Wouldn't it be fun to have "a ready-to-game Arch Linux based OCI designed for use exclusively in distrobox"?
this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2023
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That would be so fun I am buzzing with excitement. I am not talking facetiously either. I am out in the cold as I type this, happy and quivering.
I cannot wait to get home and try it out!
I cannot wait to get home and try it out!
Please consider reporting back after you've tried it; I'd love to read your experiences.
So it turns out, I cannot use my NVIDIA card using distrobox. I guess it only works with AMD?
Anyways, gaming using Bazzite is a dead end for me. I still find Fedora Silverblue super fun to use, and I think I will just run Steam + Lutris using Flatpaks. I was wondering if distrobox would somehow allow better performance, but I don't understand the technology well enough to even make those presumption. I see that this image is used a lot on Steam Deck, which I also don't understand why (as opposed to having everything native).
Anyways, I can still game well on Silverblue. Baldur's Gate 3 runs okay. So, that means I am fine, hah!
The only gripe I have, which is just my stupidity, is that I have way of using Mozilla VPN. I tried to run it on an Ubuntu container, but I must be doing something wrong because it does not launch. Maybe I need to look into podman more closely, or maybe I am missing some graphical dependencies that is assumed to exist on a DE. I shall keep trying.
Thank you for reporting back! Much appreciated!
So it turns out, I cannot use my NVIDIA card using distrobox. I guess it only works with AMD?
Interesting. Unfortunately, I don't own an Nvidia device. Therefore, I can't tackle it myself. Distrobox should allow the use of Nvidia, but I'm unaware if this applies to the bazzite-arch container as well. The picture you shared and the link to its FAQ-page (found below) do suggest otherwise, unfortunately...
I was wondering if distrobox would somehow allow better performance
FWIW, I've always experienced better performance inside the bazzite-arch distrobox container, at least compared to Flatpak*.
I see that this image is used a lot on Steam Deck, which I also don’t understand why (as opposed to having everything native).
Because the ~~distro~~ image it's used in conjunction with, Bazzite, is Fedora-based, while Steam OS is based on Arch. Bazzite is Fedora-based in the first place, because Arch doesn't officially have any plans for 'immutable' distros yet. As for the remaining distros, only Fedora and NixOS (see Jovian-NixOS) have a sufficiently mature and suitable platform at this point in time.
maybe I am missing some graphical dependencies
This happens way more often than you might expect. Even the so-called 'toolbox' containers from Distrobox miss a lot of packages required to support software graphically. Consider running it inside a terminal and pay attention to error codes etc; those might/should help you resolve the issue. Sometimes it helps to explicitly use the -v or --verbose option to ensure that the program actually communicates what's happening.
Thank you for your feedback! I am learning a lot. This is the first time I have run into issues where I was not tempted to abandon ship and go back to what works. I actually care about this system and want it to succeed. I think this is a super cool path forward.
The only other time I felt this interested in a new paradigm of linux was GoboLinux with its compartmentalized installation of programs, so you can have every version you need, but I got confused with the recipe system and I don't know if it is still active.
One problem I had is that I was trying to download an image for linux mint, because it gives me access to PPAs without needing to use SNAP due to Ubuntu, but I could not get an image to download, no matter what combination of linux + mint + version I used. I finally realized I could search podman, now I can go forward!
Thank you for your feedback! I am learning a lot.
Glad to be of use 😜!
This is the first time I have run into issues where I was not tempted to abandon ship and go back to what works. I actually care about this system and want it to succeed. I think this is a super cool path forward.
I wholeheartedly agree!
GoboLinux
Wow, I almost forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me!
One problem I had is that I was trying to download an image for linux mint, because it gives me access to PPAs without needing to use SNAP due to Ubuntu, but I could not get an image to download, no matter what combination of linux + mint + version I used. I finally realized I could search podman, now I can go forward!
Good job learning about podman search! I'm sure you'll manage 😉!
Interesting. Unfortunately, I don’t own an Nvidia device. Therefore, I can’t tackle it myself. Distrobox should allow the use of Nvidia
THANK YOU.
I've been searching for a few hours how to get distrobox to utilize my GPU and that link got me there.
Concerning Baldur's Gate, are you using Wayland or X11? For me Wayland was much smoother than X11.
I think I am using Wayland since that is the default.
Also, I once made the mistake of running on DX11, which was worse.
Also, what is nice about this somewhat failed experiment is that it was easy to just rm the container and everything went with it.
Yeah, I am not going back to regular linux.
Yup, it's absolutely lovely. Did you experiment with a custom home directory for your distrobox yet?
Not yet! I was surprised that home directory is shared across containers, but it makes sense when the system is the problem, not the files in home. Still, it is nifty to keep certain environments separated.
You may be happy, or perhaps dismayed, to learn that I finally installed Bazzite on my desktop.
I did a bit tonne of sampling, with BlendOS and Vanilla, trying things out, but Fedora wins.
I have Fedora Silverblue on a usb in case Bazzite does not like my computer, but I think I have done enough hopping for a lifetime.
I swear I will just jump onto the NIXOS (or guix) bandwagon if I ever decide to switch again.
You may be happy, or perhaps dismayed, to learn that I finally installed Bazzite on my desktop.
Well played! Welcome to the cool kids club! I've actually used Bazzite myself for a short while a couple of months ago. It felt like a holiday destination with lots of cool stuff, but it was more opinionated than what I'm comfortable with. So I returned back home (read: custom uBlue image) afterwards, where I am in command for what's found inside and where I am free to do whatever I will. Though, I did pick up some of the things I liked from Bazzite 😜, so it was not for naught 😉.
I did a bit tonne of sampling, with BlendOS and Vanilla, trying things out, but Fedora wins.
Very interesting! I've got my own reasons for preferring Fedora *cough* ~security~ *cough*, but I'm very interested to know your findings! I'd have to admit that Vanilla OS' upcoming 2.0 Orchid update is very tempting though.
I have Fedora Silverblue on a usb in case Bazzite does not like my computer,
Hmm..., perhaps consider the following:
- Rebase back to Silverblue with
rpm-ostree rebase fedora:fedora/39/x86_64/silverblue(assuming you're already on Fedora 39). - After you've booted into Silverblue, pin the Silverblue-deployment with
sudo ostree admin pin 0. - While still in the Silverblue-deployment, rollback to Bazzite with
rpm-ostree rollback. - Reboot, and you should notice that you have one additional entry in the GRUB-menu. That's the Silverblue-deployment where you can always fall back on; just in case*.
The above steps do assume that you haven't pinned any prior Silverblue-deployments; as you don't necessarily need multiple Silverblue-deployments 😅. Furthermore, they assume no additional steps involving Nvidia; but that's mostly because I don't have any experience dealing with that (thankfully).
I swear I will just jump onto the NIXOS (or guix) bandwagon if I ever decide to switch again.
FWIW, you can install both Nix and Guix on Silverblue.
I super appreciate all of the tips! I thought I was good installing Bazzite with a fresh install using an ISO, made sure to pick the NVIDIA option... it just failed to load the drivers, and showed a gray screen switching to open drivers. I know what I am not buying when I uprade in like 5 years.
That usb become necessary.
Anyways, before falling unconsious (finally going to sleep... and waking up early damn) I played with NixOS in a VM. I have sooooo much to learn... so I think I will just install the package manager, and gorge on the cake I get to keep.
I super appreciate all of the tips!
It has been my pleasure 😊!
I thought I was good installing Bazzite with a fresh install using an ISO, made sure to pick the NVIDIA option… it just failed to load the drivers, and showed a gray screen switching to open drivers.
Very strange. Consider reporting this as a bug on their Github or ask assistance on their discord server.
I played with NixOS in a VM. I have sooooo much to learn… so I think I will just install the package manager, and gorge on the cake I get to keep.
NixOS, while excellent at what it offers, is indeed very different from almost anything else. I wish you the best of luck if you wish to conquer it, but I've personally put it on my backlog; I hope to return to it eventually, but not now. Perhaps consider using Fleek, which would be Nix-made-easy. Obviously, it isn't as powerful, but perhaps a new user doesn't need that much power in the first place 😉.
Okay, fleek is looking like everything I need to be happy. Learning about devbox made me excited too.
Damn, I am about ready to start doing some actual work, hah. Get back to programming actually start making things.
No, Silverblue + distrobox is enough for me. Fleek will probably help solve some of my package edge cases I have been struggling to resolve.
Computing is fun.
Silverblue + distrobox is enough for me.
Aight. Hope to meet you next time your hand and fingers start tingling and itching 😜.
distrobox is a godsend for immutable distros
Honestly, it is making my like using linux more. Flatpak made not having the app I wanted available and up to date, distrobox allows me to use a distro that has it up to date natively. Nothing is more dope than that. Except nature? But for computing, I adore it.
Use the heroic launcher or lutris flatpaks for those. I know as a fact that lutris supports both.
I am really keen on Lutris. Nothing beats it for downloading GOG games, not even the galaxy launcher.
That's what I just, it's really just the best