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diff --git a/content/blog/2025-05-02-asahi-linux.org b/content/blog/2025-05-02-asahi-linux.org index 3cfe95d..cf14535 100644 --- a/content/blog/2025-05-02-asahi-linux.org +++ b/content/blog/2025-05-02-asahi-linux.org @@ -1,12 +1,12 @@ #+date: <2025-05-02 Fri 21:10:00> #+title: Trying Out Asahi Linux on the M2 Macbook Pro 16" -#+description: Read about my experience with Asahi Linux on an M2 Macbook Pro 16". +#+description: Read about my experience with Asahi Linux on an M2 MacBook Pro 16". #+filetags: :mac:apple:linux: #+slug: asahi-linux * Trying out Asahi Linux -While debating if I should find a replacement laptop and get rid of my Macbook +While debating if I should find a replacement laptop and get rid of my MacBook Pro, I decided to try [[https://asahilinux.org/][Asahi Linux]]. To put the bottom line up front, I love the experience and support for popular @@ -48,15 +48,77 @@ KDE on Asahi works wonderfully and supports all of the generic features I'd expect from a vanilla installation: - Snap to tile -- Theming +- Shell and window themes - Graphical updates - Sensible default applications (Dolphin, Firefox, KMail, Konsole, KWrite) - Support for battery percentages, keyboard backlight control, and miscellaneous sensor controls +- Fast and reliable bluetooth adoption +- Native game pad support + +Here's a quick look at the default desktop. In subsequent screenshots, you'll +see I started using the WhiteSur theme as it provides a more comfortable layout +for macOS users. #+caption: KDE [[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20250502-asahi-linux/kde.png]] +When diving into the system information panel, we can see that this machine is +running Fedora Linux Asahi Remix 42 on an Apple M2 Pro laptop with 16GB of RAM. + +#+caption: System Information +[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20250502-asahi-linux/sysinfo.png]] + +As I noted above, the first thing I did after installing Asahi and taking a few +screenshots was to install and change themes. + +I prefer the WhiteSur theme, as I used this theme previously on Linux before I +switched to macOS. However, I also like themes that incorporate the gruvbox +color palette, as well as the Nothing theme that uses a dark black and red color +palette. + +#+caption: Themes +[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20250502-asahi-linux/themes.png]] + +One of the things I use my laptop for the most is consuming media (music, +television shows, movies, etc.), so I had to make sure that my bluetooth devices +would connect properly. + +As you can see in the screenshot below, my AirPods Pro 2 connect seamlessly and +are available for use. By going through the normal button-holding process, I was +able to pair my AirPods in about 10 seconds. + +However, I have noticed that Asahi doesn't support some of the advanced AirPod +capabilities like pausing media when you remove an AirPod from your ear. The +lack of these advanced features doesn't bother me, but some people may be. + +#+caption: Bluetooth +[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20250502-asahi-linux/bluetooth.png]] + +Next, I was able to connect my PS5 controller via USB-C and Asahi picked up the +connect instantly in the settings menu. You can move the sticks and press all of +the buttons to see if they're recognized within this settings menu. + +#+caption: Game Pad Settings +[[https://img.cleberg.net/blog/20250502-asahi-linux/gamepad_settings.png]] + +I had a bit of an issue launching Steam the first time, as I was getting an AVC +Denial error from SELinux. To fix this, I had to manually allow the Steam +application access to the requested resources: + +#+begin_src shell +sudo ausearch -c 'passt' --raw | sudo audit2allow -M my-passt +sudo semodule -X 300 -i my-passt.pp +#+end_src + +While my MacBook only has 16GB of RAM, which seems to be the bare minimum +required for the virtualization overhead, I was able to test one or two games +before they crashed due to RAM errors. + +However, I did confirm that my PS5 controller worked natively with these games +on Steam! I don't think I will be gaming much on this laptop anyway, but it +seems you should have at least the 32GB models if you want to game on Asahi. + ** Software Support One thing to keep in mind is that Apple silicon chips (M*) are based on the ARM @@ -67,6 +129,39 @@ While I have run into a handful of applications that do not have an ARM package available, it is not as difficult as it used to be to find suitable apps for all purposes on ARM. +*** Signal Desktop + +One specific application that has been causing issues is [[https://signal.org/][Signal]]. The download +page on their website will prompt you to install their Debian-based package, +which does not work on RPM-based systems (or any other distribution except +Debian & downstreams, such as Ubuntu). + +There are a few different websites offering potential solutions, but I settled +on the [[https://github.com/kenballus/asahi-signal-desktop/][asahi-signal-desktop]] repository for now. + +#+begin_quote +One thing to note is that this script does not work with all versions of Signal. +I tested out 7.53.0 and found that the installer did not work at all. + +I had to use 7.44.0, as noted in the project's README, for the script to work. +#+end_quote + +The installation process is simple. You can simply clone the repository and run +the script: + +#+begin_src shell +git clone https://github.com/kenballus/asahi-signal-desktop/ +cd asahi-linux-desktop +./install_signal.sh 7.44.0 +#+end_src + +At this point, Signal should work. However, I have run into constant crashing +issues, so it's not a great solution. + +[[https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli][signal-cli]] may work, but I have not tested this yet on Asahi. Before I used +macOS, I used [[https://github.com/isamert/scli][scli]], which provides a TUI for the signal-cli utility and it +worked wonderfully. + * Final Thoughts I am still in the early days of testing out Asahi Linux, so I will be sure to |