SonicDE

We forked the #KDE Plasma Login Manager. It now runs on #X11, drops privileges after init, and supports #systemd-free too. We tested it on Artix Linux with OpenRC, CachyOS with systemd, and on the #FreeBSD-based GhostBSD. #SonicDE sonic-login-manager

x.com/SonicDesktop/status/2056…

Yes, a lot of work, but something that the likes of #debian could do over a couple of full releases (circa 4 years).
It would require things like the metadata of the app to include the necessary information to automate this, a bit like the proposed PURL - see phoronix.com/news/Fedora-45-Co…

For me, we are coming to a crunch point in #linux. Someone needs to decide if they want to continue with #systemd or move to something less commercially backed, someone needs to decide about #AI slop, someone needs to decide about enforced #wayland and enforced #pipewire (although the latter is not so bad).

We're at a crossroads, and if #linux is to continue to be a truly open platform, some things may need to change or fork, such that end users can have confidence that they're installing true open source software with little to no commercial interests being served, whilst protecting privacy etc.

Perhaps this is where the likes of #antix or #devuan can take up the mantle and improve their offering just a little to take it to the next logical step.

Is there any good way of moving a process into a systemd StartTransientScope together with its children?

In niri we put spawned processes into scopes, so oomd and other stuff can work properly. Usually you do it by putting yourself into a scope, then exec-ing the target program. But that's a 7 ms toll on startup time, so in niri we spawn the program right away, and then put it into a scope. However, if the program forks fast enough, that child doesn't go into the scope..

#niri #linux #systemd