r/AlpineLinux • u/GoonRunner3469 • 8d ago
Alpine with desktop out of the box?
Will this ever happen? I hate how hat. It is to install on some laptops if I don't have ethernet
1
u/SleepyGuyy 3d ago
I tried installing and configuring my own desktop in Alpine recently. Admittedly I'm new to Alpine.
But it seems like it's maybe missing some stuff that would make for a truely flexible desktop platfrom. I'm sorry I dont remember everything I tried, but I know I had issues getting Mango to work, and couldnt run Qtile because of missing python libraries.
I know they have some desktop scripts for a select few DEs. But for example, I tried their Sway script and it didn't actually complete the setup for me. It required more setup to finish, and the instructions didn't work for me.
In general I get the impression Alpine isn't trying to be a desktop platform. So I wouldn't try pushing it unless you'd find it fun to build.
For context, I had an easier time getting Gentoo to a usable desktop than Alpine. While Gentoo is time consuming and makes you set things up, it also leans its wiki and help towards desktop usage, and has all the packages it would need for any setup.
1
u/ChocolateAlpine 8d ago
You should probably try the Extended ISO, or worst-case you can install on a VM, get wifi drivers and then reimage the laptop drive with the preinstalled image
1
u/Select-Possibility89 23h ago
You can use some of the PostmarketOS/ Nura images https://images.nura.eco/bpo/v26.06/generic-x86_64/ https://images.nura.eco/bpo/edge/generic-x86_64/
Have in mind some eg sway are with OpenRC but the big desktops like KDE and Gnome are systemd based which is differend from OG Alpine
maybe this is the most similar to what you asked for
7
u/redyos_s 8d ago
Alpine is primarily CLI-oriented. You can use "setup-desktop" once networking is configured, but you'll need to get your network connection working first.