3> The default Plymouth (boot) theme mint-logo</code> fails to display properly rendered text for the password prompt on the splash screen to unlock home</code> partition (except for this detail it otherwise works correctly). After a successful first boot, possible workarounds are: 1. switch to another built-in plymouth theme; or 2. disable plymouth and use a text-based password prompt. 1. Switch theme</h4> Plymouth theme bgrt</code> renders text correctly: sudo plymouth-set-default-theme bgrt && sudo update-initramfs -u</code></pre>2. Text-based prompt</h4> Modify /etc/default/grub.d/50_lmde.cfg</code> by removing splash</code> from GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT</code>. Save changes, then run update-grub</code>. Resources</h2> Release notes for LMDE 7</a> and upstream Debian 13 "Trixie"</a>. Pay particular attention to "Issues to be aware of for trixie"</a> (especially #5).</li> </ul> You can like, share, or comment on this post on Mastodon</a> 💬 Zswap Makes Swap Go Zoom Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Linux kernel features zswap and zram both provide a compressed storage area in RAM for swap memory. But each takes a very different approach to achieve a fast(er) swap. Start Here</a></li> Configure the Bootloader</a> GRUB</a></li> ZBM</a></li> </ul> </li> Verify</a> Cmdline</a></li> Dmesg</a></li> Parameters</a></li> Statistics</a></li> </ul> </li> Troubleshooting</a></li> Resources</a></li> </ul> Start Here</h2> The most apparent difference between the two approaches to swap management are that while zswap</code> works in tandem with a swapfile or swap partition, zram</code> does not require a backing swap device. So zram</code> all the way, right? At least I thought so. I've used zram</code> in the past to keep swap contents in speedy RAM vs not-as-speedy-storage, but after reading this comprehensive debunking of zswap and zram myths</a> I've switched to zswap</code> on my machines. Different bootloaders initiate zswap</code> differently. For the purposes of this HOWTO I profile two systems, each with a different bootloader: a Void Linux</a> desktop using ZFSBootMenu (ZBM</a>), and a Linux Mint Debian Edition</a> (LMDE</a>) laptop using GRUB. Both systems were provisioned with a swap partition during install. To use zswap</code>, I need to supply the desired arguments to the kernel at boot. These are the arguments I use: zswap.enabled=1</code> # the master switch</li> zswap.compressor=lz4</code> # prioritize the lowest latency vs a higher compression ratio</li> zswap.zpool=zsmalloc</code> # most modern and efficient memory allocator</li> zswap.max_pool_percent=10</code> # zswap can use up to 10% of physical RAM</li> </ul> Configure the Bootloader</h2> GRUB</h3> If the system bootloader is GRUB, view the current boot arguments by inspecting cmdline</code>: $ cat /proc/cmdline BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.12.95+deb13-amd64 root=UUID=<long_string_of_characters> ro quiet splash</code></pre> Add the desired zswap</code> boot arguments to GRUB by modifying the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT</code> setting, which exists in /etc/default/grub</code>. However, settings in this file can be overridden if additional config files exist in the /etc/default/grub.d</code> directory. In LMDE this is indeed the case, which has a /etc/default/grub.d/50_lmde.cfg</code> file. Higher numbered files in this directory are read later by GRUB in generating its config, and take precedence over earlier settings. Since any changes made to 50_lmde.cfg</code> may be lost in a future system upgrade, I create a custom file to hold the boot arguments: echo 'GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash zswap.enabled=1 zswap.zpool=zsmalloc zswap.max_pool_percent=10"' | sudo tee /etc/default/grub.d/99_cmdline.cfg</code></pre> NOTE I've made a slight alteration here, dropping the zswap.compressor=lz4</code> argument. The reason is that on (all?) Debian-based distros like LMDE, the default lzo</code> compressor is loaded very early in the boot process before the lz4</code> modules are considered (even if included in the initramfs) and the argument will fail. An alternative is described below in "Troubleshooting". Update GRUB: sudo update-grub</code></pre> Reboot the system. ZBM</h3> If the system bootloader is ZBM, view the current boot arguments for (example) zroot/ROOT</code>: $ zfs get org.zfsbootmenu:commandline zroot/ROOT NAME PROPERTY VALUE SOURCE zroot/ROOT org.zfsbootmenu:commandline quiet hibernate=no local</code></pre> NOTE I had added the quiet</code> and hiberate=no</code> parameters earlier during the Void install</a>. Add the following boot arguments to ZBM: sudo zfs set org.zfsbootmenu:commandline="quiet hiberate=no zswap.enabled=1 zswap.compressor=lz4 zswap.zpool=zsmalloc zswap.max_pool_percent=10" zroot/ROOT</code></pre> Reboot the system. Verify</h2> Cmdline</h3> Arguments used to boot the system: GRUB on LMDE $ cat /proc/cmdline BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.12.95+deb13-amd64 root=UUID=<long_string_of_characters> ro quiet splash zswap.enabled=1 zswap.zpool=zsmalloc zswap.max_pool_percent=10</code></pre> ZBM on Void $ cat /proc/cmdline root=zfs:zroot/ROOT/void quiet hiberate=no zswap.enabled=1 zswap.compressor=lz4 zswap.zpool=zsmalloc zswap.max_pool_percent=10 spl.spl_hostid=0x00bab10c</code></pre>Dmesg</h3> Confirm zswap</code> was loaded during boot: LMDE $ sudo dmesg | grep zswap . . . [ 0.746379] zswap: loaded using pool lzo/zsmalloc</code></pre> Void $ sudo dmesg | grep zswap . . . [ 0.507529] zswap: loaded using pool lz4</code></pre>Parameters</h3> NOTE On systems that are running more recent (6.18+) kernels (like Void) zsmalloc</code> is now the exclusive backend for zswap, and the zpool</code> option has been removed. View live settings: Void $ grep -r . /sys/module/zswap/parameters/ /sys/module/zswap/parameters/enabled:Y /sys/module/zswap/parameters/shrinker_enabled:N /sys/module/zswap/parameters/max_pool_percent:10 /sys/module/zswap/parameters/compressor:lz4 /sys/module/zswap/parameters/accept_threshold_percent:90</code></pre> LMDE $ grep -r . /sys/module/zswap/parameters/ /sys/module/zswap/parameters/enabled:Y /sys/module/zswap/parameters/shrinker_enabled:N /sys/module/zswap/parameters/max_pool_percent:10 /sys/module/zswap/parameters/compressor:lzo /sys/module/zswap/parameters/zpool:zsmalloc /sys/module/zswap/parameters/accept_threshold_percent:90</code></pre>Statistics</h3> View how zswap</code> is performing: sudo grep -r . /sys/kernel/debug/zswap/</code></pre> If the above command outputs the error message: grep: /sys/kernel/debug/zswap/: No such file or directory</code></pre> ...mount debugfs</code>: sudo mount -t debugfs none /sys/kernel/debug</code></pre> ...and re-run grep</code>. Troubleshooting</h2> To use the zswap compressor of our choice on a system that won't accept it as a boot argument (i.e. lz4</code> on LMDE), one approach is to create a systemd service file that will switch compressors after zswap</code> starts at boot. Create zswap-compress.service</code>: sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/zswap-compress.service</code></pre> Add: [Unit] Description=Configure zswap compressor to LZ4 After=systemd-modules-load.service [Service] Type=oneshot ExecStart=/bin/bash -c 'echo lz4 > /sys/module/zswap/parameters/compressor' RemainAfterExit=yes [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target</code></pre> Save changes and exit. Enable the service: sudo systemctl enable --now zswap-compress.service</code></pre> Verify: cat /sys/module/zswap/parameters/compressor</code></pre> It should output lz4</code>. On the next reboot, dmesg</code> may show a lz4 not available, using default</code> log entry from the beginning of boot, but the systemd service will override it seconds later. After login, running the cat</code> command above will output the current compressor handling the swap pool. Resources</h2> Essential reading: Debunking zswap and zram myth</a></li> Linux Kernel Admin Guide: zswap</a></li> Arch Wiki: Zswap</a></li> </ul> You can like, share, or comment on this post on the Fediverse</a> 💬 Virtualization in Void Linux Using KVM + QEMU + Libvirt Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Set up a stack of virtualization tools on a Void Linux</a> host for creating and managing virtual machines (VMs). Start Here</a></li> Directories</a></li> Permissions</a></li> Services</a></li> Create VM</a></li> Resize VM guest window</a></li> Video Acceleration</a></li> Virsh and Virt-clone</a></li> Resources</a></li> </ul> Start Here</h2> KVM</a> (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) is built into the Linux kernel and handles the CPU and memory details. QEMU</a> (Quick EMUlator) emulates the various hardware components of a physical machine. Finally, libvirt</a> provides the tools for creating and managing VMs. I use virt-manager</code> and virsh</code> as graphical and console interfaces respectively. First, check whether the host computer's CPU supports virtualization: egrep -c '(vmx|svm)' /proc/cpuinfo</code></pre> A result of 1</code> or more means the CPU supports virtualization extensions. A result of 0</code> means it does not, though double-check the BIOS and see if the extensions are available and just need to be enabled. Install packages: sudo xbps-install -S libvirt virt-manager qemu dbus polkit</code></pre> Add [my_username_goes_here]</code> to the kvm</code> and libvirt</code> groups: sudo usermod -a -G libvirt,kvm [my_username_goes_here]</code></pre> Log out and back in. Directories</h2> Default directory to store VM images is /var/lib/libvirt/images</code>. The large amounts of space that these VM images occupy might pose an issue if /var</code> is mounted separately, or its included with the root</code> directory on a relatively small partition (i.e. separate root</code> and home</code> partitions). If this is the case, consider storing VMs on the partition with the greatest amount of free storage and symlink to that location. Additionally, if using BTRFS or ZFS</a> to make snapshots of root</code>, its probably not desirable to have VMs bulking up the snapshots, nor have them deleted/reverted back to earlier states upon a system rollback. My installation of Void uses ZFS</a>, so I create a vm</code> dataset to store the VM images: sudo zfs create -o mountpoint=/vm zroot/vm</code></pre> Create the images</code> directory: sudo mkdir -p /vm/libvirt/images</code></pre> Delete the existing (empty) images</code> directory and create a symlink to the new location in vm</code>: sudo rmdir /var/lib/libvirt/images sudo ln -s /vm/libvirt/images /var/lib/libvirt/images</code></pre> I also create an iso</code> directory to store ISO install images, accessible to my USER</code>: sudo mkdir /vm/libvirt/iso sudo chown $USER:$USER /vm/libvirt/iso</code></pre>Permissions</h2> libvirt.conf</h3> Create libvirt.conf</code>: mkdir ~/.config/libvirt cp /etc/libvirt/libvirt.conf ~/.config/libvirt/</code></pre> Open the file for editing and uncomment: uri_default = "qemu:///system"</code></pre> Save changes and exit. qemu.conf</h3> For storage file permissions, modify /etc/libvirt/qemu.conf</code> by setting user</code> to [my_username_goes_here]</code> and group</code> to libvirt</code>: user = "[my_username_goes_here]" group = "libvirt"</code></pre>Services</h2> Enable necessary services: sudo ln -s /etc/sv/dbus /var/service/ sudo ln -s /etc/sv/libvirtd /var/service/ sudo ln -s /etc/sv/virtlockd /var/service/ sudo ln -s /etc/sv/virtlogd /var/service/</code></pre>Create VM</h2> Create a VM using virt-manager</code>. Click the +</code> icon to add a new VM, and work through the series of dialog boxes to configure. During the creation of a VM, the network selection option defaults to Virtual network 'default': NAT</code>. If the default</code> network is not active, virt-manager</code> will prompt to start it. Or start manually with: virsh net-start default</code></pre> Each VM (in default</code> network) will be a member of 192.168.122.0/24</code>, with an IP address in the range of 192.168.122.2</code> to 192.168.122.254</code>, and are accessible via SSH from the host. Resize VM guest window</h2> In the virt-manager</code> console window, navigate to Edit > Preferences > Console</code> and set: Graphical console scaling</code> to Always</code> Resize guest with window</code> to On</code></li> </ul> </li> </ul> Install a spice agent inside a VM (example: for Debian and Debian-based VMs): sudo apt install spice-vdagent</code></pre> Reboot the VM. In the VM guest window, navigate to View > Scale display</code> and check Always</code> and Auto resize VM with window</code>. Now click-and-drag the window edge to resize display, or use xrandr</code> to set display size. Video acceleration</h2> Using VirtIO its possible to create a virtual 3D accelerated GPU and pass through the hardware capabilities of the VM host's graphics card. With the VM shutdown, open the VM hardware details window. Click on Video Virtio</code> and set Model: Virtio</code>, check the box for 3D acceleration</code>, and Apply</code> the modifications. Click on Display Spice</code>, set Type: Spice Server</code> and Listen type: None</code>, check the box for OpenGL</code>, and Apply</code> the modifications. Virsh and virt-clone</h2> Some useful commands: Start network: virsh net-start <network_name></code></li> List networks: virsh net-list</code></li> List VMs: virsh list --all</code></li> Start, reboot, and shutdown VM: virsh start <VM></code>, virsh reboot <VM></code>, and virsh shutdown <VM></code></li> Show IP addresses: virsh net-dhcp-leases <network_name></code></li> </ul> Resources</h2> Void Linux Handbook: libvirt</a></li> Arch Linux Wiki: libvirt</a></li> Running VMs with VirtIO 3D Acceleration</a></li> </ul> You can like, share, or comment on this post on the Fediverse</a> 💬 Just Enough Void Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 I've only been using Void Linux</a> for a few weeks, but I think this Linux has put a stop to my distro-hopping for a while. Void meets all the criteria I especially value when evaluating a desktop Linux distro for my personal use: Built by a community and built from scratch (not a fork).</li> Maintains a rolling release model of continuous, incremental upgrades.</li> Provides init</code> system alternative(s) to systemd</code>.</li> Decent project documentation to get started and perform basic tasks.</li> Tinkering friendly.</li> </ul> What with all this rolling and tinkering I require a robust means of recovery when things go awry. To satisfy this need I turn to the combination of OpenZFS</a> for making snapshots of system states and ZFSBootMenu</a> to boot and rollback to former, better times. Working my way through this excellent installation guide</a>, I show the choices I make to create an encrypted Root-On-ZFS minimal Linux system with "just enough" to provide a solid foundation to build upon further: whether that be setting up a desktop, laptop, or server. Start Here</a> Acquire an installation image</a></li> Prepare the USB installation media</a></li> </ul> </li> Configure the Live Environment</a> Set larger console font</a></li> Set temporary console keyboard</a></li> Verify network connectivity</a></li> Remote login to installer</a></li> Verify boot mode</a></li> </ul> </li> Prepare the Disk</a> Define disk variables</a></li> Wipe the disk</a></li> Partition the disk</a></li> </ul> </li> Configure the ZFS Pool</a> Create the encryption keyfile</a></li> Create the encrypted pool</a></li> Define ID variable</a></li> Create the datasets</a></li> Export and re-import pool for installation</a></li> Mount the datasets</a></li> </ul> </li> Installation</a></li> Configure the System</a> Generate the fstab</a></li> Generate the hostid</a></li> Enter chroot</a></li> Set the root password</a></li> Create the superuser</a></li> Add package repository</a></li> Install extra packages</a></li> Set console keymap, font, and hardware clock</a></li> Set the timezone</a></li> Set the locale</a></li> Assign the hostname</a></li> Enable services</a></li> Create encrypted swap</a></li> Regenerate initramfs</a></li> </ul> </li> ZFSBootMenu</a> Set boot properties</a></li> Format and mount the ESP partition</a></li> Install the prebuilt executable</a></li> Configure EFI boot entries</a></li> </ul> </li> Finish Up</a> Exit chroot</a></li> Unmount and export</a></li> Reboot</a></li> </ul> </li> Resources</a></li> </ul> Start Here</h2> Throughout this HOWTO, if you see square brackets []</code> in code blocks, that means the word of code (square brackets included) should be replaced with something else. This is detailed in the instructions before or after the code block. Void Linux is installed as the sole operating system on a single disk using a three-partition layout: Partition esp</code> serves as the EFI system partition and is formatted with the fat32</code> file system.</li> Partition swap</code> provides swap</code> space with encryption courtesy of dm-crypt</code>.</li> Partition pool</code> contains root</code> and is formatted with the zfs</code> file system using native encryption.</li> </ul> A few assumptions: Target device is x86_64</code> architecture using UEFI to boot.</li> Use glibc</code> as system libc.</li> Secure boot is disabled on target device.</li> Installation image is prepared on a Linux/BSD system.</li> Network access during install uses a wired interface.</li> System does not require hibernation support.</li> </ul> Acquire an installation image</h3> The standard Void live</code> images do not include support for the ZFS file system. A Void team member</a> maintains the hrmpf rescue system</a>. These prebuilt images are extensions of the Void images that include precompiled ZFS modules in addition to other useful tools. From the releases</a> directory, download hrmpf-x86_64-[RELEASE].iso</code>. As of June 29 2026, [RELEASE]</code> is 20251231</code>. The SHA256</code> strings are printed in the directory. Verify the image integrity: sha256sum hrmpf-x86_64-20251231.iso</code></pre>Prepare the USB installation media</h3> Write the installer to an unmounted USB storage device running the dd</code> command as root. ALERT Be very careful to note the proper device (which can be identified with the lsblk</code> command). All contents on the device will be lost! Example: On a Linux system, if a USB stick appears as sdx1</code>, then write the installer to sdx</code> (omit partition number): dd bs=4M conv=fsync oflag=direct status=progress \ if=hrmpf-x86_64-20251231.iso of=/dev/sdx</code></pre>Configure the Live Environment</h2> Boot the target device from the hrmpf</code> installation media. User is automatically logged in as user root</code> to the first virtual console. Set larger console font</h3> Console fonts are located in /usr/share/kbd/consolefonts/</code> and a different font can be set with setfont</code>, omitting the path and file extension. If the existing font size appears too small, running: setfont -d</code></pre> ... will double the size. Set temporary console keyboard</h3> Default console keymap is us</code>. Available keymaps are listed in /usr/share/kbd/keymaps/</code>. If some other keymap is desired, set a different keymap temporarily with loadkeys</code>: loadkeys [keymap]</code></pre> ... where [keymap]</code> is the desired keyboard layout. Example: I configure the system to use my preferred colemak</code> layout: loadkeys colemak</code></pre>Verify network connectivity</h3> Wired network interfaces should be auto-enabled and connected at boot. Verify the network interface is active, has been assigned an address, and the internet is reachable: ip addr ping -c 3 8.8.8.8 ping -c 3 voidlinux.org</code></pre>Remote login to installer</h3> Make this manual installation process easier (i.e. cut-n-paste commands) by remotely logging into the installer via ssh</code> from another computer. The sshd</code> daemon is auto-started at boot. Switch to the other computer and ssh</code> into the target device as anon:voidlinux</code>: ssh anon@[ip_address]</code></pre> ... where [ip_address]</code> is the target device’s address obtained with the ip addr</code> command above. Switch to root</code> (password voidlinux</code>): su -</code></pre>Verify boot mode</h3> Confirm target device is using UEFI boot mode: cat /sys/firmware/efi/fw_platform_size</code></pre> If the command returns 64</code>, then system is booted in UEFI with 64-bit x64 UEFI and we are good to go. ALERT If the file does not exist, the device is not using UEFI and these instructions will not produce a working system. Prepare the Disk</h2> Set up a custom partition layout on a single disk before implementing the Void base installation. Define disk variables</h3> Identify the disk where Void will be installed by listing block devices: lsblk -f</code></pre> Set variables for the partitions: export esp_part="1" export swap_part="2" export pool_part="3"</code></pre> Set disk variables for either a SATA or NVMe disk: SATA</h4> Example disk: sda</code> export disk="/dev/sda" export esp_device="${disk}${esp_part}" export swap_device="${disk}${swap_part}" export pool_device="${disk}${pool_part}" echo $esp_device && echo $swap_device && echo $pool_device</code></pre>NVMe</h4> Example disk: nvme0n1</code> export disk="/dev/nvme0n1" export esp_device="${disk}p${esp_part}" export swap_device="${disk}p${swap_part}" export pool_device="${disk}p${pool_part}" echo $esp_device && echo $swap_device && echo $pool_device</code></pre>Wipe the disk</h3> If there was previously a ZFS pool on disk, run: zpool labelclear -f $disk</code></pre> If disk was previously configured with LVM, bring down the volume group: vgchange -an</code></pre> Wipe existing file systems and partition table on disk: wipefs -af $disk && sgdisk --zap-all --clear $disk</code></pre> Notify the system of changes to the partition table: partprobe $disk</code></pre>Partition the disk</h3> NOTE Many partitioning guides assign 256-512M of space to the EFI system partition. I like to future-proof the partition for whatever else Linux might want to store there by assigning a more generous 2G of space. Create a GPT partition table on disk with the following layout: Number</th> Size</th> FS Code</th> FS Format</th> Use as</th> Mountpoint</th></tr></thead> 1</td> 2g</td> ef00</td> vfat</td> EFI system partition</td> /efi</td></tr> 2</td> 8g</td> 8200</td> swap</td> Swap partition</td> (not applicable)</td></tr> 3</td> ->END</td> bf00</td> zfs</td> ZFS pool partition</td> /</td></tr> </tbody></table> Create the EFI system partition: sgdisk -n "${esp_part}:1m:+2g" -t "${esp_part}:ef00" -c 0:esp $disk</code></pre> Create the swap partition: sgdisk -n "${swap_part}:0:+8g" -t "${swap_part}:8200" -c 0:swap $disk</code></pre> Create the ZFS pool partition: sgdisk -n "${pool_part}:0:0" -t "${pool_part}:bf00" -c 0:pool $disk</code></pre> Display disk layout: partprobe $disk && sgdisk -p $disk</code></pre>Configure the ZFS Pool</h2> When adding disks or partitions to ZFS pools, it is advisable to refer to them by the symbolic links created in /dev/disk/by-partuuid</code> so that ZFS will identify the right devices even if disk naming should change at some point. Using device nodes like /dev/sda2</code> may cause import failures. So I create a pool_id</code> variable: pool_id=/dev/disk/by-partuuid/$( blkid -s PARTUUID -o value $pool_device )</code></pre> Verify: ls -al /dev/disk/by-partuuid/ && echo "pool_id = $pool_id"</code></pre>Create the encryption keyfile</h3> Store the encryption passphrase for the ZFS pool in a keyfile: echo 'SuperSecretPassphrase' > /etc/zfs/zroot.key chmod 000 /etc/zfs/zroot.key</code></pre>Create the encrypted pool</h3> Create the pool with native encryption enabled: zpool create -f \ -o ashift=12 \ -o autotrim=on \ -o compatibility=openzfs-2.3-linux \ -O acltype=posixacl \ -O xattr=sa \ -O compression=lz4 \ -O encryption=aes-256-gcm \ -O keylocation=file:///etc/zfs/zroot.key \ -O keyformat=passphrase \ -O relatime=on \ -m none zroot "$pool_id"</code></pre>Define ID variable</h3> File os-release</code> defines variables that describe the current operating system. Use the $ID</code> variable to set the short name of the Linux distribution in later commands: . /etc/os-release && export ID && env | grep ID</code></pre>Create the datasets</h3> NOTE It is necessary to explicitly set the canmount=noauto</code> on every boot environment you create. zfs create -o mountpoint=none zroot/ROOT zfs create -o mountpoint=/ -o canmount=noauto zroot/ROOT/${ID}</code></pre> Set the preferred boot file system: zpool set bootfs=zroot/ROOT/${ID} zroot</code></pre> I create an additional home</code> dataset for each system: zfs create zroot/ROOT/${ID}/home</code></pre> This allows me to keep user config files unique to each boot environment that I might create in the future. It also separates user data from system data, which is useful for ZFS snapshots and enables system rollbacks while leaving user data untouched. To share data between boot environments, I create a data</code> dataset to store files common to all of them: zfs create -o mountpoint=/data zroot/data</code></pre>Export and re-import pool for installation</h3> zpool export zroot zpool import -N -R /mnt zroot zfs load-key -L prompt zroot</code></pre>Mount the datasets</h3> zfs mount zroot/ROOT/${ID} zfs mount zroot/ROOT/${ID}/home zfs mount zroot/data</code></pre> Verify: # mount -t zfs zroot/ROOT/void on /mnt type zfs (rw,relatime,xattr,posixacl,casesensitive) zroot/ROOT/void/home on /mnt/home type zfs (rw,relatime,xattr,posixacl,casesensitive) zroot/data on /mnt/data type zfs (rw,relatime,xattr,posixacl,casesensitive)</code></pre> Update device symlinks: udevadm trigger</code></pre>Installation</h2> Install the base-system</code>: XBPS_ARCH=x86_64 xbps-install -S -R https://repo-default.voidlinux.org/current -r /mnt base-system</code></pre>Configure the System</h2> Generate the fstab</h3> xgenfstab /mnt > /mnt/etc/fstab && cat /mnt/etc/fstab</code></pre>Generate the hostid</h3> Generate hostid</code> hexadecimal identifier for use by ZFSBootMenu (0x00bab10c</code> is the default value used internally</a>): zgenhostid -f 0x00bab10c && hostid</code></pre>Enter chroot</h3> Copy files into the mounted ZFS file system: cp /etc/hostid /mnt/etc/ mkdir /mnt/etc/zfs && cp /etc/zfs/zroot.key /mnt/etc/zfs/ mkdir -p /mnt/var/db/xbps/keys && cp /var/db/xbps/keys/* /mnt/var/db/xbps/keys/</code></pre> Enter the chroot environment: xchroot /mnt</code></pre>Set the root password</h3> passwd</code></pre>Create the superuser</h3> Create a user account with superuser privileges: useradd -m -G wheel [username]</code></pre> ... where [username]</code> is the desired name for the account. Set a password for [username]</code>: passwd [username]</code></pre> Activate wheel</code> group access for the sudo</code> command: sed -i "s/# %wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL/%wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL/" /etc/sudoers</code></pre>Add package repository</h3> Add the nonfree</code> subrepo (required for proprietary firmware) and sync mirrors: xbps-install void-repo-nonfree && xbps-install -S && xbps-query -L</code></pre>Install extra packages</h3> Identify the processor vendor: grep vendor_id /proc/cpuinfo</code></pre> Define a variable for an appropriate microcode package to load updates and security fixes: ucode="[vendor]"</code></pre> ... where [vendor] for Intel processors is intel-ucode</code> and AMD processors is linux-firmware-amd</code>. Install: xbps-install $ucode cryptsetup curl dkms efibootmgr nano terminus-font zfs</code></pre>Set console keymap, font, and hardware clock</h3> NOTE For terminus</code> font settings, see /usr/share/kbd/consolefonts/README.Lat2-Terminus16</code> for details. rc.conf</code> is read during boot and configures the system. Open the file: nano /etc/rc.conf</code></pre> Set the KEYMAP</code>, FONT</code>, and HARDWARECLOCK</code>. Example: HARDWARECLOCK="UTC" KEYMAP="us" FONT="ter-u24b"</code></pre> Save changes and exit. Set the timezone</h3> Timezones are located in /usr/share/zoneinfo/[Region]/[City]</code>, where [Region]</code> is the geographical region (Africa, America, Europe, ...) and the [City]</code> within that region. Example: Create the localtime</code> symbolic link to the timezone where Toronto</code> is located: ln -sf /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/Toronto /etc/localtime hwclock --systohc && date</code></pre>Set the locale</h3> Open the libc-locales</code> file: nano /etc/default/libc-locales</code></pre> Uncomment the desired system locales (example: en_CA</code> and en_US</code>): en_CA.UTF-8 UTF-8 en_US.UTF-8 UTF-8</code></pre> Save changes and exit. Generate the locales: xbps-reconfigure -f glibc-locales</code></pre> Set the default system locale: echo "LANG=en_CA.UTF-8" > /etc/locale.conf</code></pre>Assign the hostname</h3> Create the hostname</code> file: echo [hostname] > /etc/hostname</code></pre> ... where [hostname]</code> is the desired name of the system (single word, no spaces): echo voidlinux > /etc/hostname</code></pre>Enable services</h3> Wired networks can be configured statically or dynamically with dhcpcd</code>. Enable the service: ln -s /etc/sv/dhcpcd /etc/runit/runsvdir/default/</code></pre> Default activity is for dhcpcd</code> to configure all interfaces with DHCP. Changes are made in /etc/dhcpcd.conf</code>. See dhcpcd.conf(5)</code> for more details. Enable the sshd</code> service to allow remote logins: ln -s /etc/sv/sshd /etc/runit/runsvdir/default/</code></pre>Create encrypted swap</h3> Using raw dm-crypt</code> enables the system to generate a random, one-time encryption key at boot that requires no action from the user to encrypt swap</code>. At shutdown the key is discarded, rendering any remaining data effectively destroyed. Retrieve the PARTUUID</code> of swap_device</code>: blkid | grep $swap_device</code></pre> Configure dm-crypt</code> to set up swap at boot by adding an entry to crypttab</code>: echo 'swap PARTUUID=[long_string_of_characters] /dev/urandom swap,cipher=aes-xts-plain64,size=512' >> /etc/crypttab</code></pre> ... where [long_string_of_characters]</code> is replaced with the string retrieved by blkid</code>. Add swap device to fstab</code>: echo '/dev/mapper/swap none swap defaults 0 0' >> /etc/fstab</code></pre>Regenerate initramfs</h3> Configure dracut</code> for ZFS boot support by creating the zfs.conf</code> file: nano /etc/dracut.conf.d/zfs.conf</code></pre> NOTE Make sure to enter spaces surrounding the module and item names. Add: nofsck="yes" add_dracutmodules+=" zfs " omit_dracutmodules+=" btrfs resume " force_drivers+=" zfs " install_items+=" /etc/zfs/zroot.key "</code></pre> Save changes and exit. Ensure all installed packages are configured properly and a working initramfs is generated: xbps-reconfigure -fa</code></pre>ZFSBootMenu</h2> Install the ZBM bootloader to support Root-on-ZFS boot environments on Linux. Set boot properties</h3> NOTE Add the hibernate=no</code> argument to ensure that no process can trigger a suspend-to-disk action, which is consistent with the goal of using an ephemeral, random-key swap space. Assign command-line arguments to be used when booting the kernel: zfs set org.zfsbootmenu:commandline="quiet hibernate=no" zroot/ROOT</code></pre> Configure key caching: zfs set org.zfsbootmenu:keysource="zroot/ROOT/${ID}" zroot</code></pre>Format and mount the ESP partition</h3> NOTE Labels on file systems are optional, but helpful. They are a more reliable way to identify the correct partition than simple device nodes and allow for easy mounting without a UUID. Create a fat32</code> file system on the partition: mkfs.fat -n ESP -F 32 $esp_device</code></pre> Add the partition to fstab</code>: echo 'LABEL=ESP /efi vfat defaults 0 0' >> /etc/fstab</code></pre> Mount: mkdir /efi && mount $esp_device /efi</code></pre>Install the prebuilt executable</h3> Install a prebuilt ZBM executable to the ESP: mkdir -p /efi/EFI/ZBM curl -o /efi/EFI/ZBM/VMLINUZ.EFI -L https://get.zfsbootmenu.org/efi cp /efi/EFI/ZBM/VMLINUZ.EFI /efi/EFI/ZBM/VMLINUZ-BACKUP.EFI</code></pre>Configure EFI boot entries</h3> efibootmgr -c -d "$disk" -p "$esp_part" -L "ZFSBootMenu (Backup)" \ -l '\EFI\ZBM\VMLINUZ-BACKUP.EFI' efibootmgr -c -d "$disk" -p "$esp_part" -L "ZFSBootMenu" \ -l '\EFI\ZBM\VMLINUZ.EFI'</code></pre>Finish Up</h2> Exit chroot</h3> exit cd</code></pre>Unmount and export</h3> Unmount: umount /mnt/home && umount /mnt/data && umount /mnt/efi && umount -l -n -R /mnt</code></pre> Export the zpool: zpool export zroot</code></pre>Reboot</h3> reboot</code></pre> NOTE When prompted for passphrase to unlock zpool</code>, keymap is us</code> regardless of the keymap that might have been set in /etc/rc.conf</code>. User is prompted for the passphrase to unlock the encrypted ZFS pool</code>. Upon success, boot resumes... voidlinux login:</code></pre> Welcome to Void! Resources</h2> ZFSBootMenu: Void Linux Guide</a></li> Void Linux Handbook: Full Disk Encryption</a> and Root on ZFS</a></li> hrmpf rescue system: github.com/leahneukirchen/hrmpf</a></li> OpenZFS Man Pages: zpoolprops.7</a> and zfsprops.7</a></li> Practical ZFS: Linux home directory on ZFS</a></li> Arch Linux Wiki: Swap encryption</a></li> </ul> Next: Void Linux: After the First Boot (TODO) You can like, share, or comment on this post on the Fediverse</a> 💬 FreeBSD: After the First Boot Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Part of the "FreeBSD on a Laptop"</a> series. After the first boot of my new FreeBSD installation</a>, these are some extra steps I like to make right away to get a system off to a good start! Package management</a></li> Set pkg manager to default to yes</a></li> Allow designated users to run commands as root</a></li> Use a larger font in console</a></li> Add user to additional groups</a></li> Alias for root mail</a></li> Switch user shell from sh to fish</a></li> Create SSH keys</a></li> Boot delay</a></li> Message of the day</a></li> Clear system console at logout</a></li> </ul> Package management</h2> Package management is one area where the differences between the Linux philosophy and the BSD philosophy about how to build a system becomes apparent. Linux is an operating system kernel. Developers take this kernel and combine it with various independent software projects in a collection of packages that is released as a Linux distribution (Ubuntu, Debian</a>, Fedora, etc.). In contrast, each of the BSDs develop their own kernel and combine it with system components that are developed together "in-house" and released as a whole. The idea being that this approach leads to a more robust and tightly integrated core operating system. Third-party "userland" packages not included in the core may still be installed at the discretion of the user, with source code and binary packages provided from a ports repository. A major change in FreeBSD 15.0 is the introduction of a new method for installing and managing the core operating system using the pkg(8)</code> package manager. Currently marked as being a "technology preview", the plan is it will become the default method for managing all base and userland binary packages on the system when FreeBSD 16.0 is released. When I ran my fresh install of FreeBSD, I opted to use this pkg</code> tool in combination with a network install, and the base system was installed as a set of packages from the "FreeBSD-base" repository. To keep packages up-to-date, compare installed packages to the versions in ports</code>, and generate a list of packages due for an upgrade, run the command: pkg upgrade</code></pre> To add a package: pkg install [package]</code></pre> One of the first packages I like to install on any BSD or Linux system is htop(1)</code>: pkg install htop</code></pre> More: FreeBSD Handbook - Installing Applications: Packages and Ports</a> Set pkg manager to default to yes</h2> From pkg.conf(5)</code>: > DEFAULT_ALWAYS_YES: boolean When this option is enabled pkg(1) will default to "yes" for all questions which require user confirmation before doing anything. Default: NO.</code></pre> Open the file for editing: vi /usr/local/etc/pkg.conf</code></pre> Change: #DEFAULT_ALWAYS_YES = false;</code></pre> ... to: DEFAULT_ALWAYS_YES = true;</code></pre> Save changes and exit. Allow designated users to run commands as root</h2> I created a user account (example: foo</code>) during installation and added myself to the wheel</code> group. Install doas</code> to run root-level access commands, and allow members of wheel</code> to do so by default, by creating doas.conf</code>: pkg install doas echo "permit :wheel" > /usr/local/etc/doas.conf</code></pre> To allow user foo</code> to run commands as root without asking for a password: echo "permit nopass keepenv foo" >> /usr/local/etc/doas.conf</code></pre> Log out as root</code>, log back in as your user, and use doas</code> to run any commands that require root privileges. Use a larger font in console</h2> On some of the higher-resolution displays I find the default font size in the console pretty small. The base system includes a selection of console fonts in /usr/share/vt/fonts</code>. Try a different, larger font size: doas vidcontrol -f terminus-b32</code></pre> Download (in raw</code> format) this nice selection of terminus fonts of different sizes</a>, converted for use in the FreeBSD console. Unpack the .txz</code> package and copy the fonts to /usr/share/vt/fonts</code>: tar xvf vt-font-terminus-*.txz && doas cp terminus-font/ter-u* /usr/share/vt/fonts/</code></pre> Try different font sizes: doas vidcontrol -f ter-u28</code></pre> Use sysrc</code> to make a selection permanent by modifying rc.conf</code>: doas sysrc allscreens_flags="-f ter-u28"</code></pre> More: Fix small font in FreeBSD</a> Add user to additional groups</h2> Add my user account created during installation to a group with the syntax: doas pw groupmod [group_name] -m [username]</code></pre> Example: Permit powering off the system as a non-root user using shutdown</code> by adding my user foo</code> to the operator</code> group: doas pw groupmod operator -m foo</code></pre>Alias for root mail</h2> Rather than login to root to collect system mail, I forward the root user's mail to my non-root user's inbox. Open the aliases</code> file for editing: doas vi /etc/aliases</code></pre> Modify: # root: me@my.domain</code></pre> ... by uncommenting the line and replacing me@my.domain</code> with my foo</code> username: root: foo</code></pre> Save changes and exit. Let the MTA know about the modification by running the newaliases</code> command with no arguments: doas newaliases</code></pre> Test whether mail is indeed being forwarded by using the mail</code> command as my user to send root a message: $ mail root Subject: Test new alias Is it working?</code></pre> Press CTRL-d</code> to exit and send message. It works! $ mail Mail version 8.1 6/6/93. Type ? for help. "/var/mail/foo": 1 message 1 new >N 1 dwa@tukturjuit.home. Thu Mar 19 15:05 13/427 "Test new alias"</code></pre> More: How to Forward Root’s Mail</a> Switch user shell from sh to fish</h2> If a user account is created during the install of FreeBSD, the default shell assigned is sh</code>. I prefer fish</a>, which is not included in the base system: doas pkg install fish</code></pre> List available shells: $ cat /etc/shells ... /bin/sh /bin/csh /bin/tcsh /usr/local/bin/fish</code></pre> To change my user's shell from sh</code> to fish</code> it is strongly recommended</a> to make the change via .shrc</code> instead of chsh</code> system-wide. Backup the current .shrc</code>: mv ~/.shrc ~/.shrc.bak</code></pre> Create a new .shrc</code>: vi ~/.shrc</code></pre> Add: # ~/.shrc # # Switch to fish shell if interactive session case "$-" in *i*) FISH_PATH=$(command -v fish 2>/dev/null) if [ -n "$FISH_PATH" ]; then export SHELL="$FISH_PATH" # avoid the delay and primary device attribute warning (on freebsd) export fish_features="no-query-term" exec "$FISH_PATH" -l fi ;; esac</code></pre> Save changes and exit. Backup the current .profile</code>: mv ~/.profile ~/.profile.bak</code></pre> Create a new .profile</code>: vi ~/.profile</code></pre> Add: # ~/.profile # if [ -f ~/.shrc ]; then . ~/.shrc fi</code></pre> Save changes and exit. Log out and back in to start using the new shell. Create SSH keys</h2> Create an SSH public/private key pair to facilitate passwordless logins to remote servers and (optional) configure remote access to the localhost. Read More</a> Boot delay</h2> By default the system will pause at the boot menu for 10 seconds. I shorten this to 3 seconds by setting: echo 'autoboot_delay="3"' | doas tee -a /boot/loader.conf</code></pre>Message of the day</h2> Quiet the "message of the day" (motd</code>) output after logging into the system by creating an empty .hushlogin</code> file: touch ~/.hushlogin</code></pre>Clear system console at logout</h2> For the fish</code> shell I modify config.fish</code>: vi ~/.config/fish/config.fish</code></pre> Add: function on_exit --on-event fish_exit clear end</code></pre> Save changes and exit. More: How to clear terminal after logging out?</a> You can like, share, or comment on this post on the Fediverse</a> 💬

Configure the Live Environment</h2>
Boot the target device from the `lmde</code> installation media. User is automatically logged in to the Cinnamon desktop.</p>`

Installation</h2>

Finish the install</h3>
Switch back to installer window and click `Next</code> to finish the install.</p>`
`When prompted Do you want to restart your computer to use the new system?</code> choose No</code>.</p>`

Finish Up</h2>

Reboot</h3>
Reboot the system.</p>
User is prompted for the passphrase to unlock the encrypted `home</code> partition. Upon success, boot resumes...</p>`
`Welcome to LMDE!</strong></p>`

2. Text-based prompt</h4>
Modify `/etc/default/grub.d/50_lmde.cfg</code> by removing splash</code> from GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT</code>. Save changes, then run update-grub</code>.</p>`

Zswap Makes Swap Go Zoom

Configure the Bootloader</h2>

Verify</h2>

`Resources</h2> Essential reading: Debunking zswap and zram myth</a></li> Linux Kernel Admin Guide: zswap</a></li> Arch Wiki: Zswap</a></li> </ul> You can like, share, or comment on this post on the Fediverse</a> 💬 </p>`

Virtualization in Void Linux Using KVM + QEMU + Libvirt

Permissions</h2>

Resources</h2>

Void Linux Handbook: libvirt</a></li>
Arch Linux Wiki: libvirt</a></li>
Running VMs with VirtIO 3D Acceleration</a></li> </ul>
You can like, share, or comment on this post on the Fediverse</a> 💬 </p>

Just Enough Void

Configure the Live Environment</h2>
Boot the target device from the `hrmpf</code> installation media. User is automatically logged in as user root</code> to the first virtual console.</p>`

Configure the System</h2>

ZFSBootMenu</h2>
Install the ZBM bootloader to support Root-on-ZFS</strong> boot environments on Linux.</p>

Finish Up</h2>

FreeBSD: After the First Boot

Create SSH keys</h2>
Create an SSH public/private key pair to facilitate passwordless logins to remote servers and (optional) configure remote access to the localhost. Read More</a></p>

Daniel Wayne Armstrong

Install Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE 7) in Expert Mode

Daniel Wayne Armstrong

Install Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE 7) in Expert Mode

Configure the Live Environment</h2> Boot the target device from the lmde</code> installation media. User is automatically logged in to the Cinnamon desktop.</p>

Installation</h2>

Finish the install</h3> Switch back to installer window and click Next</code> to finish the install.</p> When prompted Do you want to restart your computer to use the new system?</code> choose No</code>.</p>

Finish Up</h2>

Reboot</h3> Reboot the system.</p> User is prompted for the passphrase to unlock the encrypted home</code> partition. Upon success, boot resumes...</p> Welcome to LMDE!</strong></p>

2. Text-based prompt</h4> Modify /etc/default/grub.d/50_lmde.cfg</code> by removing splash</code> from GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT</code>. Save changes, then run update-grub</code>.</p>

Zswap Makes Swap Go Zoom

Configure the Bootloader</h2>

GRUB</h3> If the system bootloader is GRUB, view the current boot arguments by inspecting cmdline</code>:</p>

ZBM</h3> If the system bootloader is ZBM, view the current boot arguments for (example) zroot/ROOT</code>:</p>

Verify</h2>

Cmdline</h3> Arguments used to boot the system:</p> GRUB on LMDE</strong></p>

Dmesg</h3> Confirm zswap</code> was loaded during boot:</p> LMDE</strong></p>

Parameters</h3> NOTE</strong> On systems that are running more recent (6.18+) kernels (like Void) zsmalloc</code> is now the exclusive backend for zswap, and the zpool</code> option has been removed.</p> View live settings:</p> Void</strong></p>

Resources</h2> Essential reading: Debunking zswap and zram myth</a></li> Linux Kernel Admin Guide: zswap</a></li> Arch Wiki: Zswap</a></li> </ul> You can like, share, or comment on this post on the Fediverse</a> 💬 </p>

Virtualization in Void Linux Using KVM + QEMU + Libvirt

Permissions</h2>

libvirt.conf</h3> Create libvirt.conf</code>:</p>

qemu.conf</h3> For storage file permissions, modify /etc/libvirt/qemu.conf</code> by setting user</code> to [my_username_goes_here]</code> and group</code> to libvirt</code>:</p>

Resources</h2> Void Linux Handbook: libvirt</a></li> Arch Linux Wiki: libvirt</a></li> Running VMs with VirtIO 3D Acceleration</a></li> </ul> You can like, share, or comment on this post on the Fediverse</a> 💬 </p>

Just Enough Void

Configure the Live Environment</h2> Boot the target device from the hrmpf</code> installation media. User is automatically logged in as user root</code> to the first virtual console.</p>

Configure the System</h2>

Generate the hostid</h3> Generate hostid</code> hexadecimal identifier for use by ZFSBootMenu (0x00bab10c</code> is the default value used internally</a>):</p> zgenhostid -f 0x00bab10c && hostid</span></span></code></pre>Enter chroot</h3> Copy files into the mounted ZFS file system:</p>

ZFSBootMenu</h2> Install the ZBM bootloader to support Root-on-ZFS</strong> boot environments on Linux.</p>

Finish Up</h2>

FreeBSD: After the First Boot

Configure the Live Environment</h2>
Boot the target device from the `lmde</code> installation media. User is automatically logged in to the Cinnamon desktop.</p>`

Finish the install</h3>
Switch back to installer window and click `Next</code> to finish the install.</p>`
`When prompted Do you want to restart your computer to use the new system?</code> choose No</code>.</p>`

Reboot</h3>
Reboot the system.</p>
User is prompted for the passphrase to unlock the encrypted `home</code> partition. Upon success, boot resumes...</p>`
`Welcome to LMDE!</strong></p>`

2. Text-based prompt</h4>
Modify `/etc/default/grub.d/50_lmde.cfg</code> by removing splash</code> from GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT</code>. Save changes, then run update-grub</code>.</p>`

`Resources</h2> Essential reading: Debunking zswap and zram myth</a></li> Linux Kernel Admin Guide: zswap</a></li> Arch Wiki: Zswap</a></li> </ul> You can like, share, or comment on this post on the Fediverse</a> 💬 </p>`

Resources</h2>

Void Linux Handbook: libvirt</a></li>
Arch Linux Wiki: libvirt</a></li>
Running VMs with VirtIO 3D Acceleration</a></li> </ul>
You can like, share, or comment on this post on the Fediverse</a> 💬 </p>

Configure the Live Environment</h2>
Boot the target device from the `hrmpf</code> installation media. User is automatically logged in as user root</code> to the first virtual console.</p>`

ZFSBootMenu</h2>
Install the ZBM bootloader to support Root-on-ZFS</strong> boot environments on Linux.</p>