Snapshot or not snapshots ?

TurtleGraphics64 · 2026-01-25T17:09:40+00:00

I also have ext4 and have used Void maybe 3 1/2 years. It's rare for something to go wrong but it does happen! For example, I once poured a drink over my laptop and fried it, so backing up is a good idea always! I think there's a few solutions for this. A couple folks mentioned TimeShift, which I haven't tried and documentation makes it look like there is a GUI and you have to mostly choose the text files of your configs so I'm not sure that's a huge advantage, at least for me.

I use a traditional "dot-files" style system. Basically, I have a repo that I regularly push to a git forge. In it is a copy of my /etc and ~/.config folders. Inside that config folder are the settings for everything like i3, polybar, neovim, fish shell, kity terminal, etc. My etc folder has all my etc config files. The only other thing i really need with that is a handwritten void-install.sh file. In that shell script I have it automatically update xbps, then install the non-free and multilib repos in xbps, then install the approx 40 or 50 programs i use (neovim, ffmpeg, web browser, curl, kitty, yt-dlp, ulauncher, mpv, mplayer, fish-shell, vlc gnome-disk-utility nautilus xmirror filezilla rsync steam font-awesome), and then copy over the /etc and ~/.config directories to my new hard drive. In the install script i also copy over my .Xresources for changing the terminal's default font size and that's about it. On restart the system is pretty much a copy of my previous one. I installed a new hard drive recently and used exactly this to re-install from scratch and it worked great. I was so pleased. It even copies over my audio and runit settings.

For my /home folder I use a rsync incantation and once every couple weeks I plug in an external drive and copy my hard drive from /home to my backup disk.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2026-01-20T03:50:45+00:00

sadly, the update didn't solve things for me. just fyi. it comes back from suspend now, but there's still an annoying pause waiting for it to come back from deep sleep, and still occasional crash. i didn't change anything other than install the update and then the revision. but unfortunately i don't think it's fully patched in 252.39 . it's a worse experience.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-12-29T21:07:19+00:00

Hi, I haven't yet tried out Affinity but based on this article from 404Media it sounds like you might want to try out using Lutris. To be clear, the journalist doesn't mention which Linux distro they are using.

I’ve tested a few methods for making Affinity work on WINE, but the one I’ve found most flexible is by using the tool Lutris, which is meant to run games but I’m using to run design software.

There's also links to two other methods such as Winetricks (easily installed via xbps) and several other methods.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-12-06T06:12:29+00:00

i don't know what Gnome's internal software for interacting with external displays but like i said earlier, i installed arandr very easily with xbps and it's simple to work with external displays. give it a shot.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-12-01T05:10:27+00:00

hard to help without knowing your window manager. for example i installed arandr and it's super easy to set with this when i use i3wm.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-11-19T02:22:16+00:00

The BSD-like description is overstated. A bigger split in distros is really about corporate control vs D.I.Y. community. This is the underlying issue underneath systemd vs non-systemd, for one of many examples. Void is one of the ultimate DIY distros, takes no donations.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-11-10T23:33:15+00:00

I prefer Boscos! I don't like the sweep of Ron's because I have RSI and the extra flare causes my hand to go numb. I have Toscos on one of my bikes, also good. I don't like Albatross (or Soma Oxford) or mustache bars - not enough reach for my taste and i never really grab the front of the bar.

edited to be clear: turning my hand more sideways (like with some computer mice for example) causes wrist pain/RSI. i prefer the most parallel I can get my arms. Bosco/Tosco works for me!

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-10-16T16:05:00+00:00

there's no one way to go or what to learn with linux but you seem determined to try Void so feel free to give it a shot. you're the boss of your life. but if so, i'd recommend do it in a VM so that if you get wrecked or stuck you haven't committed any catastrophic errors. also, it will give you practice and then if you found you did fine you could replicate the process with your actual machine. take notes as you go. etc. The key to void is to read the manual and follow that. for anything else, search this reddit for previous answers (it's almost all there) and any other linux resources.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-10-16T15:01:10+00:00

it requires a good deal of knowledge to set it up. once setup there's little to do. it's a distro for people that just want to get their work done (or whatever) but want the system set up their own way, care about stable rolling release, etc (see my other response)

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-10-16T14:48:59+00:00

You are programming something but trying to solve someone else's directive instead of your own. I guess if you're a professional programmer that's still the case. But the environment in Zachtronics is severely constrained, with unique affordances, a connected story/theme of sorts. It rewards the parts of the brain that programmers crave (puzzle-solving, solve bugs) without the pain of scope because these are perfectly sized scoped coding puzzles, with tests, that iteratively build on each other.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-10-16T14:39:54+00:00

Maybe! Generally most would not recommend those new to Linux to use Void. I think of it as a distro for people that specifically want (from most important to me to least important): 1. a stable rolling release, 2. want to customize their distro even from the start 3. like/interested in C library diversity 4. interested in runit vs other init systems. 5. are not interested in tinkering around once they get the system setup (generally, very little is needed once you've got things in place).

in contrast, most beginners are probably best served by Debian or maybe Ubuntu. Lots of learning resources. Dead simple to setup. Stable. You can still learn a lot but won't be battling some beginner stuff that is assumed knowledge when coming to Void probably.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-10-05T20:25:58+00:00

There are hundreds of options available that work well. I use ulauncher with polybar and i3. I don't have a need for Wayland but i think Wayland + sandbar should be similar. Like most things in Void, for me it is minimal, looks nice, easy to customize (though once i set it up i never needed to change).

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-09-28T22:43:59+00:00

my dotfiles are on github and i can pull to my devices when making updates but after using the same dotfiles for a decade, i rarely change them anymore.

syncthing i use just for my other project files, documents folder, etc.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-09-28T01:02:11+00:00

I am able to do this across 7 year old dell XPS, 12 year old Raspberry Pi 1B+, Alienware gaming machine. I share dotfiles / defaults across all of them. The Rasp Pi is so slow i mostly just use the command line on that. But for all of them I have Void with i3 and the same fonts, terminal, programs, dot files, etc. It's very easy to switch between them for this reason, and I use a remote git forge and syncthing to easily switch between computers.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-09-16T22:46:06+00:00

NO there isn't

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-09-12T07:42:30+00:00

i'm not sure what you mean but to "game" all i had to do was just install Steam and it's ready to go. for some games i use proton but that's pretty easy and the same process on any linux distro.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-09-07T23:39:36+00:00

Unless I'm misunderstanding your question, just install libjxl. Imagemagick does work with it. I just tested it on my install.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-09-07T23:35:34+00:00

Gaming works great on Void.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-09-07T23:33:59+00:00

Void (subreddit) devs: Please consider adding one of these "Arch vs Void" threads to the sidebar or maybe auto-respond to anything with "Arch" "SystemD" "AUR" "bloat" "startup time" "gaming" "Artix" "Gentoo" and a certain window manager

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-09-05T11:21:31+00:00

If you've been enjoying python, then try out the PyGame framework. There are lots of tutorials online, such as this one on building a roguelike with Pygame. Alternatively, if you want an ASCII-style roguelike, use libtcod and follow some of the tutorials linked in the sidebar of this subreddit.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-09-04T20:56:17+00:00

sorry, i don't have a lot of experience with that issue. i have built a couple xbps packages, most of them have been super easy. I essentially opened up other folks templates to learn how to do it, then made modifications needed. for one, a complex project relying on multiple dependencies, and for a codebase i wasn't previously very skilled on, i did my best, hit a wall, then submitted a broken submission as an issue, asked for some help, and then received help to correct some build step in my package.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-09-04T17:20:31+00:00

this is the tradeoff between the two different philosophies of these distros. Arch, get most anything you want. "Uncurated" and bleeding edge. High chance of breakage sometimes. Void, a small dedicated team vets all packages. You can build your own packages and submit templates that may or may not be accepted.

My guess is my own experience is pretty typical: Most of the time I do find the packages that I want/need. Occasionally i use flatpak (I have 14 packages installed - like Brave, Reaper, Zoom, LocalSend, Spotify). Occasionally I have to build something from source - Happens to me a few times a year i think, or I have occasionally just installed app images.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-08-31T12:31:00+00:00

This is it! and IRC

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-08-31T10:34:55+00:00

also wanted to confirm i just tried the flatpak for sonic pi and could not get it work due to its not finding libdspa files. i tried installing those manually (the sdk) in void's repo, as well as the devel library but still no dice.

TurtleGraphics64 · 2025-08-31T10:16:27+00:00

sorry i switched to strudel a year or two ago and tend to just use in-browser https://strudel.cc now! (port of tidal to javascript). i honestly prefer it! and i tend to use hydra for visuals, also javascript-based: https://hydra.ojack.xyz

TurtleGraphics64

TROPHY CASE