From cd34d0e9d7d7c34a10bd73ae075daa0db6d6ba98 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Alfonso S. Siciliano" Date: Thu, 9 Apr 2026 02:12:02 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 1/6] Add desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc Status Report --- .../desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc | 40 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 40 insertions(+) create mode 100644 website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc diff --git a/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc b/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc new file mode 100644 index 00000000000..11a73b0c26f --- /dev/null +++ b/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +=== Desktop Script for BSDInstall + +Links: + +link:https://github.com/FreeBSDFoundation/proj-laptop/issues/25[Laptop Support and Usability Project Task] URL: link:https://github.com/FreeBSDFoundation/proj-laptop/issues/25[] + +link:https://gitlab.com/alfix/kde-installer-dialogs[Project repository] URL: link:https://gitlab.com/alfix/kde-installer-dialogs[] + +Contact: Alfonso Sabato Siciliano + +In the past, I developed several shell scripts with graphical interfaces to install and configure a complete desktop environment on my laptop. +These interfaces allowed users to select their preferred options. One script in particular included GPU drivers, desktop environments, and tools for both laptops and desktop systems. +These projects are still available in public online repositories, but they are now likely obsolete, as they have not been used or maintained for several years. + +Recently, the FreeBSD Foundation launched the Laptop Support and Usability Project. +One of the short-term goals of this project is to provide a simple feature in bsdinstall(8), the FreeBSD system installer, to install and configure a graphical environment. +The installer should ask users whether they want to install a desktop environment and, if so, automatically install and configure everything needed with minimal or no user intervention. After reboot, users should be presented with a KDE Plasma graphical login screen. + +To implement this feature, I reused one of my previous scripts as a proof of concept. +It has been updated, simplified, and renamed to _desktop_. +The script installs and configures GPU drivers, Xorg, KDE Plasma, and SDDM. +Based on the feedback received, I introduced several improvements over the original version: + +* Automatic GPU detection with a suggested video driver, since some users selected the wrong GPU during testing. + This is particularly important as the script targets less experienced users. +* Addition of dialog-based messages to provide information, documentation, and error reporting. +* Extra features and menus to allow users to choose certain configurations. + +In the future, depending on user interest and feedback, support can be extended to additional desktop environments and tools. + +One of the main challenges was the wide variety of supported GPUs. +For this reason, I launched a call for testing, involving the community through a script to be executed on an already installed system. +The feedback and suggestions received were very positive and valuable. +Contributions are still welcome, especially for: + +* NVIDIA Optimus with recent GPUs. +* Systems with non-amd64 architectures. + +A version of the script was later adapted for integration into bsdinstall(8) and into an installation ISO. +After successful testing on both CURRENT and STABLE, a review has been submitted to add the _desktop_ script to bsdinstall(8): link:https://reviews.freebsd.org/D56167[D56167]. + +Sponsor: The FreeBSD Foundation From 598a164163eadb7eac3253244dc65f189dad4d52 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Alfonso S. Siciliano" Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:15:54 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 2/6] Update website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc Co-authored-by: Lorenzo Salvadore --- .../report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc b/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc index 11a73b0c26f..dc3839e9f33 100644 --- a/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc +++ b/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc @@ -35,6 +35,6 @@ Contributions are still welcome, especially for: * Systems with non-amd64 architectures. A version of the script was later adapted for integration into bsdinstall(8) and into an installation ISO. -After successful testing on both CURRENT and STABLE, a review has been submitted to add the _desktop_ script to bsdinstall(8): link:https://reviews.freebsd.org/D56167[D56167]. +After successful testing on both CURRENT and STABLE, a review has been submitted to add the _desktop_ script to bsdinstall: link:https://reviews.freebsd.org/D56167[D56167]. Sponsor: The FreeBSD Foundation From 621ba04475cb37e8924439f0be941c9e0002ba24 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Alfonso S. Siciliano" Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:16:06 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 3/6] Update website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc Co-authored-by: Lorenzo Salvadore --- .../report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc b/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc index dc3839e9f33..481cc8978d3 100644 --- a/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc +++ b/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc @@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ These interfaces allowed users to select their preferred options. One script in These projects are still available in public online repositories, but they are now likely obsolete, as they have not been used or maintained for several years. Recently, the FreeBSD Foundation launched the Laptop Support and Usability Project. -One of the short-term goals of this project is to provide a simple feature in bsdinstall(8), the FreeBSD system installer, to install and configure a graphical environment. +One of the short-term goals of this project is to provide a simple feature in man:bsdinstall[8], the FreeBSD system installer, to install and configure a graphical environment. The installer should ask users whether they want to install a desktop environment and, if so, automatically install and configure everything needed with minimal or no user intervention. After reboot, users should be presented with a KDE Plasma graphical login screen. To implement this feature, I reused one of my previous scripts as a proof of concept. From 98ce90fe78ba4ddddd87be99628628f3e2d9ef38 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Alfonso S. Siciliano" Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:16:15 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 4/6] Update website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc Co-authored-by: Lorenzo Salvadore --- .../report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc | 3 ++- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc b/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc index 481cc8978d3..6edfe0e9dec 100644 --- a/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc +++ b/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc @@ -7,7 +7,8 @@ link:https://gitlab.com/alfix/kde-installer-dialogs[Project repository] URL: lin Contact: Alfonso Sabato Siciliano In the past, I developed several shell scripts with graphical interfaces to install and configure a complete desktop environment on my laptop. -These interfaces allowed users to select their preferred options. One script in particular included GPU drivers, desktop environments, and tools for both laptops and desktop systems. +These interfaces allowed users to select their preferred options. +One script in particular included GPU drivers, desktop environments, and tools for both laptops and desktop systems. These projects are still available in public online repositories, but they are now likely obsolete, as they have not been used or maintained for several years. Recently, the FreeBSD Foundation launched the Laptop Support and Usability Project. From 0c2b4bbb7911416de8b121ecb18f37236b0af68f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Alfonso S. Siciliano" Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:16:24 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 5/6] Update website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc Co-authored-by: Lorenzo Salvadore --- .../report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc | 3 ++- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc b/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc index 6edfe0e9dec..2f4dee1a4ad 100644 --- a/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc +++ b/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc @@ -13,7 +13,8 @@ These projects are still available in public online repositories, but they are n Recently, the FreeBSD Foundation launched the Laptop Support and Usability Project. One of the short-term goals of this project is to provide a simple feature in man:bsdinstall[8], the FreeBSD system installer, to install and configure a graphical environment. -The installer should ask users whether they want to install a desktop environment and, if so, automatically install and configure everything needed with minimal or no user intervention. After reboot, users should be presented with a KDE Plasma graphical login screen. +The installer should ask users whether they want to install a desktop environment and, if so, automatically install and configure everything needed with minimal or no user intervention. +After reboot, users should be presented with a KDE Plasma graphical login screen. To implement this feature, I reused one of my previous scripts as a proof of concept. It has been updated, simplified, and renamed to _desktop_. From 6a382af34b4eadd108bed71e04e8372556b75a6e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: "Alfonso S. Siciliano" Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2026 11:16:34 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 6/6] Update website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc Co-authored-by: Lorenzo Salvadore --- .../report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc b/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc index 2f4dee1a4ad..d931b556134 100644 --- a/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc +++ b/website/content/en/status/report-2026-01-2026-03/desktop-script-bsdinstall.adoc @@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ Contributions are still welcome, especially for: * NVIDIA Optimus with recent GPUs. * Systems with non-amd64 architectures. -A version of the script was later adapted for integration into bsdinstall(8) and into an installation ISO. +A version of the script was later adapted for integration into bsdinstall and into an installation ISO. After successful testing on both CURRENT and STABLE, a review has been submitted to add the _desktop_ script to bsdinstall: link:https://reviews.freebsd.org/D56167[D56167]. Sponsor: The FreeBSD Foundation