Learn Void Linux - Desktop Environment & Graphics

#Introduction

Void never forces a specific desktop environment on you. You're free to build the graphical interface you like — from a lightweight XFCE to a modern Hyprland. Episode 8 guides you through that process: choosing a DE or window manager, understanding the Xorg versus Wayland graphical foundations, and handling graphics drivers.

Void's approach here is consistent with its philosophy: all components are installed as separate packages, and you assemble them. There's no giant meta-package that silently pulls in hundreds of dependencies.

Let's start with the desktop environment choice.

#Choosing a Desktop Environment and Window Manager

#Complete DEs: XFCE, KDE, and GNOME

For a ready-to-use experience, choose a complete DE. All three are available in the Void repository:

sudo xbps-install -S xfce4
sudo xbps-install -S xfce4-goodies

The xfce4 package pulls in Xorg, a display manager, and all XFCE components automatically. For KDE or GNOME:

sudo xbps-install -S kde5
sudo xbps-install -S gnome

The xbps-install -S kde5 command installs the full KDE Plasma environment. After installation finishes, the D-Bus and display manager services need to be enabled via runit.

#Lightweight Window Managers: i3 and Hyprland

If you like tiling window managers, install i3 or Hyprland along with their compositors:

sudo xbps-install -S i3 dmenu i3status
sudo xbps-install -S hyprland waybar

With a window manager, you're responsible for choosing a display manager or logging in from a TTY with startx for Xorg, or running Hyprland directly from a TTY for Wayland.

#Enabling the Graphical Foundation

#The D-Bus and elogind Services

Before a desktop runs smoothly, enable D-Bus — the inter-application communication bus — as a runit service:

sudo ln -s /etc/sv/dbus /var/service/
sudo sv start dbus

The sv start dbus command starts the dbus service immediately. For a proper login session, also make sure elogind is installed and active.

#Display Managers

A display manager provides a graphical login screen. SDDM suits KDE, GDM suits GNOME, and LightDM suits XFCE:

sudo xbps-install -S sddm
sudo ln -s /etc/sv/sddm /var/service/

The symlink /var/service/sddm created by ln -s /etc/sv/sddm /var/service/ makes sddm start at boot.

#Xorg versus Wayland

#When to Use Xorg

Xorg is the classic graphics server with almost universal compatibility. All the DEs mentioned above support Xorg, and almost all legacy applications run without issues. For production systems or older hardware, Xorg is the safest choice.

Check which X server is running:

echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE

The output of echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE shows x11 for Xorg or wayland for a Wayland session.

#When to Use Wayland

Wayland is a modern protocol that replaces Xorg with a more secure and cleaner architecture. HiDPI, VRR, and touchscreen gestures work better on Wayland. However, not all applications support it natively — older applications often need to run through the XWayland compatibility layer.

#Wayland Compositors on Void

Wayland needs a compositor as the X server replacement:

sway    : i3-based tiling WM
Hyprland: modern tiling WM with animations
KWin    : built-in KDE Plasma compositor

Install your chosen compositor, then log in from a TTY and run it directly.

#Graphics Drivers

#Open Source Drivers: mesa

For AMD and Intel GPUs, the open source mesa drivers are sufficient. Install the xorg components and mesa:

sudo xbps-install -S xorg mesa-dri mesa-vulkan-drivers

The mesa-dri and mesa-vulkan-drivers packages provide OpenGL and Vulkan acceleration for AMD and Intel GPUs.

#Proprietary NVIDIA Drivers

For NVIDIA GPUs, Void provides proprietary drivers in the nonfree repository (see episode 17). Once the nonfree repository is active:

sudo xbps-install -S nvidia

The NVIDIA drivers in Void can be configured as opt-in or opt-out. Read the documentation at docs.voidlinux.org to choose the right mode before installing.

#Checking Acceleration

Once all drivers are installed, verify graphics acceleration:

glxinfo | grep renderer
lspci | grep -i vga

The output of glxinfo | grep renderer shows the GPU currently used as the renderer — a sign that acceleration is active.

#Conclusion

Episode 8 guided you through building a desktop environment in Void: choosing a DE or window manager from XFCE to Hyprland, enabling D-Bus and a display manager, understanding the differences between Xorg and Wayland, and installing mesa or NVIDIA drivers.

Key takeaways:

• Void lets you install any DE with xbps-install.
• Enable D-Bus and elogind before running a desktop.
• Match the display manager to the DE: SDDM, GDM, or LightDM.
• Xorg is more compatible; Wayland is more modern and secure.
• Mesa serves AMD and Intel GPUs; NVIDIA needs the nvidia package.
• Verify acceleration with glxinfo after installing drivers.

In the next episode, episode 9, we will cover audio, Bluetooth, and multimedia — configuring PipeWire and WirePlumber as runit services, connecting Bluetooth devices with bluez, and installing codecs and multimedia tools like ffmpeg and gstreamer.