maemo.org - Talk - Full linux distros on Sailfish OS

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This topic is created to discuss any questions and thoughts regarding the harbour-containers. This app makes it possible to easily install full Linux distributions onto Sailfish OS and use that distro as any other Sailfish app.

The harbour-containers and lxc-templates-desktop are Illyria's project and he was inspired by the work of Preflex' and Elros34 on chroot.

More info (requirements, downloads and install instructions) is available here:

(Note: Once the container is started you can close the command line, and the container will stay running.)

Requirements:

harbour-containers requirements
Kernel requirements
install the lxc and lxc-templates packages with pkcon
Additional kernel requirements. All the following must be on in the kernel:
CONFIG_DEVPTS_MULTIPLE_INSTANCES
CONFIG_NAMESPACES
CONFIG_UTS_NS
CONFIG_IPC_NS
CONFIG_PID_NS
CONFIG_NET_NS
CONFIG_CGROUPS
CONFIG_CGROUP_DEVICE
CONFIG_CPUSETS

(You can double-check these on the device. e.g. zcat /proc/config.gz | grep CONFIG_DEVPTS_MULTIPLE_INSTANCES)

Downloads:

harbour-containers
lxc-templates-desktop
qxdisplay (I recommend using qxcompositor because that supports auto-rotation)

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Mouse and cursor support:
Important!: From SFOS4.4 qxcompositor with mouse cursor is not available.
(The cursor support is in an experimental stage, however, that works fine in portrait mode)

Add the -plugin evdevmouse parameter into "/var/lib/environment/compositor/droid-hal-device.conf"
Then install the qxcompositor package. (An older build can be downloaded from here:
qxcompositor-0.0.5+cursor_test2.20200817210502 but I do recommend to install it from the proper repo.)

For SFOS4.4, the qxcompositor can be installed from Elros's repo. As root do the following:

Code:

ssu ar elros34 https://repo.sailfishos.org/obs/home:/elros34:/sailfishapps/sailfishos_4.4.0.64/
Code:

zypper ref
Code:

zypper in qxcompositor

Unfortunately, if you install Debian Sid fresh under SFOS4.4, the installation cannot build the Xwayland binary. If no window appears and on the console, you get this error: "/etc/X11/xinit/xserverrc: 4: exec: /opt/bin/Xwayland: not found", do the following:

download the latest build (Xwayland.xxx.libc-2.29.bin) from here: Xwayland for armhf(32) or Xwayland for aarch64
rename it to Xwayland
set it to be executable

Code:

chmod +x Xwayland
then copy into /home/.lxc/<container_name>/opt/bin/

If the window starts but there is an error message "Unable to contact settings server" "Failed to execute child process "dbus-launch" (No such file or directory)", then you need to attach the container and install the dbus-x11 package

Some useful scripts:
(You can download and edit as you wish. :))

Start LXC and desktop in landscape/portrait/auto-rotation mode with mouse support: debian-mouse.sh
(two parameters:
$1 - container name;
$2 - p or l or a for portrait/landscape/auto-rotate mode
Please note: if it is called WITHOUT the second parameter, it starts with auto-rotate)
Start LXC and desktop without mouse support: debian.sh

(Note: Once the container is started with one of the scripts above, you can close the command line, and the container will remain running.)
(Note2 03/11/2021: I've amended the scripts to handle if waydroid is also installed on the device. I also incorporated the landscape/portrait/auto-rotate modes into one script.)

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If the GUI doesn't work (for some unofficial ports, this is the case), this can be done manually from a command line. Here are the steps:

sudo lxc-create -t sfos-download -n <container-name>
sudo lxc-start -n <container-name>
Manually change the the /usr/share/sailfish-containers/guest to /usr/share/harbour-containers/scripts/guest in the /var/lib/lxc/<container_name>/config
sudo lxc-attach -n <container-name>
then within the container:
- /mnt/guest/setup_desktop.sh
- /mnt/guest/setups/debian.sh
Start 2! command lines and in one of them issue this as nemo:
/usr/bin/qxdisplay --wayland-socket-name "../../display/wayland-container-0"
(or to start with mouse cursor support use this:
/usr/bin/qxcompositor -o portrait --wayland-socket-name "../../display/wayland-container-0")
In the other command-line attach the container, then:
/mnt/guest/start_desktop.sh 0
Done.

Note: If you don't have the /mnt/guest/ folder within the container, try to use this content in the /var/lib/lxc/<container_name>/config: config
In this config, there are some container-specific lines so we would like to copy them among the containers, we need to adjust these two lines accordingly:

Code:

# Container specific configuration

lxc.rootfs.path = dir:/home/.lxc/<container_name>

lxc.uts.name = <container_name>

where replace the <container_name> with your name of the container.

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V I D E O S:

Kabouik has created some very useful and impressive videos on how to use LXC with desktop Linux distributions on Sailfish OS. Many thanks for him! :)

LXC containers are now working in the Sailfish OS demo:
- First demo
Desktop Linux (xfce & i3) on Pro1 qwerty slider without sacrificing telephony:
- LBRY for good connections (big file)
- Youtube for slower connections

They're rather long so check the description to jump to any chapter that might be more interesting to you.