doc/system-installation/004-graphical-environment.qd

.docname {Graphical Environment}
.include {docs}

The steps necessary to install graphics drivers are very dependent on your device. This guide details the settings I use
for my own hardware.

For general instructions, consult the [Arch Linux Wiki: Graphics][arch-wiki-graphics].

## Intel Graphics i915 / xe / Arc

Since Intel provides and supports open source drivers, Intel graphics are essentially plug-and-play. This guide details
some customized and improved settings, based on my personal preferences.

### Installation

Install (`sudo pacman -S ...`) the following packages

- `mesa`: open source OpenGL implementation for most modern drivers, including intel i915 3rd gen hardware
- `mesa-utils`: Utilities for `mesa`
- `vulkan-intal`: Vulkan support for intel hardware
- `vulkan-tools`: Vulkan utilities
- `intel-media-driver`: for VA-API support
- `libva-utils`: Utilities for VA-API
- `vdpauinfo`: Utilities for VDPAU
- `nvtop` Utility to show graphics card usage

Then reboot the computer.

### Enable GuC / HuC Firmware Loading

Depending on the hardware support, GuC and HuC should be en abled by default. You can check this by running the
following commands

```sh
cat /sys/kernel/debug/dri/0/gt0/uc/guc_info
cat /sys/kernel/debug/dri/0/gt0/uc/huc_info
```

> Tip: `0` might need to be replaced by a different number in the commands above. The files will only exist if GuC /
> HuC are enabled during boot. A reboot might be required if you cannot see them, or GuC / HuC is disabled in the
> system.

If GuC / HuC is disabled, you can manually enable it. Create the file `/etc/modprobe.d/i915.conf`

```txt
option i915 enable_guc=2
```

Possible options:

- `1`: Enable GuC but not HuC
- `2`: Enable Huc, but not GuC
- `3`: Enable HuC and GuC

.example {Dell XPS 13 9370 (2018)}
    Supported option is `option i915 enable_guc=2`

.example {DELL XPS 13 9350 (2024)}
    The xe driver is still experimental. Once it becomes mainline, GuC/HuC will be enabled by default.

Then regenerate and sign the initramfs with `mkinictpio -P`

> Warning: Manually enabling GuC or HuC firmware loading taints the kernel even when the feature is not supported.
> Moreover, enabling Guc / HuC firmware loading can cause issues on some systems; disable it if you experience freezing
> (for example, after resuming from hibernation).

### Intel ARC

Intel ARC GPUs support hardware raytracing support through onboard TSUs. Current performance is mixed.
For intel ARC, `linux-firmware-intel` should be installed on the system. It likely is from the base install already.

## AMD Graphics

AMD releases their drivers as open source. There are also closed source drivers available for special usecases. This
guide will only focus on the open source drivers.

Install (`sudo pacman -S ...`) the following packages

- `mesa` modern OpenGL drivers for most hardware
- `mesa-utils` utility programs for mesa
- `vulkan-radeon` vulkan support
- `vulkan-tools` utility programs for vulkan
- `libva-mesa-driver` to support accelerated video decoding using VA-API
- `libva-utils` utility programs for VA-API
- `mesa-vdpau` support for VDPAU
- `vdpauinfo` utility programs for VDPAU
- `nvtop` to monitor temparature, clock speed, and usage of the graphics card

Then reboot the system.


## Reboot

Do not forget to reboot the system after changes to the graphics drivers have been made.

## Install Hyprland

To install Hyprland, install the following packages that will include some necessary utilities for the system

```sh
yay -S --needed \
hyprland hyprpaper hypridle hyprlock waybar wofi kitty nemo gvfs gvfs-mtp gvfs-smb \
xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-hyprland xdg-desktop-portal-gtk xdg-utils \
wl-clipboard grim slurp swaync network-manager-applet polkit polkit-gnome chezmoi \
wev btop qt5-wayland qt6-wayland qt5ct qt6ct gtk-engine-murrine \
colloid-catppuccin-gtk-theme papirus-icon-theme breeze-icons \
pipewire pipewire-audio pipewire-alsa pipewire-pulse pipewire-jack wireplumber \
pavucontrol alsa-utils \
ttf-bitstream-vera ttf-croscore ttf-dejavu ttf-droid gnu-free-fonts ttf-libreation \
ttf-libertinus otf-libertinus noto-fonts ttf-roboto ttf-ubuntu-font-family \
ttf-anonymous-pro ttf-cascadia-code ttf-fira-mono otf-fira-mono inter-font \
ttf-ms-fonts ttf-vista-fonts ttf-roboto-mono-nerd ttf-firacode-nerd \
otf-firamono-nerd otf-font-awesome \
noto-fonts-emoji noto-fonts-cjk noto-fonts-extra ttf-jetbrains-mono \
ttf-jetbrains-mono-nerd \
firefox librewolf-bin thunderbird \
git make gcc curl ripgrep fzf jq tar unzip inotify-tools socat brightnessctl \
xdg-user-dirs fastfetch figlet openssh tmux man-db man-pages usbutils pciutils \
uwsm libnewt
```

You can now start hyprland with `uwsm start hyprland.desktop`.

## Automatic Configuration

A lot of the paage installation and configuration in the `$HOME` and `$HOME/.config` folders can be automated
with `chezmoi`.

1. Make sure that `chezmoi` is installed on the system with `pacman -S chezmoi`.
2. Then run the following command to clone and apply configuration files from the `fz-stack` dotfiles repository.
   You can modify the path you want to checkout the dotfiles to by modifying the `-S ...` argument.

   ```sh
   chezmoi -S $HOME/Projects/fz-stack/dotfiles init ssh://git@zechert.net:fz-stack/dotfiles.git
   ```

> Tip: The applied `~/.bashrc` will set up an alias to call `chezmoi` without the need to specify the `-S ...`
> argument everytime. If you install the dotfiles to a different place than the `$HOME/Projects/fz-stack/dotfiles`
> mentioned here, you will need to change this alias in the `.bashrc` configuration file.

## Automatic Login on TTY1

If the system is used by a single user, and the disk encryption password is known only to this user, it might be
desirable to automatically log in this user when the computer starts.

Create a drop-in file for `getty@tty1.service` with the following contents in `/etc/systemd/system/getty@tty1.service.d/autologin.conf`.

```ini
[Service]
ExecStart=
ExecStart=-/sbin/agetty -o '-p -f -- \\u' --noclear --autologin <username> %I $TERM
```

After the automatic login of the user, Hyprland will be started on TTY1 by the `uwsm` commands
in the `~/.bash_profile` file. On other TTYs, Hyprland will not be started automatically.

## Create Default User Directories

Execute the command `xdg-user-dirs-update` to create or update the default user directories.

[arch-wiki-graphics]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Category:Graphics