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Manjaro KDE Plasma

Manjaro is an arch Linux based distro that has become known for being fairly stable but has some more advanced features such as rolling releases which allow for cutting edge software.

Installing Manjaro KDE

  • Use Ventoy to create usb bootable drives with .iso files. It can deal with secure boot and can install from multiple .iso files on one drive.

Installing Programs

  • Install the following command line stuff and Microsoft Edge

    • oh-my-zsh - "Oh My Zsh is a delightful, open source, community-driven framework for managing your Zsh configuration"
    • znap - "The fast & light-weight Zsh plugin manager"
    • Git - "Git is a free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency."
    • Kitty - a Konsole replacement
    • yay - for installing from AUR
    • Microsoft Edge (beta) - my preferred browser
    • Auto CPU-Freq - for saving battery life on laptops
    # installs oh-my-zsh
sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ohmyzsh/ohmyzsh/master/tools/install.sh)"
# if you mistype the password then zsh won't be set as the default shell this command will set zsh as the default
chsh -s  /usr/bin/zsh
# setup git to not auto end filenames (can cause issues when opening a repo that has been opened on Windows)
git config --global core.autocrlf input
# set up git to use your account (optional)
git config --global user.name "user_name"
git config --global user.email "email@example.com"
# this makes it so you don't have to sign in every time you do anything with Github
# you will need to push (`git push`) a commit via terminal for this to work
# you will need to enter your Github login and password (you must use a personal access token instead of your password)
git config --global credential.helper 'store --file ~/.my-credentials'
# install yay and other dependencies needed to instal and build AUR packages
sudo pacman -S --needed git base-devel yay # this will work for Manjaro but not for other Arch based distros
pacman -S --needed git base-devel && git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git && cd yay && makepkg -si
# enable colors for pacman and yay
sudo sed -i 's/#Color/Color/g' /etc/pacman.conf
# Install Kitty
sudo pacman -S kitty
# change the ctrl+shift to ctrl in Kitty along with some other settings more can be found [here](https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/conf/)
echo "
map ctrl+c copy_or_interrupt
map ctrl+v paste_from_clipboard
map ctrl+t new_tab
map ctrl+w close_window
map ctrl+tab next_tab
map ctrl+shift+tab previous_tab
background_opacity 0.6
:     font_family      FiraCode Nerd Font Mono
" >> ~/.config/kitty/kitty.conf
# enable auto correction (you also need to enable the plugin which is below)
sed -i 's/# ENABLE_CORRECTION="true"/ENABLE_CORRECTION="true"/g' ~/.zshrc
git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-autosuggestions
# enable syntax highlighting (you also need to enable the plugin which is below)
git clone https://github.com/zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting.git ${ZSH_CUSTOM:-~/.oh-my-zsh/custom}/plugins/zsh-syntax-highlighting
# add [znap](https://github.com/marlonrichert/zsh-snap) which manages oh-my-zsh plugins
git clone --depth 1 -- https://github.com/marlonrichert/zsh-snap.git
source zsh-snap/install.zsh
echo '
# Download Znap, if it is not there yet.
[[ -f ~/Git/zsh-snap/znap.zsh ]] ||
git clone --depth 1 -- \
https://github.com/marlonrichert/zsh-snap.git ~/Git/zsh-snap
source ~/Git/zsh-snap/znap.zsh  # Start Znap
# [zsh-autocomplete](https://github.com/marlonrichert/zsh-autocomplete) use `ctrl+s` to use
znap source marlonrichert/zsh-autocomplete
# [zsh-users](https://github.com/marlonrichert/zsh-autosuggestions)
znap source zsh-users/zsh-autosuggestions
# [zsh-users](https://github.com/marlonrichert/zsh-syntax-highlighting)
znap source zsh-users/zsh-syntax-highlighting
' >> ~/.zshrc
# restart the shell
exec zsh
# Install MS Edge (beta)
yay -S microsoft-edge-beta-bin
yay -S auto-cpufreq

  • Setup Microsoft Edge Beta which is my browser of choice. I install this pretty much so quickly because it allows me to access my email quickly so that I can then sign into and activate other software.

    • After Edge is installed I go to "Settings" and then "Appearance". Under "Customize Appearance" I select "Dark" mode. I then select "Downloads Button" and "History Button" under "Select which buttons to show on toolbar" to show the download button on the toolbar.
    • I also hide all of the visible extensions by selecting the "Extensions Button" and clicking on the "eye" icon for all of the extensions except the Zotero Connector and Enpass Extension
    • I then also "Pin" several tabs so that they load automatically on launching Edge. Mostly email tabs and other typing practice tabs (I'm trying to get faster).

  • Install Enpass which is my password manager.

  • Install VSCode

    • VSCode is my text editor/IDE of choice
    • I also install the VSCode Projects Runner for KRunner plugin for KRunner which allows you to open VSCode projects directly from KRunner. You also need to set up the Project Manager extension to use it. You may have to reboot to have it start working after the installation.
    • I also install the VSCode Workspaces Runner for KRunner plugin for KRunner which allows you to open VSCode workspaces directly from KRunner. Unlike VSCode Project Runner this KRunner plugin shows recent workspaces opened in VSCode. It also does not require a VSCode extension to work.
    # add some dependencies for signing into VSCode
echo "
# see https://unix.stackexchange.com/a/295652/332452
source /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc.d/50-systemd-user.sh

# see https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/GNOME/Keyring#xinitrc
eval $(/usr/bin/gnome-keyring-daemon --start)
export SSH_AUTH_SOCK

# see https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/14966#issuecomment-520083836
mkdir -p "$HOME"/.local/share/keyrings" >> ~/.xinitrc
sudo pacman -S gnome-keyring libsecret libgnome-keyring
# install fonts for VSCode
sudo pacman -S zip unzip
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/fonts/nerd-fonts && cd ~/.local/share/fonts/nerd-fonts && curl -fLo "CascadiaCode.zip" https://github.com/ryanoasis/nerd-fonts/releases/download/v2.1.0/CascadiaCode.zip && unzip CascadiaCode.zip && sudo fc-cache -f -v
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/fonts/nerd-fonts && cd ~/.local/share/fonts/nerd-fonts && curl -fLo "FiraCode.zip" https://github.com/ryanoasis/nerd-fonts/releases/download/v2.1.0/FiraCode.zip && unzip FiraCode.zip && sudo fc-cache -f -v
# Install VSCode
yay -S visual-studio-code-bin
# sudo pacman -S krunner-vscodeprojects 
yay -S krunner-vscodeprojects-git

  • I use pCloud to sync all of my files across devices and to keep all of my files backed up. The executable file can be downloaded using this link. This is an appimage file which means it should be able to run on any Linux distro without any external dependencies.

    • When I execute this file it should prompt to move the file to another location. I accept this prompt which allows pCloud to start automatically on system startup.

    • I then sign in and select the "Sync" tab and then select the "Add New Sync" button. I select for the local folder home/$USER/Documents/pCloudLocalLevi and for the pCloud Drive folder /pCloudLocalLevi.

    • The Baloo file extractor will cache all files for searches however that is not a good idea for pCloud or Zotero local storage. More information can be found here. If you want to see what is being indexed you can use the command balooctl monitor. You can get some basic status using the balooctl status command. The command balooctl purge will delete the indexed files and restart indexing. To disable baloo use balooctl disable. To see more command options use the balooctl command. To stop this use the command below:

      echo 'exclude folders[$e]=$HOME/pCloudDrive/,$HOME/Zotero/,$HOME/yay/,$HOME/,$HOME/.*,$HOME/*.*,$HOME/*.**
' >> ~/.config/baloofilerc

  • Setup of various other rust-based command line utilities I use

    • Bottom - "[C]ross-platform graphical process/system monitor."
      • See below for a link to a gist that contains my preferred configuration options
      • use bottom by typing in btm
    • Exa
      • use exa by typing in exa I usually use:
        • exa --long --header --group-directories-first -F -a to see all files and directories in the current directory (-a shows hidden files/directories)
        • exa --long --header --group-directories-first -R -T -F -L=2 to see files in directories
      • I have some aliases that I put into my ~/.zshrc file for easy access
        • alias list="exa --long --header --group-directories-first -F -a"
        • alias listVisable="exa --long --header --group-directories-first -F"
        • alias listAll="exa --long --header --group-directories-first -R -T -F -L=2"
    • Starship - "The minimal, blazing-fast, and infinitely customizable prompt for any shell!"
      • This requires a Nerd Font (or similar) to work properly here is a command that installs the Fira Code Nerd Font: mkdir -p ~/.local/share/fonts/nerd-fonts && cd ~/.local/share/fonts/nerd-fonts && curl -fLo "FiraCode.zip" https://github.com/ryanoasis/nerd-fonts/releases/download/v2.1.0/FiraCode.zip && unzip FiraCode.zip && sudo fc-cache -f -v
      • See below for a link to a gist that contains my preferred configuration options
    • Zoxide - "A smarter cd command."
      • This also uses (optionally) fzf which is, "A command-line fuzzy finder"
    • McFly - "McFly replaces your default ctrl-r shell history search with an intelligent search engine that takes into account your working directory and the context of recently executed commands."
    # install rust for installation of many of the following utilities
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
# restart shell to access rust
exec zsh
rustup update
# installation of bottom which is a system resource manager (required rust)
rustup update stable
cargo install bottom
# installation of exa which is a replacement for ls (required rust)
cargo install exa
# install zoxide
cargo install zoxide --locked
# install fzf which is an optional zoxide dependency
yay -S fzf
# install mcfly
cargo install mcfly
# this installs starship which is a cross platform/shell prompt
sh -c "$(curl -fsSL https://starship.rs/install.sh)"
# create bottom and starship config files
mkdir -p ~/.config && mkdir -p ~/.config/bottom/
# copy my configuration from my gists to the bottom.toml and starship.toml files
cd ~/.config/bottom/ && wget ‐‐directory-prefix=~/.config/bottom/bottom.toml https://gist.githubusercontent.com/ldsands/93f985822143f9f5f58567803e5787ef/raw/470822ff5e9f11786f168e3fcbb675011fb7e964/bottom.toml
cd ~/.config/ && wget ‐‐directory-prefix=~/.config/starship.toml https://gist.githubusercontent.com/ldsands/4e7fc375df318dd90bb44ae9ecbc5863/raw/a2a845f29d5712d6434983316d7281fe6a088947/starship.toml
# this adds the starship initialize command to the end of the zsh config file
echo '# starship statement
eval "$(starship init zsh)"
# zoxide statement
eval "$(zoxide init zsh)"
# mcfly statement
eval "$(mcfly init zsh)"
' >> ~/.zshrc

  • Install pyenv and Pipenv for managing python and python virtual environments

    # install pipenv
yay -S python-pipenv
# install poetry
yay -S python-poetry
# install pyenv and put into the PATH
yay -S pyenv
echo '
# pyenv stuff
export PYENV_ROOT="$HOME/.pyenv"
export PATH="$PYENV_ROOT/bin:$PATH"
eval "$(pyenv init --path)"
eval "$(pyenv init -)"
# pipenv stuff
eval "$(_PIPENV_COMPLETE=zsh_source pipenv)"
' >> ~/.zshrc
# restart shell so new path variables can be used
exec zsh
# install the pyenv-update plugin so that pyenv and its plugins can be easily updated using `pyenv update`
git clone https://github.com/pyenv/pyenv-update.git $(pyenv root)/plugins/pyenv-update
# restart shell so new path variables can be used
exec zsh
# update pyenv
pyenv update
# install python using pyenv
pyenv install 3.9.7
# set this version to the global version of python
pyenv global 3.9.7
# see the version that was installed
pyenv versions
# create virtual environment this will automatically use the newest version of python that pyenv installed
py -m venv .venv

  • Install flatpak/flathub hosted apps:

    • Apps I install on every computer

      # SpeedCrunch - A high-precision scientific calculator
flatpak install flathub org.speedcrunch.SpeedCrunch -y
# Telegram Desktop messenger
flatpak install flathub org.telegram.desktop -y
# PeaZip - Free file archiver utility, open, extract RAR TAR ZIP archives
flatpak install flathub io.github.peazip.PeaZip -y
# Spotify - Online music streaming service
flatpak install flathub com.spotify.Client -y
# Discord - Messaging, Voice, and Video Client
flatpak install flathub com.discordapp.Discord -y
# Chromium Web Browser - The web browser from Chromium project
flatpak install flathub org.chromium.Chromium -y
# AppImage Pool - A simple, modern AppImageHub Client.
flatpak install flathub io.github.prateekmedia.appimagepool -y
# Inkscape - Vector Graphics Editor
flatpak install flathub org.inkscape.Inkscape -y
# Caprine - Elegant Facebook Messenger desktop app
flatpak install flathub com.sindresorhus.Caprine
# Todoist: To-Do List & Tasks "The best to-do list app right now" - The Verge
flatpak install flathub com.todoist.Todoist -y
# Zotero - Collect, organize, cite, and share research
flatpak install flathub org.zotero.Zotero -y
# Evolution - Manage your email, contacts and schedule
flatpak install flathub org.gnome.Evolution -y
# Weather - View real-time weather forecasts and other information
flatpak install flathub org.kde.kweather
# TextSnatcher - Snatch Text with just a Drag
flatpak install flathub com.github.rajsolai.textsnatcher
# Nvidia System Monitor - Task Manager for Linux for Nvidia graphics cards
flatpak install flathub io.github.congard.qnvsm
# GreenWithEnvy - System utility designed to provide information, control the fans and overclock your NVIDIA card
flatpak install flathub com.leinardi.gwe
# Weather - View real-time weather forecasts and other information
flatpak install flathub org.kde.kweather

    • To uninstall any Flatpak app use uninstall instead of install such as seen here: flatpak uninstall flathub org.inkscape.Inkscape -y

    • I used to use flatpak for zoom but you can't change the virtual background so I use AUR instead. flatpak install flathub us.zoom.Zoom -y

  • Install other applications I regularly use.

    # Zoom - Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing
yay -S zoom
# The standard Microsoft Fonts which helps with editing MS Office files
yay -S ttf-ms-fonts
# [KNotes is a program that lets you write the computer equivalent of sticky notes.](https://kontact.kde.org/components/knotes/)
yay -S knotes
# Xplorer a file explorer that caught my attention
yay -S xplorer-bin
# installs a font manager it will list all installed fonts with command `fc-list`
yay -S fontconfig
# this installs three Windows fonts: Calibri, Consolas, and Segoe UI (could also instal ttf-win10 for more fonts)
yay -S ttf-windows
# installs Fira Sans fonts
yay -S otf-fira-sans otf-firamath
# install pandoc and latex stuff
yay -S pandoc texlive-core texlive-latexextra texlive-fontsextra
# "NVTOP stands for Neat Videocard TOP, a (h)top like task monitor for AMD and NVIDIA GPUs." to use just use command `nvtop`
yay -S nvtop

  • Install OBS Studio and OBS-BackgroundRemoval

    • When installing the linux-headers make sure you install the correct kernel number that matches the Kernel you're running
    • You'll then want to restart after installing the linux-headers and v4l2loopback-dkms
    # get linux kernel version
uname -r
# install v4l2loopback which is needed for virtual camera
sudo pacman -S linux-headers v4l2loopback-dkms
# reboot computer
sudo reboot
# install obs and background removal
yay -S obs-studio obs-backgroundremoval
# yay -S obs-studio obs-backgroundremoval

  • Install Wine so that I can use some Windows applications; namely PDF X-Change Editor and TextAloud 4.

    • yay -S wine

Notes on Installation Issues

  • If there is no audio device then install the audio firmware using the command below then restart the computer.

    sudo pacman -S sof-firmware

  • When upgrading Manjaro will often update python as well. When it upgrades the major version (e.g. 3.9.x to 3.10.x) some python packages may be built for an earlier version of python which can cause issues. To update any packages that were built for an earlier version of python you can see the example below.

    • To see which packages are outdated (built for the old major version) use this command: pacman -Qoq /usr/lib/python3.9
    • To use an AUR helper (in this case yay) to update them use this command: yay -S $(pacman -Qoq /usr/lib/python3.9) --answerclean All

Other Tips

  • yay is used to help install packages from AUR

    # to update everything just use yay
yay
# to cleanup unneeded dependencies
yay -Yc
# to search for a package and then you can install from a list of search results
yay edge
# to install a package
yay -S zoom

KDE Plasma Setup

System Settings to change. Open "System Settings" then you can search or find the categories listed below to edit settings.

  • "Appearance"; "Global Theme"; select "Breeze Dark"
  • "Applications"; "Default Applications";
    • "Web Browser": select "Microsoft Edge (beta)"
    • "Terminal emulator": select "Kitty"
  • "Shortcuts";
    • "Maximize Window": meta+home
    • "KRunner": meta+space
    • "Switch One Desktop to the Left": meta+ctrl+left
    • "Switch One Desktop to the Right": meta+ctrl+right
    • "Show Desktop Grid": meta+tab
    • "Spectacle"; "Capture Rectangular Region": meta+shift+s
    • Click the button "Add Application" select Kitty; Click "Add custom shortcut" ctrl+shift+t
  • KRunner:
    • Deselect "Browser History"
    • Click on "Get New Plugins"; search for "VSCodeProjectsRunner" then install that plugin
    • Click on "Get New Plugins"; search for "VSCode Workspaces Runner" then install that plugin
  • Removable Storage; Removable Devices
    • Check "Enable automatic mounting of removable media" and "Only automatically mount removable media that has been manually mounted before"
  • "Workspace Behavior"; "General Behavior"
    • Clicking files or folders; change to "Selects them"
  • "Workspace Behavior"
    • "Desktop Effects"
      • Search for "Desktop Grid"
        • Select the "Configure..." button
        • Set "Border width:" to 5
        • For "Desktop name alignment:" select "Top"
        • Deselect "Show buttons to alter count of virtual desktops"
        • Click on the "OK" button
    • "Screen Edges"
      • For all corners select "No Action" except:
        • The upper right corner select "Present Windows - Current Desktops"
        • The lower right corner select "Present Windows - All Desktops"
        • The lower left select "Desktop Grid"
  • "Virtual Desktops"
    • "Workspace Behavior"; "Virtual Desktops"
      • I create 12 Virtual Desktops with three desktops in each of 4 rows
      • Row 1: Random 01, Random 02 and Random 03
      • Row 2: School 01, School 02 and School 03
      • Row 3: Python 01, Python 02 and Python 03
      • Row 4: Email, CommsMusic and Todo
    • Enable "Show on-screen display when switching" and change the value to 500 ms
    • Enable "Show desktop layout indicators"
  • Panel
    • Right click on the battery icon and select "Show Battery Percentage on Icon" (on computers with a battery like a laptop)
    • Right click on the clock and select "Configure Digital Clock ..." Then next to "Date format:" select "ISO Date"
    • Right click on the panel (called taskbar on Windows) and select "Edit Panel..."
      • Mouse over the "Icons-Only Task Manager"; Mouse over "Configure"; Then select "Behavior"; for "Groups" select "Do not group" and for "Show Only Tasks" select "From Current Screen"
  • Desktop
    • On the right screen in the upper left hand corner I add the widget "Pager" onto the Desktop
      • I make it big enough to see all nine desktops well
      • Right click on the widget and select "Configure Pager"
        • In the "General" tab I select "Show applications icons on window outlines"
        • Also in the "General" tab I select "Text Display"; "Desktop Name"
    • On the right screen in the upper right corner I add the "Weather Report" widget
  • Screen Locking
    • Lock screen automatically: uncheck

KDE Plasma Notes

  • Sometimes Plasma may need to be restarted. Use these commands to kill and then restart Plasma: killall plasmashell && kstart5 plasmashell

  • I've had issues connecting my bluetooth mouse these commands found here helped:

    # allows to see the status of bluetooth
sudo systemctl status bluetooth
# make the computer bluetooth discoverable (I'm not sure if this is needed or not)
bluetoothctl discoverable on
# turn on bluetooth scanning this will show available bluetooth devices
bluetoothctl scan on
# now pair using the mac adderss (in this format: XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX) of the device you want to pair
bluetoothctl pair XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
# now connect to the device using the mac address
bluetoothctl connect XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
# interuppt the process using either `ctrl+shift+c` or `ctrl+c`
# not turn off bluetooth discoverable (I'm not sure if this is needed)
bluetoothctl discoverable off

App Configurations

  • Microsoft Edge (Beta)
    • Sign in using Microsoft Account
    • Create PWAs from my Outlook Accounts (and others):
      • Open the "Application Launcher" (like the start button from Windows); search for "Outlook (PWA)"; right click on the result; Select "Application" tab;
      • Select the ellipsis menu in the upper right; select permissions; next to "Notifications" Select "Allow"
      • I do this for my two Outlook Accounts (Personal Outlook, Uiowa Outlook, MonkeyType)
  • Dolphin
    • I hide the following directories from the "Places" panel: Music, Pictures and Videos
    • I add these directories to the "Places" panel: pCloudDrive, pCloudLocalLevi, ComputerStuff, ResearchProjects and Uiowa. I also add any current project and class directories for easy access.
    • In "Configure Toolbars" I search for "Up" in "Available actions" and add it to "Current Actions" and then move it to the top.
    • In "Configure Dolphin" in the "Startup" tab:
      • I change the default startup location to /home/$USER/Downloads (you will need to replace $USER with your username)
      • I also unselect the "Open new folders in tabs" this is because it doesn't work well with multiple virtual desktops
  • Gwenview (an Image Viewer)
    • "Configure Keyboard Shortcuts"
      • "Open Containing Folder" select "Custom" enter the Keyboard shortcut of ctrl+e, ctrl+e
      • Under "File" next to "Quit" click under "Alternate" select the button labeled "None" then enter ctrl+w; select "OK" at the bottom of the dialogue box
  • LibreOffice
    • It seems like when LibreOffice is in dark mode it doesn't automatically change the icons so they are very difficult to see. To change this select "Tools" then "Options" then under "LibreOffice" select "View"
      • Under "Icon style:" select "Breeze (SVG + dark)" then click the "Apply" button.
    • I also prefer the "ribben" style of user interface. To change to the ribbon ui go to "View" then "User Interface..." Then select "Tabbed"