Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

quequotion · 2021-05-28 21:22:01

Thorned_Rose wrote:

Hey quequotion, just wondering what your take on the current state of Pantheon on Arch is, with Elementary 6.0 now in beta?

Changes are happening; some of Alucryd's packages have been updated already and several new stable releases are pending upstream. TBH, I am not fully up-to-date and neither are my AUR packages. The wiki may need updates as well. AFAIK, we still don't have a stable release of pantheon-session, which explains why that script hacks one out of the AUR package into ~/.xsession.

Should I put the effort in, after all this

If you have time to test the instructions in the wiki, and report back any that don't work, it would be helpful.

I have been out of the loop for a while because of major changes in my personal life and I don't have as much time as I used to, but I am still using a Pantheon based desktop so I have a vested interest in keeping this working.

sosonok · 2021-06-09 13:12:29

Hi everyone.

Do you know TeArch project? They have a Pantheon spin-off. No more info, indeed, but a developer says they patch some Arch packages ("Example: we patch Gnome settings daemon for Gala"). Could this work be useful for Arch users interested in Pantheon Desktop?

Last edited by sosonok (2021-06-09 13:12:52)

Use**ame · 2021-06-16 06:32:38

sosonok, hi. I could not even boot up and try this distribution... By the way, you did not leave a link to the project, I will fix that https://tearch-linux.github.io/

quequotion · 2021-07-21 13:46:41

It's a long time coming, and not quite here, but elementary OS 6.0.0 "Odin" is coming soon, and with it many new stable releases that could be packaged for Archlinux.

They've published some kind of ruby server you can run locally to get updates about releases.

I note that Alucryd is already busy updating packages.

The OS release brings with it big changes.

I am hoping we can finally have a pantheon-session package in [extra] for one, but there are also new components having their first stable release and old components being deprecated.

Among the new components I'd like to see in [extra] are pantheon-notifications, and pantheon-settings-daemon.

Still waiting on a release of "Dock" (elementary OS's fork of Plank), but if it does come out it would be great to have in [extra] as well, while plank could be removed from the "pantheon" group.

I know that cerbere is deprecated (although Archlinux really needs pantheon-session>=6.0.0 and dock in [extra] to use Pantheon without it), and I believe that pantheon-dpms-helper is as well.

By the way, still curious why gala and switchboard-plug-desktop are in a "pantheon-unstable" group, just the two of them.

Last edited by quequotion (2021-07-21 13:49:25)

Use**ame · 2021-07-22 04:22:09

I hope we get a stable and working version soon! I don't quite understand the difference between plank and dock?

The pantheon-session-git package needs to be updated:

~/» yay -S pantheon-session-git
 -> Could not find all required packages:
	libwingpanel-2.0.so=0-64 (Wanted by: pantheon-session-git)
~/»

quequotion · 2021-07-22 15:42:47

Use**ame wrote:

the difference between plank and dock?

Plank is not developed in house by elementary OS, it's mostly developed by one person, and gets updated sporadically.

Dock is maintained in elementary OS's own source repository. In theory, it is being developed more rapidly than Plank and with a greater focus on Pantheon-specific features.

Use**ame · 2021-07-22 23:35:34

Thanks for the clarification, I always thought it was exactly the opposite.

quequotion · 2021-07-29 11:57:48

Use**ame wrote:

Thanks for the clarification, I always thought it was exactly the opposite.

You may be thinking of Docky and Plank, where Plank was split from Docky as its "underlying" technology and elementary OS made moves implying they might take the project in house.

Even now, Dock, as a fork of Plank, remains a Wayland adoption roadblock--and may have to be entirely replaced in a yet-to-be developed Wayland-compatible elementary OS.

btw,

pantheon-session-git

Getting to it.

Wingpanel is in a weird state: upstream has issued an API change and a filename change to libwingpanel simultaneously with the release of 3.0.0.

Rather than "libwingpanel-3.0" to succeed "libwingpanel-2.0", it's now "libwingpanel" with a (supposedly) versioned soname.

Alucryd's wingpanel package "provides" (for pacman's dependency checking) libwingpanel-2.0, although it packages libwingpanel.so.3.

Last edited by quequotion (2021-07-29 12:04:38)

Use**ame · 2021-07-29 14:16:04

quequotion, The developers are clearly in no hurry to implement Wayland. Have you heard anything about it?

Since the update, new problems have been added to the old ones. Here's a list of what's not working for me:

[Old problem] Tiling
[Old problem] Hotkeys (some system hotkeys work, but none of the ones I assigned work)
[Old problem] Weird artifacts in firefox/tor-browser, which they seem to have fixed, but I can't confirm it because nothing has changed after installing the patched package.
[New problem] Wingpanel disappeared from the screen, and from processes, just disappeared like a ninja.
To run wingpanel you must now use io.elementary.wingpanel
[New problem] Switchbord and files don't start:
After rebooting, this problem no longer appears

io.elementary.files
Gtk-Message: 20:12:50.918: Failed to load module "pantheon-filechooser-module"
Gtk-Message: 20:12:50.918: Failed to load module "pantheon-filechooser-module"
Failed to register: Timeout was reached

io.elementary.switchboard
Gtk-Message: 20:13:25.300: Failed to load module "pantheon-filechooser-module"
Gtk-Message: 20:13:25.300: Failed to load module "pantheon-filechooser-module"
Failed to register: Timeout was reached

quequotion, By the way, are you using pantheon on a regular basis? Do you encounter the same problems as I do?

Last edited by Use**ame (2021-07-30 13:52:52)

quequotion · 2021-08-01 00:36:44

Use**ame wrote:

Have you heard anything about it?

Yes, it's one of several reasons my autohide pull request for wingpanel is such a hard sell: its (dodge) autohide mode employs libwnck (just like plank/dock). I think this is the bikeshedding phase right now, but it's going to be a struggle for them if X11 gets deprecated.

[Old problem] Tiling

Gala window manager? The new one should have some drop-zone tiling features (try dragging a window to one side or the other). It does not have a "tiling window manager" mode though. You might be able to replace gala with a tiling window manager in a custom session.

[Old problem] Hotkeys (some system hotkeys work, but none of the ones I assigned work)

I've just refurbished pantheon-session-git, possibly addressing this issue in part or in full. I have added new packages to the AUR, and new dependencies to this package on pantheon-settings-daemon (tbh; not settled against "elementary-settings-daemon"), as well as pantheon-dock (alternatively, with instance controls).

This is a hugely inconvenient thing to make everyone have to do (to build the new package, one must build those two dependencies, which are only available as provides() from other AUR packages), but this is the -git package: these dependencies are my interpretation of what the latest version of pantheon is expected to have installed (and may solve some longstanding issues).

[Old problem] Weird artifacts in firefox/tor-browser, which they seem to have fixed, but I can't confirm it because nothing has changed after installing the patched package.

I have no idea.

are you using pantheon on a regular basis? Do you encounter the same problems as I do?

Yes/No, and mostly no.

I am using wingpanel, dock, and some other pantheon applications daily; but not gala, their window manager/compositor. I use compiz or openbox instead in custom sessions (available in the AUR as pantheon-3d and pantheon-lite).

I have not encountered most of those problems, but I am aware of the hotkeys issue. This has been hard on me, because GNOME threw out their X11 background drawing service, and I was forced to swap in cinnamon-settings-daemon which surprisingly works, but so my hotkey responsibilities are split between my window manager/compositors, c-s-d, and as of today p-s-d in addition.

Last edited by quequotion (2021-08-01 01:21:39)

Use**ame · 2021-08-01 03:08:58

Gala window manager? The new one should have some drop-zone tiling features (try dragging a window to one side or the other). It does not have a "tiling window manager" mode though. You might be able to replace gala with a tiling window manager in a custom session.

Yes, I use gala. I can only move the window to the side using the keyboard, the same actions don't work if I use the mouse.

I've just refurbished pantheon-session-git, possibly addressing this issue in part or in full.

I can neither confirm nor deny this, because after building and installing, I get to a screen with "Oh no! Something has gone wrong." I had to downgrade the package to get back to what worked.

quequotion · 2021-08-01 08:34:00

Use**ame wrote:

Yes, I use gala. I can only move the window to the side using the keyboard, the same actions don't work if I use the mouse.

Curious. Am I wrong about the dropzones? It was my assumption that the logical way for this to work would be a keyboard shortcut or dragging the windows to either half of the screen to be tiled on.

after building and installing, I get to a screen with "Oh no! Something has gone wrong."

That happens when one of the startup applications required by /usr/share/gnome-session/sessions/pantheon.desktop is crashing at login or not starting.

Historically there has been trouble keeping the long list of gnome-settings-daemon services in working order. You might try editing them out of the file temporarily.

Edit: That is to say, change this line:

RequiredComponents=gala;gala-daemon;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.A11ySettings;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.Color;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.Datetime;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.Housekeeping;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.Keyboard;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.MediaKeys;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.Power;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.PrintNotifications;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.Rfkill;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.Sharing;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.Smartcard;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.Sound;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.Wacom;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.XSettings;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.UsbProtection;org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.ScreensaverProxy

into this:

RequiredComponents=gala;gala-daemon

If that still fails, there's a problem starting gala or gala-daemon (which is new to me).

Last edited by quequotion (2021-08-01 11:23:42)

Use**ame · 2021-08-01 09:06:12

Curious. Am I wrong about the dropzones? It was my assumption that the logical way for this to work would be a keyboard shortcut or dragging the windows to either half of the screen to be tiled on.

I can't place windows in the corners of the screen, if that's what you mean...

That happens when one of the startup applications required by /usr/share/gnome-session/sessions/pantheon.desktop is crashing at login or not starting.
Historically there has been trouble keeping the long list of gnome-settings-daemon services in working order. You might try editing them out of the file temporarily.

How do I know which component to remove? It is not org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.Clipboard and org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.Mouse as written here? They are not in the file.

Last edited by Use**ame (2021-08-01 09:12:26)

quequotion · 2021-08-01 11:35:07

Use**ame wrote:

I can't place windows in the corners of the screen, if that's what you mean...

Does their tiling do corners? I think they only do halves, ie the hotzone would be the middle of left or right edges of the screen. Not sure if they do vertical halves as well; assume not.

They are not in the file.

Indeed, this is one of the things allegedly fixed by the 6.0.0 release: the list of desired gnome-settings-daemon services has been updated for a newer version of g-s-d (although they are still behind us, in Ubuntu's LTS release cycle). From what I can see on arch's repository web interface, all the services requested by pantheon are available from our provided version of g-s-d.

Do they all work, however, remains to be established. Edit: and establishing which specifially is the problem btw, is not fun. This is done by restarting the session over and over, re-enabling services a few or one at a time.

This is also a new release of gala, also 6.0.0; there could be unknown issues.

Last edited by quequotion (2021-08-01 11:38:15)

Use**ame · 2021-08-01 11:59:07

Does their tiling do corners?

Nope

Indeed, this is one of the things allegedly fixed by the 6.0.0 release: the list of desired gnome-settings-daemon services has been updated for a newer version of g-s-d (although they are still behind us, in Ubuntu's LTS release cycle). From what I can see on arch's repository web interface, all the services requested by pantheon are available from our provided version of g-s-d.
Do they all work, however, remains to be established. Edit: and establishing which specifially is the problem btw, is not fun. This is done by restarting the session over and over, re-enabling services a few or one at a time.
This is also a new release of gala, also 6.0.0; there could be unknown issues.

This is not good at all...

I was able to boot with

RequiredComponents=gala;gala-daemon

now I have to add each component in turn and restart the session, right?

The culprit turned out to be org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.UsbProtection.

I don't understand, the system is updated, the packages were built in a clean chroot, but I don't see any improvement. I even rebuilt them to make sure I didn't make a mistake anywhere, but the hotkeys didn't work...

Last edited by Use**ame (2021-08-01 13:17:57)

quequotion · 2021-08-01 13:51:34

Use**ame wrote:

This is not good at all...

I feel for you, on the contrary there was some good news: you've worked around it, the problem isn't gala, and it is (more or less) a known issue. Could have been worse

The culprit turned out to be org.gnome.SettingsDaemon.UsbProtection
I don't understand, the system is updated, the packages were built in a clean chroot, but I don't see any improvement. I even rebuilt them to make sure I didn't make a mistake anywhere, but the hotkeys didn't work...

We're probably still missing some not-well-publicized component, settings, etc.

Thank you for taking the time to do it the "right" way; at least we can use these findings to work on better packages and maybe improve the wiki.

Which keys work and which keys don't work?

Last edited by quequotion (2021-08-01 13:56:15)

Use**ame · 2021-08-01 14:35:47

Thank you for taking the time to do it the "right" way; at least we can use these findings to work on better packages and maybe improve the wiki.

No problem! I hope this helps in some way.

Which keys work and which keys don't work?

Briefly, because I can't list them all.

Works:

alt+F4
alt+F5
win+↑
win+↓
win+H
alt+tab
shift+alt+tab
win+ctrl+←/→
win+w
win+f
win++/-
win+1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9
shift+win+1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9
win+tab
shift+win+tab

It doesn't work:

Brightness control
Volume control
Screenshots
Any custom (assigned commands + keyboard shortcuts)

Use**ame · 2021-08-05 12:06:52

A few more errors...

Open a new tab in the terminal and enter some command, then close the tab by clicking on the cross or the middle mouse button. Press middle mouse button to open new tab and you'll see that tab, command and its output (simply speaking session) which you closed in previous step. The tab is guaranteed to close if you type exit.

The situation with the file manager is similar. Open a new tab and go to some directory. Now close that tab by clicking on the cross or middle mouse button. Click the middle mouse button and you will get to the directory you closed earlier.

Sometimes when starting the pantheon environment, dock will not register the running windows and opens a new window instead of minimizing/expanding it. So far it helps to restart dock.

Picture-in-picture mode sometimes behaves strangely. Sometimes I have to move the PIP window aside because it gets in the way, but after releasing the mouse button it keeps following the cursor.

quequotion · 2021-08-05 13:49:38

Use**ame wrote:

Picture-in-picture mode sometimes behaves strangely. Sometimes I have to move the PIP window aside because it gets in the way, but after releasing the mouse button it keeps following the cursor.

I'll put this on the list of things to try when I get around to installing gala.

middle mouse button to open new tab...you'll see that tab, command and its output

Click the middle mouse button and you will get to the directory you closed earlier

I'm not sure that's an error, sounds more like middle-click is set to unclose tab.

elementary OS apps expect a double-click on empty space in the tab bar (or a single click on the "+" button) to open a new, empty tab. I have not checked if they intend to have an unclose tab by mouse click feature.

My guess would be that using the "exit" command prevents a tab from being unclosed because it circumvents the application's history tracking (the tab was not closed so much as the bash process running within it was terminated).

Last edited by quequotion (2021-08-05 13:51:07)

Use**ame · 2021-08-05 14:15:45

Maybe it's not a mistake, but the behavior is a little strange.

I remembered that when I restarted dock, I left the terminal open, but I cleared the screen and after a while it displays messages, as if I was running something for debugging. It's also a little weird.

michaelben · 2021-08-08 06:35:47

Hi @quequotion,

I tried install pantheon using

paru -S pantheon-session-git

But on logging onto pantheon, I get a screen saying something went wrong and asking me to log out.
Is there anything else I am missing?

Thanks

Use**ame · 2021-08-08 09:34:57

michaelben, Note that since the last update, pantheon-session-git has new dependencies that need to be built manually. Read this comment for details.

You must have the mutter package installed to run pantheon. Also note that one or more components of /usr/share/gnome-session/sessions/pantheon.session might not work, we talked about that here.

CrisisModel · 2021-08-11 12:18:53

Not sure if there's something I need to tweak in order to get this working, but, when editing the time/date settings (specifically, changing to AM/PM), it doesn't actually change the clock on the panel. I've tried relogging to see if it would go into effect, and it doesn't. Here's a screenshot.

Use**ame · 2021-08-24 03:44:18

Odin has been released. I hope it will bring bug fixes, easier installation and overall stability for all of us

I would like to know if Maxime Gauduin reads this thread? Is he aware of the bugs? For example, that with the latest version of gala (6.0.1-1) the system refuses to start.

PS.
I tried to rebuild mutter in chroot to fix this bug. But I didn't see any improvement, maybe I need to rebuild something else, but what? By the way I didn't see this error in Odin.

Last edited by Use**ame (2021-08-24 05:35:20)

quequotion · 2021-09-04 17:26:11

@michaelben

We finally have a pantheon-session package in the [community] repository, so it is no longer necessary to install the -git package from the AUR unless you want to do testing on the development tip (which, btw, as Use**name has pointed out, is likely to confuse your AUR helper and is best built without one according to the instructions provided on its AUR page)

@CrisisModel

I haven't gotten around to looking into this yet, but I very much intend to do so. My first guess is that the indicator is reading the setting from somewhere other than where the switchboard plug is setting it, but I know not where. Need to look at the upstream git repositories to make sure the indicator and the switchboard plug are using the same dconf setting, and if the indicator overrides that setting from another source.

@Use**name

It seems like things are better than ever for Pantheon on Archlinux at the moment, but there are still some caveats.

I for one, am not the least bit impressed with Gala 6.0 as a window manager: first because it guesses multi-monitor setups wrong (ignoring x11 configuration), as documented on the wiki, and can't be set correctly as the only means to do so are either an undocumented config file or the switchboard plug that writes it which is missing any means to correct overscan, etc.; second because it fails to setup monitors correctly the desktop right-click menu appears in arbitrary locations other than next to the pointer with no discernible pattern, and third the concept of having maximized or fullscreen windows automatically move to their own desktop sounded great on paper but then I realized there's no apparent means of switching away from such a task (there's probably a hotkey I could look up, but the natural thing would be to use the pointer or allowing access to the dock which it does not). Gross.

Speaking of which, I finally figured out why I could never get "Shut Down..." in the session indicator to do anything other than reboot the computer after multiple attempts: this menu item actually calls up (through DBUS) a shutdown dialog (with an additional "Reboot" option) which requires Gala to appear. Infuriated, I hacked that menu item to just shut the computer down instead (this is not the first time I have had to patch a session indicator into serving its purpose). The "Log Out..." menu item also fails, but is not as simple to work around (rather than use a single dbus for everything, the elementary OS devs have opted to use a hodge-podge of gnome-session and systemd dbus; one for this and one for that)--nonetheless I intend to get there eventually.

Edit: turns out patching over the logout dialog was in fact just as easy as (actually, slightly easier than) the shutdown dialog.

So, without further ado: may I present wingpanel-indicator-session-standalone-git, a session indicator for wingpanel that works--perhaps too well: both the shutdown and logout menu items now do exactly what they say, no questions asked, no delays, no concern for "inhibitors" etc.

Last edited by quequotion (2021-12-19 13:35:00)

Arch Linux

#751 2021-05-28 21:22:01

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#752 2021-06-09 13:12:29

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#753 2021-06-16 06:32:38

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#754 2021-07-21 13:46:41

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#755 2021-07-22 04:22:09

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#756 2021-07-22 15:42:47

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#757 2021-07-22 23:35:34

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#758 2021-07-29 11:57:48

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#759 2021-07-29 14:16:04

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#760 2021-08-01 00:36:44

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#761 2021-08-01 03:08:58

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#762 2021-08-01 08:34:00

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#763 2021-08-01 09:06:12

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#764 2021-08-01 11:35:07

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#765 2021-08-01 11:59:07

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#766 2021-08-01 13:51:34

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#767 2021-08-01 14:35:47

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#768 2021-08-05 12:06:52

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#769 2021-08-05 13:49:38

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#770 2021-08-05 14:15:45

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#771 2021-08-08 06:35:47

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#772 2021-08-08 09:34:57

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#773 2021-08-11 12:18:53

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#774 2021-08-24 03:44:18

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

#775 2021-09-04 17:26:11

Re: Pantheon Shell on Archlinux

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