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GeckoLinux edited this page Jun 20, 2024 · 43 revisions

SpiralLinux Documentation

How to create a bootable SpiralLinux USB stick

⚠️ Important note: Rufus, LinuxLive USB Creator (LiLi), Ventoy, and Unetbootin are NOT recommended due to many reports of failure.

In Windows:

  1. https://etcher.io
  2. http://wiki.rosalab.com/en/index.php/ROSA_ImageWriter

In Linux:

Updating and upgrading SpiralLinux

Updates within a Debian Stable release lifecycle

In Synaptic, Reload the package lists and then Mark All Upgrades and hit Apply 1

Upgrading to a major new Debian Stable release

  1. In the Synaptic Settings > Repositories interface, disable all of the repositories in the Debian Software tab 2
  2. In the Other Software tab disable all repositories and then enable the Debian Stable (for upgrades) repository 3
  3. Back in the main Synaptic interface, Reload the package lists and then Mark All Upgrades and hit Apply 1
  4. After rebooting into the upgraded system, re-enable these repositories: 4 5
  5. If Backports are needed, re-enable the repository and update it with the new Debian release name 6
  6. Disable the Debian Stable (for upgrades) repository 7

⚠️ Important note: The Debian 12 version of the "Software & Updates" GUI tool has a significant unhandled bug that prevents it from enabling the Debian Security updates repository. Additionally, there is a new non-free-firmware Debian repository component that needs to be enabled manually. Users that have upgraded to Debian 12 with Synaptic and the "Software & Updates" GUI should use the file manager's "Edit as root" function that is provided by default in all editions of SpiralLinux to replace the contents of /etc/apt/sources.list with the following:

deb https://deb.debian.org/debian/ bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

deb https://security.debian.org/ bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

deb https://deb.debian.org/debian/ bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

deb https://deb.debian.org/debian/ bookworm-backports main contrib non-free non-free-firmware  #Debian Bookworm Backports

Switching from Debian Stable to the Testing or Unstable branch

Important: Debian's Testing and Unstable branches may work very well for some users' needs, but they do not claim to be stable releases and should only be used with extra care by experienced users.

  1. In the Synaptic Settings > Repositories interface, disable all of the repositories in the Debian Software tab 2
  2. In the Other Software tab disable all repositories and then enable the Debian Testing or Debian Sid ("Unstable") repository 7
  3. Back in the main Synaptic interface, Reload the package lists and then Mark All Upgrades and hit Apply 1

Updating a Debian Testing or Unstable system

Important: Debian's Testing and Unstable branches may work very well for some users' needs, but they do not claim to be stable releases and should only be used with extra care by experienced users.

In Synaptic, Reload the package lists and then Mark All Upgrades and hit Apply 1

Working with Btrfs snapshots and rollbacks

  • By default SpiralLinux uses Btrfs with a subvolume layout conducive to booting read-only snapshots and performing proper rollbacks.
  • Package additions or removals via apt will automatically trigger the creation of a snapshot via the Snapper mechanism, and these can optionally be managed with the Snapper GUI tool.
  • In the rare event that the system becomes unbootable, use the SpiralLinux snapshots section of the GRUB boot menu to select a working snapshot, taking note of the snapshot number, and boot into it. If needed the Snapper GUI tool will also be available in the snapshot system to determine which snapshot number to use for the rollback. Then to perform the rollback open a terminal and run: sudo snapper-rollback X where X is the number of the snapshot to rollback to.
    • Note: After performing a rollback, the Plasma applications menu may still be using an old cached version of the available applications. To regenerate it the Synaptic package manager can be used to add or remove applications, or else by running the command: sudo update-desktop-database
  • Note that snapper-rollback will only rollback your root (system) subvolume. If you need to restore any files or directories in your home directory, you can copy them from a snapshot in /home/.snapshots/

How to install non-English input methods?

Please see this guide created by an Asian user:

About the SpiralLinux "Builder" edition

The SpiralLinux "Builder" edition is not appropriate for most users. Unlike the other SpiralLinux editions, the "Builder" spin is not at all polished, intended instead as a base for experienced users to build on and configure according to their preferences. It basically contains a bare IceWM shell, a web browser, a graphical text editor, a few GUI configuration tools, and the Calamares installer. Many of the low-level packages and configurations are already present, leaving the experienced user to install additional programs and configure the theming.

Download SpiralLinux "Builder"

FAQs

  • Why does the GRUB bootloader entry say "Debian (SpiralLinux...) GNU/Linux"?
    • Debian's version of GRUB for EFI is hard-coded to look for the bootloader name debian, and so the GRUB entry needs to start with the the word "Debian". The "GNU/Linux" bit is added by the Debian GRUB scripts and can not be easily removed. At any rate, SpiralLinux is Debian, so it is not a priority to remove all references to that fact.
  • Why is the clock not using 24h format?
    • Some editions of SpiralLinux use a custom time/date format. Simply use the desktop environment's settings to disable the custom format and/or specifically enable 24h time format.
  • Why doesn't Caps Lock work?
    • It is configured by default to work as a keyboard layout switcher while pressed. To return to the normal Caps Lock behavior it can be changed in the desktop environment's keyboard layout options, for example: 252053120-e184583e-8980-43d0-a605-eb67070773de
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