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Desktop Configuration

  • Current distribution: Fedora 41 Silverblue
  • Current hardware: AMD X570 + 5900X + RX580 Desktop, ThinkPad T16 Gen 1

Upstream Watchlist

Data to Back Up

  • ~/.gnupg/
  • ~/.password-store/
  • ~/.gitconfig
  • ~/.pki/

Machine Setup

Operating System Installation

  1. Initialize a thumb drive using the Fedora Media Writer using an image from Fedora Silverblue.
  2. On ThinkPad, enable Microsoft's third-party Secure Boot CA in "BIOS."
  3. Boot to the Fedora Silverblue install media.
  4. Reclaim disk space. Disk encryption is good; either use Opal (weaker) or LUKS (stronger).

System Configuration

  1. Reboot into the newly installed Fedora, enable additional repositories, and set up the first user.

  2. Update Fedora using the GNOME Software Center (and reboot).

  3. Switch to Flatpak for Firefox, install system-level tools and CLI utilities, and reboot:

    flatpak install flathub org.mozilla.firefox
rpm-ostree override remove firefox firefox-langpacks
rpm-ostree install ansible gnome-boxes gnome-tweak-tool google-chrome-stable libvirt-daemon-config-network ltunify pass powertop python3-psutil steam-devices

  4. Configure newly installed packages and desktop environment settings:

    sudo systemctl enable --now virtnetworkd-ro.socket
cd ~/Downloads/
curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/davidstrauss/desktop-configuration/main/post_install.yml > post_install.yml
ansible-playbook --check -vvv post_install.yml  # Optional Very Verbose Dry Run
ansible-playbook post_install.yml  # Many dconf configs seem to fail unless already correctly set.

  5. Configure git (if not restoring ~/.gitconfig):

    git config --global user.name "David Strauss"
git config --global user.email [email protected]
git config --global init.defaultBranch main
git config --global color.ui auto

  6. Set battery charging thresholds (on laptop):

    echo 10 | sudo tee /sys/class/power_supply/BAT0/charge_start_threshold
echo 90 | sudo tee /sys/class/power_supply/BAT0/charge_stop_threshold
#Configuring thresholds for the second battery doesn't seem to work yet.
#echo 10 | sudo tee /sys/class/power_supply/BAT1/charge_start_threshold
#echo 90 | sudo tee /sys/class/power_supply/BAT1/charge_stop_threshold

  7. To disable Steam scaling: Steam -> Settings -> Interface -> Enlarge text and icons based on monitor size (requires restart).

Wireguard VPN Setup

   sudo nmcli connection import type wireguard file "$filename"

Workarounds

  • Intel laptop CPUs sometimes need "panel self refresh" or c-states altered to fix glitches:

     rpm-ostree kargs --append=i915.enable_psr=0
 rpm-ostree kargs --append=intel_idle.max_cstate=2

  • Probably obsolete for Fedora 41+: bootupctl won't yet adopt on Silverblue.

     # Update grub and other boot partition artifacts
 # Source: https://github.com/fedora-silverblue/issue-tracker/issues/543#issuecomment-2048350047
 #
 # Enter a root shell on the host (i.e. not in a toolbox)
 $ sudo -i
 
 # Make a backup of the content of the EFI partition
 $ cd /boot/efi/
 $ cp -a EFI EFI.bkp
 
 # Copy updated bootloader versions
 $ cp /usr/lib/ostree-boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/{BOOTIA32.EFI,BOOTX64.EFI,fbia32.efi,fbx64.efi} /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/
 $ cp /usr/lib/ostree-boot/efi/EFI/fedora/{BOOTIA32.CSV,BOOTX64.CSV,grubia32.efi,grubx64.efi,mmia32.efi,mmx64.efi,shim.efi,shimia32.efi,shimx64.efi} /boot/efi/EFI/fedora/
 
 # Only needed if it exists already on your system
 $ cp /usr/lib/ostree-boot/efi/EFI/fedora/shimx64.efi /boot/efi/EFI/fedora/shimx64-fedora.efi
 
 # Sync changes to the disk
 $ sync
 
 # Reboot and clean up backups
 
 # Enter a root shell on the host (i.e. not in a toolbox)
 $ sudo -i
 
 # Make a backup of the content of the EFI partition
 $ cd /boot/efi/
 $ rm -ri ./EFI.bkp
 
 # Sync changes to the disk
 $ sync

 # Update shim another way:
 wget https://kojipkgs.fedoraproject.org//packages/shim/15.8/3/x86_64/shim-x64-15.8-3.x86_64.rpm # https://koji.fedoraproject.org/koji/buildinfo?buildID=2423319
 sudo rpm-ostree usroverlay  # We only need the side-effects of package installation outside the immutable system.
 sudo rpm -i --reinstall shim-*.rpm

  • Missing Flatpak icons (untested fix):

     sudo gtk-update-icon-cache -f /var/lib/flatpak/exports/share/icons/hicolor/
 sudo gtk4-update-icon-cache -f /var/lib/flatpak/exports/share/icons/hicolor/

Coexistence with Windows

After a complete wipe of the EFI partition, Windows won't have its required resources to boot.

  1. Boot from Windows install media (F8 for the boot menu on Asus boards and F12 on ThinkPad).

  2. Use diskpart to assign a drive letter (like G) to the EFI partition (which should be labeled System).

  3. Restore boot files:

    G:\EFI
bootrec /rebuildbcd

  4. Booting to Windows 10 should now appear as an option from the recovery menus.

  5. Use the GUI boot repair tool, or attempt it from the CLI.

  6. Review BIOS/firmware settings to restore Fedora Linux as the default.

  7. Switch to BLS and add Windows into the Linux boot menu:

    sudo grub2-switch-to-blscfg
sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

Upgrading

  1. Only if needed: Remove RPM Fusion repositories for current Fedora:

    rpm-ostree remove rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora)-1.noarch

  2. Rebase on the next release (and resolve issues with any missing packages):

    rpm-ostree rebase fedora:fedora/$(expr $(rpm -E %fedora) + 1)/x86_64/silverblue

  3. Only if needed: Add RPM Fusion repositories for next Fedora:

    rpm-ostree install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(expr $(rpm -E %fedora) + 1).noarch.rpm

  4. Reboot.

Mobile Phone Setup

  1. Install OpenKeychain and Password Store.
  2. Generate a new SSH key.
  3. Add the new key to the git server.
  4. Clone the repository.
  5. Copy the private key stub EXAMPLE.asc to the phone. If downloaded from Google Drive, it may need to get copied into another app as text and re-saved using a one or another plain text editors. Drive likes to convert the .asc file to a PDF on download.
  6. OpenKeychain > Import Key from File
  7. Choose the .asc file.

Smart Cards

Tested Hardware

In Current Use

  • Reader and card: YubiKey 5 and 5C

Previously Used and Tested

Instructions may be out of date for these cards.

  • Reader and card: YubiKey Neo and Neo-N
  • Reader and card: YubiKey 4 and 4 Nano
  • Card only: Fidesmo Dual Interface
  • Reader only: JK-A0100 Series Smartcard Keyboard: Use enable-pinpad-varlen in .gnupg/gpg-agent.conf for secure PIN entry. The specific tested model was JK-A0100EU-2.
  • Reader only: Identiv SCM SPR 532: Should work with secure PIN entry out of the box
  • Reader only: Lenovo ThinkPad T-series built-in: No secure PIN entry available

Resources

Using an Existing Smart Card

  1. Complete machine setup (above).

  2. Import any existing smart card keys (that were set up according to the directions below):

    gpg2 --card-edit
> fetch
> quit
gpg2 --card-status

  3. Import any other keys:

    gpg2 --keyserver hkps://keys.openpgp.org --recv-key $KEYID
gpg2 --keyserver pool.sks-keyservers.net --recv-key $KEYID  # Another database to try.
gpg2 --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-key $KEYID  # Another database to try.

  4. Add trust to any necessary keys:

    gpg2 --edit-key $KEYID
gpg> trust
Your decision? 5
gpg> quit

Setting Up a New Smart Card

  1. Complete machine setup (above).

  2. If it's a YubiKey, enable OpenPGP:

    • For YubiKey Neo or YubiKey 4:

      sudo dnf install ykpers
ykpersonalize -m6

    • YubiKey 5 seems to ship with OpenPGP enabled. To verify and get other information:

      sudo dnf install -y swig gcc pcsc-lite-devel python-devel  # Can be in Fedora Toolbox
pip install --user yubikey-manager                         # Can be in Fedora Toolbox
ykman openpgp info  # Must be outside Toolbox to use PC/SC APIs

  3. Configure the card, generate a key pair, and upload the key:

    gpg2 --change-pin  # Change both the PIN (default is 123456)
                   # and the Admin PIN (default is 12345678).
                   # I use pwgen for the admin PIN.
gpg2 --card-edit
gpg/card> admin
gpg/card> key-attr # On YubiKey firmware 5.2.3+, choose ECC and Curve 25519 for each option. Older keys and firmwares don't support this.
gpg/card> generate # Perform the off-card backup (which is only a shim private key, anyway).
                   # Use a key size of 3072 for RSA on YubiKey 4. Defaults are fine for NEO and YubiKey 5.
                   # No expiration.
gpg/card> quit  # GPG will then print out data, including the key fingerprint
                # as a long, alphanumeric string.
gpg2 --keyserver hkps://keys.openpgp.org --send-keys $FINGERPRINT
gpg2 --keyserver hkp://pool.sks-keyservers.net --send-keys $FINGERPRINT
gpg2 --keyserver hkp://pgp.mit.edu --send-keys $FINGERPRINT

    Note: Revocation certificates are backed up to ~/.gnupg/openpgp-revocs.d

  4. Display the public key in OpenSSH format:

    ssh-add -L

  5. Optionally, export the "secret key," which will only be a stub (not the actual key, which is not obtainable). This is importable into OpenKeychain on Android.

    gpg2 --export-secret-key --armor $FINGERPRINT > $FINGERPRINT.asc  # Back this up, too.

  6. After this is finished, the card should work. You should also have $FINGERPRINT.asc and $FINGERPRINT.rev backed up. Google Drive and Dropbox are usually fine for this backup; these files cannot be used to impersonate or decrypt, only revoke.

  7. To add to Password Store:

    1. Connect one existing key that can already access passwords.

    2. Verify that the existing key is unlocked by accessing a password.

    3. Instruct Password Store to reencrypt to the desired keys:

      pass init $FINGERPRINT [...additional fingerprints...]  # Ensure existing key is connected and unlocked first.

Testing and Troubleshooting the Setup

When there's an issue, we can narrow the problem down to an individual component or connection.

  • Test that the GPG agent is running and accessible (after an attempt at use):

     systemctl --user status gpg-agent.service
 ls -l $SSH_AUTH_SOCK

 # Optionally, stop it (which will cause reinitialization on use):
 systemctl --user stop gpg-agent.service

  • Test that the standard PIN counter hasn't been exhausted. It's the first number returned here:

     gpg2 --card-status|grep "PIN retry counter"

    • If the standard PIN counter has been exhausted, it's possible to unblock (using gpg2 --card-edit with passwd) as long as the third number (the mangement/admin PIN retry counter) wasn't also zero.

    • If even the management/admin PIN is exhausted, then the entire GPG module needs to be reset: YubiKey instructions

  • Test the GPG-to-smart card connection and key trust. The following should prompt for the regular PIN and succeed:

     FINGERPRINT=`gpg2 --card-status | grep "General key info" | grep -o "/[[:alnum:]]* " | grep -o "[[:alnum:]]*"`
 echo "test" | gpg2 --sign --armor --local-user $FINGERPRINT

  • Test the OpenSSH client's connection to the GPG agent. The following should output the SSH public key:

     ssh-add -L

One-Time or Test Usage of the Agent

  1. Open a terminal.

  2. If you're restarted your computer since using the agent, start it:

    gpg-agent --daemon --enable-ssh-support

  3. In any shell where you want to use it, point OpenSSH to the GPG agent:

    export SSH_AUTH_SOCK=${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR}/gnupg/S.gpg-agent.ssh  # Or use the line shown in the output of starting the GPG agent

Revoking a Key

  1. If the key isn't imported locally, follow the "Using an Existing Smart Card" steps first (but skipping the "trust" step).

  2. If you don't have the revocation certificate (.rev) backed up but have the private key:

    gpg2 --gen-revoke --output=$FINGERPRINT.rev $FINGERPRINT

  3. Import the revocation:

    gpg2 --import $FINGERPRINT.rev  # May need to remove colon before the five dashes from file.

  4. Publish the revocation:

    gpg2 --keyserver hkps://keys.openpgp.org --send-keys $FINGERPRINT
gpg2 --keyserver hkps://hkps.pool.sks-keyservers.net --send-keys $FINGERPRINT
gpg2 --keyserver hkp://pgp.mit.edu --send-keys $FINGERPRINT

Go Development

Configure go get to use SSH-based authentication:

git config --global [email protected]:.insteadOf https://github.com/

PHP Development

This section is not yet updated for Fedora 30 Silverblue.

  1. Install packages:

    sudo dnf install -y nginx mariadb mariadb-server php php-fpm php-mysqlnd php-dbg php-cli php-bcmath php-phpass php-mbstring php-opcache php-gd php-pecl-apcu php-pecl-xdebug

  2. Install, start, and configure the database:

    sudo systemctl start mariadb
mysql_secure_installation

  3. Create a directory for web projects (and enable web server access to directories of that type):

    chmod 711 ~
mkdir ~/public_html
sudo setsebool -P httpd_enable_homedirs 1    # Enables use of ~/public_html by nginx and PHP-FPM.
sudo setsebool -P httpd_execmem 1            # Enables PHP's regex compilation.
sudo setsebool -P httpd_builtin_scripting 1  # Hope to fix: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1510717
sudo setsebool -P httpd_unified 1            # Same here.
sudo setsebool -P httpd_enable_cgi 1         # Same here.

  4. Add support for ~/public_html to nginx using /etc/nginx/default.d/userdir.conf:

    location @drupal {
    error_log /var/log/nginx/userdir.log notice;
    #rewrite_log on;
    rewrite ^/~([^/]+)/([^/]+)(.*)\?(.*)$ /~$1/$2/index.php?q=$3&$4;
    rewrite ^/~([^/]+)/([^/]+)(/.*?)$ /~$1/$2/index.php?q=$3;
}

location ^~ /~ {
    error_log /var/log/nginx/userdir.log notice;

    location ~ ^/~(?<username>[^/]+)(?<path>/.+\.php)$ {
        root /home/$username/public_html;
        try_files $path =404;
        fastcgi_index  index.php;
        include        fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_param  SCRIPT_FILENAME  $document_root$path;
        fastcgi_param  SCRIPT_NAME      /~$username$path;
        fastcgi_pass   php-fpm;
    }

    location ~ ^/~(?<username>[^/]+)(?<path>/.+?)?$ {
        root /home/$username/public_html;
        try_files $path @drupal;
    }
}

  5. Configure some PHP-related options:

    echo "apc.rfc1867=1" | sudo tee -a /etc/php.d/40-apcu.ini  # Upload progress tracking.

  6. Start services for development (each time they're needed):

    sudo systemctl start mariadb php-fpm nginx

  7. Use ~/public_html/$PROJECT/ as the web root, accessible via http://localhost/~$USER/$PROJECT/.

  8. If new files with the wrong context get added, fix the selinux context:

    restorecon -R ~/public_html

OpenMW

  1. Install the Flatpak:

    flatpak install flathub org.openmw.OpenMW

  2. Download the "backup" file from GOG.

  3. Extract the backup:

    mkdir morrowind
mv setup_tes_morrowind_goty_2.0.0.7.exe morrowind/
cd morrowind
innoextract setup_tes_morrowind_goty_2.0.0.7.exe
#mv app/Data\ Files/* ~/.var/app/org.openmw.OpenMW/data/openmw/

Stable Diffusion

Setup

toolbox create stable-diffusion
toolbox enter stable-diffusion
sudo dnf upgrade -y
sudo dnf install -y conda python3-opencv
git clone [email protected]:CompVis/stable-diffusion.git
cd stable-diffusion
conda env create -f environment.yaml
conda activate ldm
mkdir -p models/ldm/stable-diffusion-v1/
curl https://huggingface.co/CompVis/stable-diffusion-v-1-4-original/blob/main/sd-v1-4.ckpt > models/ldm/stable-diffusion-v1/model.ckpt

Operation

cd ~/stable-diffusion
python3 scripts/txt2img.py --prompt "a photograph of an astronaut riding a horse" --plms

BIOS Updates

First, acquire the update. For ThinkPads, use Lenovo's My Products tool, click on the product model (after adding yours), then Top Downloads > View All, and finally the "Bootable CD" ISO.

USB Thumb Drive Method

  1. Install the conversion utility into a Toolbox:

    toolbox enter
sudo dnf install -y geteltorito

  2. Write it to a raw drive image:

    geteltorito -o update.img downloaded.iso

  3. Open the update.img in the Disks utility and restore it to the USB drive.

  4. Boot from that drive.

GRUB2 EFI Chainloader Method

  1. First Time: Setup:

    rpm-ostree install syslinux p7zip p7zip-plugins  # And reboot.

ESPUUID=`sudo grub2-probe --target=fs_uuid /boot/efi/`
cat >> 40_custom <<EOF
menuentry "Firmware Update" {
    insmod fat
    insmod part_gpt
    insmod chain
    insmod search_fs_uuid
    search --fs-uuid $ESPUUID
    chainloader /LenovoEFI/Boot/BootX64.efi
}
EOF

sudo mv 40_custom /etc/grub.d/40_custom
sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/efi/EFI/fedora/grub.cfg

  2. Every Time: Extract the update to appropriate places in the EFI partition:

    geteltorito -o eltorito.img downloaded.iso
7z x -oeltorito/ eltorito.img
sudo rsync --recursive --delete --verbose eltorito/Flash/ /boot/efi/Flash/
sudo rsync --recursive --delete --verbose eltorito/EFI/ /boot/efi/LenovoEFI/

  3. Every Time: Reboot and select "Firmware Update."

Crash Reporting

  • Reconfigure using system-config-abrt

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My personal laptop configuration for work and play.

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