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9304. Framework Laptop Alpine Linux Advanced Configuration - Part 2: s6 + Sway + Wayland

The Rhizome System Advanced Stack - s6 supervision + Sway Wayland + musl libc purity on Framework Laptop 16

Table of Contents

s6 Init System

What is s6?

s6 is a process supervision suite designed for Unix systems. It provides:

Install s6 Suite

# Install s6 suite (keep OpenRC as PID1 for stability)
apk add --no-cache \
  s6 s6-rc s6-linux-init \
  s6-portable-utils s6-dns \
  s6-networking s6-svscan

# Verify installation
apk info s6 s6-rc s6-linux-init

Configure s6 Init System

# Create s6 directory structure (CRITICAL: prevents mkdir errors)
mkdir -p /etc/s6/rc/init
mkdir -p /etc/s6/services
mkdir -p /etc/s6-rc/source
mkdir -p /etc/s6-rc/compiled

# Generate s6 init system
s6-linux-init-maker -1 /etc/s6/rc/init

# Configure inittab to use s6
echo '::sysinit:/etc/s6/rc/init' >> /etc/inittab
echo '::shutdown:/etc/s6/rc/init' >> /etc/inittab

Create s6-rc Service Definitions

# Create s6-rc source directory structure
mkdir -p /etc/s6-rc/source/networking
mkdir -p /etc/s6-rc/source/dbus
mkdir -p /etc/s6-rc/source/wpa_supplicant
mkdir -p /etc/s6-rc/source/acpid

# Create networking service definition
cat > /etc/s6-rc/source/networking/up << 'EOF'
#!/bin/sh
# Bring up networking interfaces
setup-interfaces
EOF

# Create networking service type
cat > /etc/s6-rc/source/networking/type << 'EOF'
oneshot
EOF

# Create dbus service definition
cat > /etc/s6-rc/source/dbus/up << 'EOF'
#!/bin/sh
exec dbus-daemon --system
EOF

# Create dbus service type
cat > /etc/s6-rc/source/dbus/type << 'EOF'
longrun
EOF

# Make scripts executable
chmod +x /etc/s6-rc/source/networking/up
chmod +x /etc/s6-rc/source/dbus/up

# Compile s6-rc services
s6-rc-compile /etc/s6-rc/compiled /etc/s6-rc/source

s6 Package Verification Commands

# List all s6-related packages
apk search s6

# Show s6 package information
apk info --depends s6 s6-rc s6-linux-init

# Verify s6 binaries use musl libc
scanelf -n /usr/bin/s6* /usr/sbin/s6* 2>/dev/null | grep musl

Wayland Foundation

Install Wayland Dependencies

# Install Wayland foundation and dependencies
apk add --no-cache \
  wayland wayland-dev wayland-protocols \
  wayland-libs-client wayland-libs-cursor \
  wayland-libs-egl wayland-libs-server \
  pkgconf libffi \
  seatd \
  pipewire pipewire-alsa wireplumber pamixer \
  firefox \
  ttf-dejavu ttf-noto ttf-noto-emoji \
  dbus

Wayland Development Dependencies Explained

Verify Wayland Installation

# Check Wayland libraries
pkg-config --list-all | grep wayland

# Verify musl libc usage
scanelf -n /usr/bin/pkgconf /usr/lib/libffi.so 2>/dev/null | grep musl

# Test Wayland protocol support
ls /usr/share/wayland-protocols/

Sway Compositor

Install Sway and Dependencies

# Install Sway and Wayland applications
apk add --no-cache \
  sway \
  foot \
  waybar \
  mako \
  wofi \
  grim slurp \
  wl-clipboard \
  alacritty

Configure Sway

# Create Sway configuration directory
mkdir -p /home/xy/.config/sway

# Create basic Sway config
cat > /home/xy/.config/sway/config << 'EOF'
# Sway configuration for Framework Laptop
# Key bindings
set $mod Mod4
bindsym $mod+Return exec foot
bindsym $mod+d exec wofi --show drun
bindsym $mod+Shift+q kill

# Window management
bindsym $mod+Left focus left
bindsym $mod+Right focus right
bindsym $mod+Up focus up
bindsym $mod+Down focus down

# Workspace switching
bindsym $mod+1 workspace 1
bindsym $mod+2 workspace 2
bindsym $mod+3 workspace 3

# Output configuration
output * bg #000000 solid_color

# Status bar
bar {
    swaybar_command waybar
}
EOF

# Set proper ownership
chown -R xy:xy /home/xy/.config

Start Sway

# Switch to xy user
su - xy

# Start Sway (from console)
sway

# Or start from X11 session
sway --my-next-gpu-wont-be-nvidia

Package Verification

Alpine musl libc Purity Verification

# Quick purity check
scanelf -n /usr/bin/* /usr/sbin/* 2>/dev/null | grep -q glibc && echo "❌ CONTAMINATED" || echo "✅ MUSL PURE"

# Comprehensive purity check with count
scanelf -n /usr/bin/* /usr/sbin/* /usr/lib/* /lib/* 2>/dev/null | awk '/glibc|ld-linux/ {print "❌ GLIBC:", $0; exit 1} /musl/ {count++} END {if (count > 0) print "✅ MUSL PURE: Found", count, "musl binaries"}'

# Verify specific packages
scanelf -n /usr/bin/pkgconf /usr/lib/libffi.so 2>/dev/null | grep -o 'ld-musl-x86_64.so.1' | wc -l | xargs -I {} [ {} -eq 2 ] && echo "✅ pkgconf & libffi are musl-pure" || echo "❌ Not pure"

Community Repository musl libc Packages

# Verify community repository packages use musl libc
scanelf -n /usr/bin/sudo /usr/sbin/wpa_supplicant /usr/sbin/acpid /usr/sbin/cpufreq-set /usr/sbin/iwconfig 2>/dev/null | grep musl

# Check package information
apk info --depends wireless-tools acpid wpa_supplicant sudo cpufrequtils

# Verify all community packages maintain musl purity
echo "✅ Community Repository musl libc packages:"
echo "  - wireless-tools (iwconfig, iwlist, iwspy)"
echo "  - acpid (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface daemon)"
echo "  - wpa_supplicant (WiFi connection manager)"
echo "  - sudo (superuser do command)"
echo "  - cpufrequtils (CPU frequency scaling utilities)"

s6 Package Verification

# List all s6 packages
apk search s6

# Show s6 package dependencies
apk info --depends s6 s6-rc s6-linux-init

# Verify s6 uses musl libc
scanelf -n /usr/bin/s6* /usr/sbin/s6* 2>/dev/null | grep musl

Wayland Package Verification

# Check Wayland libraries
pkg-config --list-all | grep wayland

# Verify Wayland protocol support
ls /usr/share/wayland-protocols/

# Check if compositors are available
apk search sway
apk search wlroots
apk search weston

Troubleshooting

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue: s6-linux-init-maker fails with "No such file or directory"

# Create s6 directory structure first
mkdir -p /etc/s6/rc/init
mkdir -p /etc/s6/services
mkdir -p /etc/s6-rc/source
mkdir -p /etc/s6-rc/compiled

# Then run s6-linux-init-maker
s6-linux-init-maker -1 /etc/s6/rc/init

Issue: s6-rc-compile fails with "unable to open /etc/s6-rc/source/networking/up: No such file or directory"

# Create s6-rc service definitions first
mkdir -p /etc/s6-rc/source/networking
mkdir -p /etc/s6-rc/source/dbus

# Create networking service
cat > /etc/s6-rc/source/networking/up << 'EOF'
#!/bin/sh
setup-interfaces
EOF
echo 'oneshot' > /etc/s6-rc/source/networking/type

# Create dbus service
cat > /etc/s6-rc/source/dbus/up << 'EOF'
#!/bin/sh
exec dbus-daemon --system
EOF
echo 'longrun' > /etc/s6-rc/source/dbus/type

# Make scripts executable
chmod +x /etc/s6-rc/source/networking/up
chmod +x /etc/s6-rc/source/dbus/up

# Now compile s6-rc services
s6-rc-compile /etc/s6-rc/compiled /etc/s6-rc/source

CRITICAL: s6 Init System Boot Failure Recovery

# If you get stuck with:
# "can't run '/etc/s6/init-stage1': No such file or directory"
# "can't run '/etc/s6/init/init-stage2': No such file or directory"

# 1. Boot from Alpine ISO USB to rescue your system
# 2. Mount your root filesystem
mkdir -p /mnt/alpine
mount /dev/nvme0n1p2 /mnt/alpine  # Adjust partition as needed

# 3. Chroot into your system
chroot /mnt/alpine /bin/sh

# 4. Check what went wrong
ls -la /etc/s6/
ls -la /etc/s6/init/
cat /etc/inittab

# 5. Fix the s6 init system
# Option A: Remove s6 and go back to OpenRC (RECOMMENDED)
rm -f /etc/s6/rc/init
rm -rf /etc/s6-rc/
# Restore original inittab
cp /etc/inittab.bak /etc/inittab  # if you backed it up

# Option B: Properly create s6 init system
mkdir -p /etc/s6/rc/init
mkdir -p /etc/s6-rc/source
mkdir -p /etc/s6-rc/compiled
s6-linux-init-maker -1 /etc/s6/rc/init

# 6. Exit chroot and reboot
exit
umount /mnt/alpine
reboot

Issue: "no such package" for sudo

# TROUBLESHOOTING: sudo package not found
# 1. Check if community repository is enabled:
cat /etc/apk/repositories | grep community

# 2. If not found, enable community repository:
echo 'http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.22/community' >> /etc/apk/repositories

# 3. Update package index:
apk update

# 4. Verify sudo is available:
apk search sudo

# 5. Install sudo:
apk add sudo

# 6. Verify installation:
which sudo
sudo --version

# 7. Test sudo access:
su - xy
sudo ls /root

Issue: Wayland compositors not found

# Check available compositors
apk search sway
apk search wlroots
apk search weston

# Install from community repository
echo 'http://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/v3.22/community' >> /etc/apk/repositories
apk update
apk add sway foot waybar mako

Cursor IDE Integration

The musl libc Compatibility Challenge

CRITICAL: Cursor IDE is Electron-based and requires glibc libraries. This creates a philosophical tension with Alpine's musl libc purity. However, there are several viable approaches:

Option 1: Flatpak Installation (RECOMMENDED)

✅ Maintains System Purity - Cursor runs in isolated container

# Install Flatpak support
apk add --no-cache flatpak

# Enable Flathub repository
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

# Search for Cursor (may not be available yet)
flatpak search cursor

# Alternative: Install VS Code via Flatpak as reference
flatpak install flathub com.visualstudio.code

Option 2: AppImage with gcompat

⚠️ Breaks Purity - Installs glibc compatibility layer

# Install gcompat compatibility layer
apk add --no-cache gcompat libgcc libstdc++

# Download Cursor AppImage
wget -O /opt/cursor.AppImage "https://downloader.cursor.sh/linux/appImage/x64"
chmod +x /opt/cursor.AppImage

# Test Cursor with gcompat
gcompat /opt/cursor.AppImage

# Create wrapper script for Wayland
cat > /usr/local/bin/cursor << 'EOF'
#!/bin/sh
export ELECTRON_OZONE_PLATFORM_HINT=wayland
export WAYLAND_DISPLAY="${WAYLAND_DISPLAY:-wayland-0}"
gcompat /opt/cursor.AppImage "$@" > /dev/null 2>&1 &
EOF
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/cursor

Option 3: Docker/Podman Container

✅ Maintains System Purity - Complete isolation

# Install Podman (rootless containers)
apk add --no-cache podman

# Create Cursor container with X11/Wayland forwarding
podman run -it --rm \
  -v /tmp/.X11-unix:/tmp/.X11-unix:ro \
  -v "$HOME:/workspace" \
  -e DISPLAY=$DISPLAY \
  ubuntu:22.04 bash

# Inside container: Install Cursor
apt update && apt install -y wget libgtk-3-0 libgconf-2-4
wget -O cursor.AppImage "https://downloader.cursor.sh/linux/appImage/x64"
chmod +x cursor.AppImage && ./cursor.AppImage

Option 4: Chroot Environment

⚠️ Complex Setup - Requires glibc chroot

# Install debootstrap
apk add --no-cache debootstrap

# Create Ubuntu chroot
mkdir -p /opt/ubuntu-chroot
debootstrap jammy /opt/ubuntu-chroot http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/

# Mount necessary filesystems
mount --bind /dev /opt/ubuntu-chroot/dev
mount --bind /proc /opt/ubuntu-chroot/proc
mount --bind /sys /opt/ubuntu-chroot/sys
mount --bind /home /opt/ubuntu-chroot/home

# Enter chroot and install Cursor
chroot /opt/ubuntu-chroot /bin/bash
apt update && apt install -y wget
wget -O /usr/local/bin/cursor.AppImage "https://downloader.cursor.sh/linux/appImage/x64"
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/cursor.AppImage

Wayland Integration

Environment Variables for Electron/Cursor

# Add to ~/.profile or /etc/environment
export ELECTRON_OZONE_PLATFORM_HINT=wayland
export ELECTRON_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1
export WAYLAND_DISPLAY="${WAYLAND_DISPLAY:-wayland-0}"
export XDG_SESSION_TYPE=wayland
export QT_QPA_PLATFORM=wayland
export GDK_BACKEND=wayland
export MOZ_ENABLE_WAYLAND=1

Sway Configuration for Cursor

# Add to ~/.config/sway/config
# Cursor IDE window rules
for_window [app_id="cursor"] floating enable
for_window [app_id="cursor"] border pixel 2
for_window [app_id="electron"] floating enable

# Keyboard shortcuts
bindsym $mod+c exec cursor
bindsym $mod+Shift+c exec cursor --no-sandbox

Development Environment Alternatives

Native Alpine Development Stack

✅ Pure musl libc - Lightweight, fast

# Install development tools
apk add --no-cache \
  neovim \
  tmux \
  git \
  nodejs npm \
  python3 py3-pip \
  rust cargo \
  go \
  clang llvm \
  make cmake

# Install language servers for vim/neovim
npm install -g typescript-language-server
npm install -g vscode-langservers-extracted
pip3 install python-lsp-server

Code-server (VS Code in Browser)

✅ Maintains Purity - Web-based development

# Install code-server
apk add --no-cache code-server

# Configure code-server
mkdir -p ~/.config/code-server
cat > ~/.config/code-server/config.yaml << 'EOF'
bind-addr: 127.0.0.1:8080
auth: password
password: your-secure-password
cert: false
EOF

# Start code-server
code-server --bind-addr 0.0.0.0:8080

Package Verification Commands

Check gcompat Installation Impact

# Before installing gcompat - baseline purity
scanelf -n /usr/bin/* /usr/sbin/* 2>/dev/null | grep -q glibc && echo "❌ CONTAMINATED" || echo "✅ MUSL PURE"

# After installing gcompat - verify impact
apk add gcompat libgcc libstdc++
scanelf -n /usr/lib/libgcompat.so /usr/lib/libgcc_s.so 2>/dev/null | grep -o 'ld-musl-x86_64.so.1'

# Verify gcompat provides glibc compatibility without contamination
ldd /usr/lib/libgcompat.so | grep -q musl && echo "✅ gcompat uses musl" || echo "❌ gcompat contaminated"

Monitor System Purity

# Continuous purity monitoring script
cat > /usr/local/bin/check-musl-purity << 'EOF'
#!/bin/sh
echo "🔍 Alpine Linux musl libc Purity Check"
echo "======================================"

# Count musl vs glibc binaries
MUSL_COUNT=$(scanelf -n /usr/bin/* /usr/sbin/* 2>/dev/null | grep -c musl)
GLIBC_COUNT=$(scanelf -n /usr/bin/* /usr/sbin/* 2>/dev/null | grep -c glibc)

echo "✅ musl binaries: $MUSL_COUNT"
echo "⚠️  glibc binaries: $GLIBC_COUNT"

if [ "$GLIBC_COUNT" -eq 0 ]; then
    echo "🎉 SYSTEM IS MUSL PURE!"
else
    echo "❌ SYSTEM CONTAMINATED - glibc detected"
    echo "Contaminated binaries:"
    scanelf -n /usr/bin/* /usr/sbin/* 2>/dev/null | grep glibc
fi
EOF
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/check-musl-purity

Performance Considerations

Framework Laptop 16 Optimizations

# CPU frequency scaling for development workloads
echo 'schedutil' > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu*/cpufreq/scaling_governor

# AMD GPU optimization for Electron apps
export RADV_PERFTEST=aco
export AMD_VULKAN_ICD=RADV

# Memory optimization for Electron
export ELECTRON_NO_ATTACH_CONSOLE=1
export ELECTRON_DISABLE_GPU_SANDBOX=1

Battery Life with Cursor IDE

# Install power management
apk add --no-cache powertop tlp

# Configure aggressive power saving
tlp start

# Monitor Cursor power usage
powertop --auto-tune

Security Considerations

Sandboxing Electron Applications

# Run Cursor with restricted permissions
firejail --noprofile --net=none --private-tmp cursor

# Or use bubblewrap for fine-grained sandboxing
apk add bubblewrap
bwrap --dev-bind / / --tmpfs /tmp cursor

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Issue: AppImage won't run - "No such file or directory"

# Install AppImage runtime dependencies
apk add --no-cache libgcc libstdc++ gcompat

# Check AppImage dependencies
objdump -p cursor.AppImage | grep NEEDED

# Test with gcompat
gcompat ./cursor.AppImage --version

Issue: Wayland integration problems

# Force Wayland mode
cursor --enable-features=UseOzonePlatform --ozone-platform=wayland

# Check Wayland session
echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE  # Should be "wayland"
echo $WAYLAND_DISPLAY   # Should be "wayland-0"

# Debug Wayland compositor
export WAYLAND_DEBUG=1
cursor

Issue: Font rendering problems

# Install additional fonts
apk add --no-cache \
  ttf-dejavu \
  ttf-liberation \
  ttf-noto \
  ttf-noto-emoji \
  fontconfig

# Rebuild font cache
fc-cache -fv

Recommendation Summary

For Production Use:

  1. Flatpak (when available) - Maintains system purity
  2. Code-server - Web-based VS Code experience
  3. Native vim/neovim with LSP - Ultimate purity

For Development/Testing:

  1. AppImage + gcompat - Quick setup, breaks purity
  2. Container - Good isolation, more complex
  3. Chroot - Full compatibility, highest complexity

Philosophy Assessment:

Advanced Topics

Xen Hypervisor Integration

Question: Should we install Xen?

Answer: Yes, if you need virtualization! Xen uses musl libc and integrates well with Alpine:

# Install Xen hypervisor
apk add xen xen-hypervisor

# Verify Xen uses musl libc
scanelf -n /usr/bin/xen* /usr/sbin/xen* 2>/dev/null | grep musl

# Check Xen package information
apk info --depends xen
apk info --provides xen

Benefits of Xen on Alpine:

Container Integration

# Install container tools
apk add docker docker-compose

# Install podman (rootless containers)
apk add podman

# Verify container tools use musl libc
scanelf -n /usr/bin/docker /usr/bin/podman 2>/dev/null | grep musl

Development Environment

# Install development tools
apk add --no-cache \
  gcc musl-dev \
  clang llvm \
  make cmake \
  git \
  vim nano \
  curl wget xz

# Verify development tools
apk info --depends gcc musl-dev clang

Key Concepts Summary

The Rhizome System Stack

Package Management Philosophy

Next Steps

Navigation

Previous: 9303. Framework Laptop Alpine Linux Installation Guide - Part 1: Foundation Setup

Next: 9305. Framework Laptop Alpine Linux Performance Tuning - Part 3: Optimization

Related:

Series Navigation:

Key Concepts Cross-Reference

#musl-libc-purity

Definition: Alpine Linux's use of musl libc ensures all packages maintain consistent, minimal C library dependencies without glibc contamination.

#s6-supervision

Definition: s6 is a process supervision suite that provides automatic service restart, dependency management, and musl libc native process control.

#sway-wayland

Definition: Sway is a Wayland compositor that provides keyboard-driven, configuration-as-code desktop environment optimized for developers.

#framework-hardware

Definition: Framework Laptop 16 with AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS and Radeon 780M Graphics, optimized for Alpine Linux with specific firmware requirements.

#alpine-package-management

Definition: Alpine's apk package manager with community repository requirements for packages like sudo, sway, and development tools.

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