Environment#

My environment is roughly as follows:

• CPU: AMD
• GPU: Nvidia
• OS: Void Linux
• DE: KDE Plasma 6
• Graphics Platform: Wayland

As of the time of writing, Wayland and Nvidia GPUs don’t play well together, or so it seems—carelessly installing it causes graphics to break after login, which was a struggle.

Setting up the Desktop Environment#

Starting from the state after running void-installer.

I referenced the following:

Nvidia and Xorg on Void Linux

Nvidia and Xorg on Void Linux. GitHub Gist: instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

gist.github.com

GitHub - asifakonjee/Void-Linux-KDE: This is my Void Linux KDE Installation Script

This is my Void Linux KDE Installation Script. Contribute to asifakonjee/Void-Linux-KDE development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Add optional repos:

1
sudo xbps-install void-repo-nonfree void-repo-multilib void-repo-multilib-nonfree
2
sudo xbps-install -Su

Add necessary packages (adjust as needed):

1
sudo xbps-install kde-prisma kde-baseapps xorg-minimal xorg-server-devel xrdb xbacklight nvidia xdg-user-dirs xdg-utils xtools micro NetworkManager git vim kate preload rsync

I have no particular ideology, so I want to install proprietary drivers, but just installing the nvidia package isn’t enough—some additional configuration is needed.

1
sudo vim /etc/default/grub

Add nvidia-drm.modeset=1 to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT. After editing, update GRUB:

1
sudo update-grub

Next, add the following to /etc/dracut.conf.d/nvidia.conf:

1
add_drivers+=" nvidia nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm "

Regenerate initramfs:

1
sudo dracut -f

Enable SDDM and D-Bus services:

1
sudo ln -s /etc/sv/dbus /var/service/
2
sudo ln -s /etc/sv/sddm /var/service/

After rebooting, you should be able to use KDE + Wayland.

1
sudo reboot

The Nvidia setup worked without special configuration on X11, but it’s 2025—using X11 instead of Wayland felt wrong, so I went through a lot of trial and error.

Audio Issues#

For audio, use PipeWire instead of PulseAudio.

PipeWire was already installed when I set up the environment above, but if it’s not there, install it as needed:

1
sudo xbps-install pipewire wireplumber

The following documentation has detailed information on the subsequent setup.

Set up the session manager and configuration for PipeWire-incompatible applications:

1
mkdir -p /etc/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d
2
ln -s /usr/share/examples/wireplumber/10-wireplumber.conf /etc/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/
3
mkdir -p /etc/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d
4
ln -s /usr/share/examples/pipewire/20-pipewire-pulse.conf /etc/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/

Register PipeWire applications as autostart applications on the KDE side, and you’re done.

Japanese Environment#

Set up fonts and Japanese input environment.

Choose fonts as you like. Here, I went with the safe choice of Noto fonts.

1
sudo xbps-install noto-fonts-cjk noto-fonts-emoji

For Japanese input, you’ll likely use fcitx or ibus with mozc, but in my environment, fcitx wouldn’t properly load the input method no matter how much I fiddled with it, so I used ibus.

1
sudo xbps-install -S ibus ibus-mozc

Set up the usual stuff:

1
cat > ~/.config/plasma-workspace/env/ibus.sh << 'EOF'
2
#!/bin/sh
3
export GTK_IM_MODULE=ibus
4
export QT_IM_MODULE=ibus
5
export XMODIFIERS=@im=ibus
6
EOF
7

8
chmod +x ~/.config/plasma-workspace/env/ibus.sh

Also address the Chinese font issue (etc/fonts/local.conf):

1
<?xml version="1.0"?>
2
<!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM "fonts.dtd">
3
<fontconfig>
4
    <alias>
5
        <family>serif</family>
6
        <prefer>
7
            <family>Noto Serif CJK JP</family>
8
        </prefer>
9
    </alias>
10
    <alias>
11
        <family>sans-serif</family>
12
        <prefer>
13
            <family>Noto Sans CJK JP</family>
14
        </prefer>
15
    </alias>
16
    <alias>
17
        <family>monospace</family>
18
        <prefer>
19
            <family>Noto Sans Mono CJK JP</family>
20
        </prefer>
21
    </alias>
22
</fontconfig>

Done#

Now just use it however you like.

This time I went with Void Linux based on DistroWatch’s ranking, but if I get bored, I’d like to try Garuda or Endeavour.

I haven’t fully set up my development environment yet, so I’ll write more if anything comes up.