Monday, May 12, 2025

EndeavourOS GNU/Linux: notes

 I have installed EndeavourOS, i3wm on two machines: a self-built/self-maintained PC, and a Lenovo S1 Yoga.   On both, as of now, it is working well, some 2 weeks in.  Why EndeavourOS?  I'm not sure.  I was experiencing some glitches on my Manjaro systems, and I needed to refresh the Lenovo S1 Yoga i3 installation.  In retrospect, after all of what I list below, it seems to me---though without having anything specific in mind---that Manjaro's i3wm flavor has fallen behind. 

Some key points:

  • EndeavourOS i3wm edition incorporates a number of idosyncratic modifications and customizations.  This was my sense on previous short-lived installs, and it remains so, perhaps to an even greater extent, today.
  • The first thing one notices is i3wm keybindings.  They differ in almost every respect from i3wm defaults, without, AFAICT, any particular reasons.  
  • Installing  a printer reveals what may be a well-kept secret: the default firewall blocks a printer; certain adjustments must be made.  The "install-system-printer" tool, not an obvious feature, makes accomodations to this roadblock;  however, it may not be obvious to one who has been installing a printer by usual methods, such as starting up cups and opening "localhost:631" in a browser.  I, for one, was unaware of the firewall settings, making it necessary to chase down the differences.  Fortunately, I stumbled upon the script.
  • i3wm's configurations file, located at .config/i3, sources a number of scripts in .config/i3/scripts.  
  • The shutdown/resume/etc process found in, for example, Manjaro's i3wm edition, is implemented as a popup menu, via one of these scripts, powermenu, which requires a mouse click to activate.
  • EndeavourOS exhibits a fondness for visual icons.  These are overdone, for example, in the powermenu script, and in the status bar, etc.. To my eye, these icons are distracting.
  • EndeavourOS seems to reflect a trend toward modernization of i3wm, and perhaps other desktops.  
  • Some defaults are welcome; others were troublesome, at least for me. 
  • The installation caused some hiccoughs.  I don't remember them; I had to reinstall three or four times, for at least one of my machines.   
One serious problem I encountered during installation was the step, which I had overlooked, of having to choose between a BIOS and a UEFI installation.  This presented a serious problem.  I have never encountered this in any previous installation of Manjaro or Archlinux.  (I have abandoned direct installation of Archlinux because the learning experience touted by the developers has become a hindrance: after at least 10 installations, I have not learned them to any helpful extent; various versions of this process have presented, overall, significant hindrance to productivity. 

I was able to recover, for the most part, to a very nice OS, by copying over my config file from my previous Manjaro i3wm.  To be fair, this file has evolved over a decade or more, and incorporates useful tweaks.  Like Emacs's .emacs file, these tweaks---indeed the entire experience---remain relevant, without interfering with functioning of EndeavourOS.  Tweaks---mostly inspired by a series of videos from the distant past by Luke Smith, include:
  • A dropdown terminal (using Kitty in my case)
  • A dropdown Emacs instance---extremely useful;
  • A dropdown terminal running R, for calculations
  • A popup calendar: orage, a wonderful calendar, the best IMHO;
  • A popup "ham radio clock," helpful for my calendar work.
  • Two additional specific scratchpads, which I seldom use;
  • Workspace flipping abilities
  • custom bindings of kmag and kde-connect, which I use for microscope work.
 These features make i3wm even more useful.  I also customize other features, in minor ways.
 
Another personal note:  I always install on four partitions,  usually requiring some editing of /etc/fstab:
  1. /
  2. /home
  3. /usr/local
  4. /boot/efi
  5. (and swap; does that count?)
 Using a separate /home parition over the past 15 years or more has helped me to recover when something goes haywire, and it has given me a consistent work and storage setup.  
 
I always use a unique user name; and change the user id to "1004" after installation, by dropping to a superuser virtual terminal before logging in, the first or so time; this renders all user files read+writable, so various work areas, like my "KEEPERS" top level directory, may be copied over instantly.  Group id must be changed likewise, and all files that are not owned by this user:group combination in the current (or other) instance may be harmonized by executing "chown -R newuser:newgroup ~/.
 

A separate /usr/local directory (or folder if one will) enables the ability to carry over programs I have compiled myself, to the new system.   I reinstall texlive using the package "texlive-installer"; this is a wonderful tool.  It is not necessary, but some links may not carry over.  I have been setting up the /usr/local mount by hand in /etc/fstab, because different installers seem to handle the attempt to create it during installation, differently. 
 
Other directories must also be set up by hand, for example:
  • ~/Pictures (a large partition)

For now, I am happy enough.   In case of a need to reinstall, I would probably seek a distro that holds true to i3wm defaults.

 

Obviously, I am a fan of i3.  Endeavour would not be my first choice except that it seems well constructed and efficient.  The GUI enhancements are not excessive, but they are too much for me.

 

UPDATE:  I have followed some random advice to uncheck "opengl flipping" after experiencing serious lags upon resuming from suspend.  We'll see....  So far, no lag, but will try again.  

 Ok, I've tried it with only one application running, and things are fine.  What I had experienced were long delays, mouse unresponsive, when resuming.  Fingers crossed.

 

 

 

 

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