Guides & References

Arch

Set up swapfile

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Swap#Swap_file

Make the swapfile

sudo mkswap -U clear --size 8G --file /swapfile

Turn it on

sudo swapon /swapfile

Open:

/etc/fstab

Add to the end:

/swapfile none swap defaults 0 0

Plasma Login Manager instead of SDDM

Install Plasma Login Manager

sudo pacman -S plasma-login-manager

Disable SDDM and enable Plasma Login Manager

sudo systemctl disable sddm
sudo systemctl enable --force plasmalogin.service

List and remove SDDM packages

pacman -Qq | grep sddm

sudo pacman -Rns sddm sddm-kcm

Use all cores for package building and compression

Open

/etc/makepkg.conf

Uncomment and set MAKEFLAGS= to $(nproc), it automatically detects your total CPU threads.

MAKEFLAGS="-j$(nproc)"

Make file compressions multi-threaded too, comment out the default ones to keep them

COMPRESSXZ=(xz -c -T0 -z -)
COMPRESSZST=(zstd -c -T0 --auto-threads=logical -)
COMPRESSLZ4=(lz4 -q -T0)

the rest of the compressors can't be parallelized

Plasma

https://store.kde.org/p/1561335/ - willow dark decorations
https://store.kde.org/p/2139337 - split clock for vertical panels
https://github.com/matinlotfali/KDE-Rounded-Corners - rounded corners
https://github.com/vinceliuice/Tela-icon-theme - tela icons
https://github.com/vinceliuice/Qogir-icon-theme/tree/master/src/cursors/dist - qogir cursors
https://github.com/guiodic/material-decoration - [upstream implementation pending](https://invent.kde.org/plasma/breeze/-/merge_requests/529) - locally integrated menus

Freetube PiP

Add a window rule for an open PiP window

Window class: unimportant
Match whole class: no
Window types: all selected
Windows title: exact match, Picture in picture
Keep above other windows: force, yes

With 0.24, the PiP broke, since on wayland the protocol for it is still in experimental.
fix: FreeTubeApp/FreeTube#8922 (comment)

Switch between audio outputs with a keyboard shortcut

made with claude 4.6, then cleaned up

my file as reference: https://github.com/Kingproone/dotfiles/blob/main/home/%24USER/.local/bin/switch-audio.sh

Step 1: Understand your setup: sinks vs. ports

Before writing any script, you need to know which problem you're solving, because the solution differs:

Separate sinks: your system exposes multiple independent audio devices (e.g., built-in speakers, a USB DAC, a Bluetooth headset, an HDMI output). Each is a distinct "sink" in PipeWire/PulseAudio.

Ports on one sink: your system has a single sound card that exposes multiple outputs as ports (e.g., "Analog Headphones" and "Analog Line Out" both live under one ALSA sink).

Run this to see what you have:

pactl list sinks

Look at the Name: fields and the Ports: sections. If you have one sink with multiple ports listed under it, you need the port-switching approach. If you have multiple sinks, you need the sink-switching approach.

Step 2: Find the exact names

For sink switching:

pactl list short sinks

Note the full sink name from the second column, e.g. alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3.analog-stereo.

For port switching:

pactl list sinks | grep -E 'Name:|port'

Note both the sink name and the port identifiers, e.g. analog-output-speaker, analog-output-headphones.

Step 3: Create the script

Create ~/.local/bin/switch-audio.sh, ~/.local/bin/ is the standard location for user-installed executables that don't require root.

Option A: Toggle between two sinks

#!/bin/bash

SINK1="alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3.analog-stereo"
SINK2="alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3.analog-headphones"

CURRENT=$(pactl get-default-sink)

if [ "$CURRENT" = "$SINK1" ]; then
    TARGET="$SINK2"
    LABEL="Headphones"
else
    TARGET="$SINK1"
    LABEL="Speakers"
fi

pactl set-sink-mute "$CURRENT" 1
pactl set-default-sink "$TARGET"
pactl list short sink-inputs | awk '{print $1}' | \
    xargs -I{} pactl move-sink-input {} "$TARGET"
sleep 0.1
pactl set-sink-mute "$TARGET" 0

notify-send "Audio output" "$LABEL" -t 1000

The move-sink-input block is critical. Without it, apps already playing audio will stay on the old sink and continue outputting there until they're restarted.

Option B: Cycle through more than two sinks

#!/bin/bash

SINKS=(
    "alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3.analog-stereo"
    "alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3.analog-headphones"
    "bluez_sink.XX_XX_XX_XX_XX_XX.a2dp_sink"
)
LABELS=("Speakers" "Headphones" "Bluetooth")

CURRENT=$(pactl get-default-sink)
NEXT_INDEX=0

for i in "${!SINKS[@]}"; do
    if [ "${SINKS[$i]}" = "$CURRENT" ]; then
        NEXT_INDEX=$(( (i + 1) % ${#SINKS[@]} ))
        break
    fi
done

TARGET="${SINKS[$NEXT_INDEX]}"
LABEL="${LABELS[$NEXT_INDEX]}"

pactl set-sink-mute "$CURRENT" 1
pactl set-default-sink "$TARGET"
pactl list short sink-inputs | awk '{print $1}' | \
    xargs -I{} pactl move-sink-input {} "$TARGET"
sleep 0.1
pactl set-sink-mute "$TARGET" 0

notify-send "Audio output" "$LABEL" -t 1000

Option C: Switch ports (single sink, multiple ports)

#!/bin/bash

SINK="alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1f.3.analog-stereo"
PORT1="analog-output-speaker"
PORT2="analog-output-headphones"

CURRENT_PORT=$(pactl list sinks | awk -v sink="$SINK" '
    /Name: / { found = ($2 == sink) }
    found && /Active Port/ { print $3; exit }
')

if [ "$CURRENT_PORT" = "$PORT1" ]; then
    TARGET_PORT="$PORT2"
    LABEL="Headphones"
else
    TARGET_PORT="$PORT1"
    LABEL="Speakers"
fi

pactl set-sink-mute "$SINK" 1
pactl set-sink-port "$SINK" "$TARGET_PORT"
sleep 0.1
pactl set-sink-mute "$SINK" 0

notify-send "Audio output" "$LABEL" -t 1000

Note: port switching affects output routing at the hardware level, so there are no sink-inputs to move here — all streams on that sink follow the port change automatically.

All the scripts have a sleep timer, this is because audio levels will be applied after switching, resulting in a pop noise, 0.1 worked for me, play around with it

Step 4: Make it executable and test

chmod +x ~/.local/bin/switch-audio.sh
./switch-audio.sh

Open something that's playing audio before testing, so you can confirm streams follow the switch.

Step 5: Assign a keyboard shortcut in System Settings

System Settings → Keyboard → Shortcuts → Add New → Command or Script...

Set the Command to the full path: /home/yourusername/.local/bin/switch-audio.sh (the shortcut daemon may not expand tilde correctly.)
Click + Add... and press your desired key combination (e.g. Meta+A)
Click Apply

Troubleshooting

Script works in terminal but not from shortcut: use full paths to any binaries if needed (/usr/bin/pactl).

notify-send shows nothing: on some setups notify-send needs DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS set. Add this near the top of your script:

export DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS="unix:path=/run/user/$(id -u)/bus"

Bluetooth sink not appearing: Bluetooth sinks only exist in PipeWire/PulseAudio while the device is connected. The cycle script above will skip gracefully if a sink isn't present only if you add a connectivity check; otherwise it will fall through to index 0. If you rely on Bluetooth in the rotation, add a check with pactl list short sinks | grep -q "$TARGET" before setting it.

Fastfetch

https://github.com/fastfetch-cli/fastfetch/wiki
https://github.com/fastfetch-cli/fastfetch/tree/dev/presets
https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/mybash/blob/main/config.jsonc
fastfetch-cli/fastfetch#1040 (comment)
https://www.asciiart.eu/
fastfetch-cli/fastfetch#1847

Bash

A command listed in .bashrc will run at terminal start.
https://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/howto-linux-unix-bash-shell-setup-prompt.html
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2518127/how-to-reload-bashrc-settings-without-logging-out-and-back-in-again
https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/100959/how-can-i-change-my-bash-prompt-to-show-my-working-directory
https://askubuntu.com/questions/1792/how-can-i-suspend-hibernate-from-command-line
https://superuser.com/questions/402246/bash-can-i-set-ctrl-backspace-to-delete-the-word-backward
https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/mybash/blob/main/.bashrc
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/71459823/how-to-change-the-terminal-title-to-currently-running-process
https://misc.flogisoft.com/bash/tip_colors_and_formatting
https://medium.com/@adamtowers/how-to-customize-your-terminal-and-bash-profile-from-scratch-9ab079256380

Grub

Regenerate grub.cfg with:

sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Generate font file:

grub-mkfont --output=outfile.pf2 --size=16 infile.ttf

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/oOYllO - background
https://www.gnome-look.org/p/1009236 - icons (shutdown and restart have been made a bit bigger), and the bottom infobar
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/GRUB#Dual-booting
https://www.gnu.org/software/grub/manual/grub/html_node/Theme-file-format.html
https://daulton.ca/2018/08/reboot-and-shutdown-options-grub/
https://askubuntu.com/questions/1513639/how-to-load-custom-fonts-in-a-grub-theme
os-prober and grub customizer died for me

No longer used

Alacritty

https://github.com/TwiggieSmallz/Default-Alacritty-TOML-Config/blob/main/alacritty.toml
alacritty/alacritty#8494 - scrollbar pr, probably not happening, why I use Konsole

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 128 Commits
boot/grub/themes/my-theme		boot/grub/themes/my-theme
etc		etc
home/$USER		home/$USER
README.md		README.md

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Guides & References

Step 1: Understand your setup: sinks vs. ports

Step 2: Find the exact names

Step 3: Create the script

Option A: Toggle between two sinks

Option B: Cycle through more than two sinks

Option C: Switch ports (single sink, multiple ports)

Step 4: Make it executable and test

Step 5: Assign a keyboard shortcut in System Settings

Troubleshooting

Alacritty

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Guides & References

Step 1: Understand your setup: sinks vs. ports

Step 2: Find the exact names

Step 3: Create the script

Option A: Toggle between two sinks

Option B: Cycle through more than two sinks

Option C: Switch ports (single sink, multiple ports)

Step 4: Make it executable and test

Step 5: Assign a keyboard shortcut in System Settings

Troubleshooting

Alacritty

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