Artix dinit labwc noctalia minimal config

A systemd-free minimalist Linux desktop setup using dinit init, labwc compositor, and Noctalia v5 (native C++) desktop environment on Artix Linux.

Overview

This configuration provides a lightweight Wayland desktop environment without systemd, using:

• Init: dinit (with turnstile for user sessions)
• Display Manager: ly (TUI-based)
• Compositor: labwc (Openbox-compatible)
• Desktop Shell: Noctalia v5 (native C++ binary)
• Audio: PipeWire + WirePlumber
• Session: elogind + turnstile

NB: /home/user is hardcoded — replace with your user path.

Quick Start

Installation

1. Install required packages:

   sudo pacman -S dinit turnstile elogind labwc wlroots pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber xdg-desktop-portal-wlr xdg-desktop-portal-gtk grim slurp wlsunset bluez bluez-utils gnome-keyring

2. Install dinit service scripts (system services):

   sudo pacman -S pipewire-dinit wireplumber-dinit

3. Install Noctalia (from AUR):

   # V5 native binary (recommended)
   yay -S noctalia-git
   # Or Quickshell version (legacy)
   # yay -S noctalia-qs

4. Copy configuration files:

   • Copy .config/ to ~/.config/ (backup existing labwc config first)
   • Copy ly/ to /etc/ly (or use ly/setup.sh)

5. Configure PAM for turnstile: Ensure /etc/pam.d/ly and /etc/pam.d/ly-autologin contain:

   session optional pam_turnstile.so
   

6. Free a console for ly (if needed): Edit /etc/dinit.c/config/console.conf:

   ACTIVE_CONSOLES="/dev/tty[2-6]"
   

7. Reboot and select "labwc" session in ly

Architecture

Service Management

User services are managed by dinit via turnstile. The dependency chain is:

dbus → gnome-keyring, pipewire → wireplumber + pipewire-pulse
dbus + wayland-ready → voxtype
wayland-ready → noctalia → wlr-randr

Check service status:

dinitctl list                    # System services
dinitctl --user list             # User services
dinitctl catlog <service>        # View logs

Environment Variables

User dinit services do NOT inherit the full user environment. Use env-file in service definitions.

User dinit environment (~/.config/dinit.d/environment):

HOME=/home/user
XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP=labwc
XDG_SESSION_DESKTOP=labwc
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=/run/user/1000
XDG_DATA_DIRS=/home/user/.local/share/flatpak/exports/share:/var/lib/flatpak/exports/share:/usr/local/share:/usr/share
WAYLAND_DISPLAY=wayland-0
QT_QPA_PLATFORM=wayland
DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS=unix:path=/run/user/1000/bus
GNOME_KEYRING_CONTROL=/run/user/1000/keyring
XCURSOR_THEME=Adwaita

Session environment (~/.config/labwc/environment):

XDG_CONFIG_HOME=/home/user/.config
QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME=qt6ct
XCURSOR_THEME=Adwaita
XCURSOR_SIZE=32
XKB_DEFAULT_LAYOUT=en
XKB_DEFAULT_OPTIONS=compose:caps

Configuration Files

Path	Purpose
~/.config/dinit.d/	User service definitions
~/.config/labwc/rc.xml	labwc keybinds and config
~/.config/labwc/environment	Session environment variables
~/.config/noctalia/config.toml	Noctalia v5 main config
~/.local/state/noctalia/settings.toml	Noctalia v5 settings/app-managed overrides
/etc/pam.d/ly, /etc/pam.d/ly-autologin	PAM config for turnstile
/etc/turnstile/turnstiled.conf	Turnstile session management

Features

Noctalia IPC

Noctalia v5 provides a Unix socket IPC at $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/noctalia-$WAYLAND_DISPLAY.sock. Usage: noctalia msg <command> [args]

Volume:

noctalia msg volume-up [step]
noctalia msg volume-down [step]
noctalia msg volume-mute
noctalia msg mic-mute

Session & Power:

noctalia msg session lock
noctalia msg session suspend
noctalia msg session lock-and-suspend
noctalia msg session logout
noctalia msg session reboot
noctalia msg session shutdown

Panels:

noctalia msg panel-toggle launcher
noctalia msg panel-toggle session
noctalia msg panel-toggle control-center
noctalia msg panel-toggle clipboard

Wallpaper:

noctalia msg wallpaper-set <path>
noctalia msg wallpaper-random [connector]
noctalia msg wallpaper-get [connector]

Other:

noctalia msg nightlight-toggle
noctalia msg caffeine-toggle
noctalia msg theme-mode-toggle
noctalia msg screenshot-region
noctalia msg screenshot-fullscreen [pick|monitor|all]
noctalia msg media <next|previous|toggle|stop>
noctalia msg dpms-on / dpms-off
noctalia msg config-reload
noctalia msg status

Audio Control

• Services: pipewire → wireplumber (depends-on), pipewire-pulse
• Control: wpctl set-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ 5%+
• OSD: Noctalia v5 has built-in OSD via noctalia msg volume-up/down/mute/mic-mute
• Keybinds configured in ~/.config/labwc/rc.xml

Screenshots

grim -g "$(slurp)" ~/Pictures/screenshot-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).png

Noctalia v5 has built-in screenshot commands:

noctalia msg screenshot-region
noctalia msg screenshot-fullscreen

Night Light

Noctalia v5 has built-in night light (gamma control):

noctalia msg nightlight-toggle

Configured via settings GUI or ~/.local/state/noctalia/settings.toml under [nightlight]. If using Noctalia's night light, don't run wlsunset (they conflict).

Wallpaper

Config file (~/.config/noctalia/config.toml):

[wallpaper]
directory = "/home/user/Pictures/Wallpapers"

Via IPC:

noctalia msg wallpaper-set /home/user/Pictures/Wallpapers/image.jpg
noctalia msg wallpaper-random

Restart Noctalia after config changes:

dinitctl --user stop wlr-randr && dinitctl --user stop noctalia && dinitctl --user start noctalia && dinitctl --user start wlr-randr

Bluetooth

sudo dinitctl start bluetoothd           # Start service
sudo dinitctl status bluetoothd         # Check status
bluetoothctl                            # Pair devices (from bluez-utils)

Power Management

Power button lock+suspend is handled via labwc keybind in rc.xml:

• Keybind XF86PowerOff → /home/user/.local/bin/lock-suspend
• Script mutes audio then runs: noctalia msg session lock-and-suspend

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Wayland socket not created	Set WLR_RENDERER=pixman in ~/.config/labwc/environment
Socket missing	pgrep turnstiled, check /run/user/1000/
Missing boot dir	sudo mkdir -p /usr/lib/dinit.d/user/boot.d
Service restarting quickly	dinitctl catlog <service>
Orphaned process	Kill manually, then dinitctl --user start <service>
polkit failing	Unload: dinitctl --user unload polkit (runs via D-Bus activation)
"failed to connect to display"	Check dinitctl --user status wayland-ready
Noctalia IPC not working	Verify socket: ls $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/noctalia-*
Flatpak "dbus-launch" error	Add DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS to ~/.config/dinit.d/environment
Terminal opens to wrong directory	Add HOME=/home/user to ~/.config/dinit.d/environment

Autostart Locations

Use ~/.config/dinit.d/ for user services (NOT ~/.config/labwc/autostart or ~/.config/autostart/).

Useful Commands

loginctl suspend                    # Suspend system
xdg-user-dirs-update               # Update user directories
dinitctl --user reload <service>   # Reload user service

Notes

• Do NOT kill -HUP user dinit — it loses track of processes
• Use log-type = buffer in user services to enable dinitctl catlog for debugging
• Labwc is started by ly (display manager), not by dinit
• Noctalia v5 comes from AUR as noctalia-git (native C++ binary); noctalia-qs is the legacy Quickshell version

References

• AGENTS.md — Detailed configuration reference for LLM agents
• AGENTS.md — Configuration guide within repo
• Artix Linux
• dinit
• labwc
• Noctalia