A content/articles/void-xfce.md

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+---
+title: "Modernizing XFCE"
+date: 2023-02-05T16:58:16+01:00
+tags: [foss,advice]
+---
+
+This article is more of a memo for myself. Since I often re-install Linux systems, I spend a lot of time doing repetitive tasks and often forget some steps, which leads me to waste even more time figuring out what's wrong.
+
+These instructions allow you to get a fully functional and modern-looking XFCE desktop on a fresh install of [Void Linux]() (even though they can be adapted to work in any distro).
+
+## Initial system update
+First thing I tried was to update the system, but the ISO was quite old. I had to update `xbps` before anything else:
+
+```
+sudo xbps-install -u xbps
+sudo xbps-install -Su
+```
+
+## Avoid session saving
+One thing I hate about XFCE is its fixation to save sessions. A lot of times I get my session saved and restored even with all settings turned off.
+
+A quick and easy solution to disable session saving entirely is just to create an empty file in place of the `sessions` directory.
+```
+rm ~/.cache/sessions
+touch ~/.cache/sessions
+```
+
+This way, even with everything turned on, XFCE fails create a folder with that name and everything works (or doesn't, in this case) like a charm.
+
+## Change that shell
+Your shell is the main tool you use to communicate with your system, so it makes sense to replace `bash` with something more modern and feature-rich.
+
+```
+sudo xbps-install -S zsh zsh-completions curl
+chsh -s /bin/zsh
+zsh
+curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/zimfw/install/master/install.zsh | zsh
+```
+
+## Get some good sound quality
+I don't like `pulseaudio`. Let's replace it with `pipewire` and `wireplumber`.
+
+```
+su
+xbps-install pipewire wireplumber
+mkdir -p /etc/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d
+sed '/path.*=.*pipewire-media-session/s/{/#{/' /usr/share/pipewire/pipewire.conf > /etc/pipewire/pipewire.conf
+echo 'context.exec = [ { path = "/usr/bin/wireplumber" args = "" } ]' > /etc/pipewire/pipewire.conf.d/10-wireplumber.conf
+ln -s /usr/share/applications/pipewire* /etc/xdg/autostart
+xbps-remove pulseaudio alsa-plugins-pulseaudio
+reboot
+```
+
+## Make Firefox more secure
+I like Firefox as a browser, but it doesn't come with sane defaults as far as privacy's concerned.
+
+First, visit [Firefox Profilemaker](https://ffprofile.com/) and create a customized `profile.zip`.
+
+Then, extract your zip file to the correct destination:
+```
+sudo xbps-install zip unzip p7zip xarchiver thunar-archive-plugin
+unzip -o ~/Downloads/profile.zip -d ~/.mozilla/firefox/xxxxxxxx.default-default/
+```
+
+Some useful extensions I always install are:
+- [Bitwarden](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/bitwarden-password-manager), a password manager;
+- [Decentraleyes](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/decentraleyes), to serve common JS libraries locally;
+- [I still don't care about cookies](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/istilldontcareaboutcookies), to hide and auto-reject cookie warnings;
+- [LibRedirect](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/libredirect), a redirector for [alternative front-ends](https://github.com/mendel5/alternative-front-ends);
+- [SponsorBlock](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/sponsorblock), to skip YouTube sponsorships automagically;
+- [uBlock Origin](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin), the best ad-blocker.
+
+## Customize your DE
+
+Install the last required packages for desktop usability:
+```
+sudo xbps-install -S xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin xfce4-clipman-plugin xfce4-pulseaudio-plugin xfce4-screenshooter xclip micro neovim mpv yt-dlp
+```
+
+Remove orphaned and cached packages:
+```
+sudo xbps-remove -Oo
+```
+
+Now, open XFCE's Settings Manager and set the following options:
+- Appearance → Style → Choose "Adwaita-dark"
+- Desktop → Background → _<Choose your favorite wallpaper>_
+- Desktop → Icons → Set "Icon type" to "None"
+- Panel → _<Customize your panels>_
+- Screensaver → Disable "Enable Screensaver"
+- Text Editor Settings → Enable:
+    - "Show line numbers",
+    - "Highlight matching brackets",
+    - "Wrap long lines"
+- Window Manager → Style → Button layout → Remove "Shade" button from title bar
+- Window Manager → Advanced → Windows snapping → Enable "To other windows"
+- Window Manager → Advanced → Wrap workspaces when reaching the screen edge → Disable "With a dragged window"
+- Window Manager Tweaks → Cycling → Enable:
+    - "Cycle through minimized windows in most recently used order",
+    - "Cycle through windows on all workspaces",
+    - "Raise windows while cycling"
+- Window Manager Tweaks → Accessibility → Disable:
+    - "Raise windows when any mouse button is pressed",
+    - "Use mouse wheel on title bar to roll up the window"
+- Window Manager Tweaks → Accessibility → Enable "Notify of urgency by making window's decoration blink"
+- Window Manager Tweaks → Compositor → Enable "Show shadows under popup windows"
+- Xfce Terminal Settings → General → Scrolling → Set "Scrollbar is" to "Disabled"
+- Xfce Terminal Settings → Appearance →
+    - enable "Use system font",
+    - set "Background" to "Transparent background",
+    - set Opacity to 0.80;
+- Xfce Terminal Settings → Colors → Presets → Choose "Tango"
+- Keyboard → Behavior → Enable "Restore num lock state on startup"
+
+
+## Shortcuts
+Finally, set the following shortcuts:
+- Keyboard → Application Shortcuts
+
+| Command                                                                   | Shortcut                |
+|---------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------|
+| `exo-open --launch TerminalEmulator`                                      | `Super` + `Return`      |
+| `xfce4-popup-whiskermenu`                                                 | `Super`                 |
+| `xfce4-screenshooter --clipboard --region`                                | `Shift` + `Super` + `S` |
+| `xfce4-screenshooter --clipboard --window`                                | `Shift` + `S`           |
+| `xfce4-screenshooter --clipboard --fullscreen`                            | `Print`                 |
+| `sh -c 'xclip -selection clipboard -t image/png -o > "$HOME/Pictures/$(date +%Y-%m-%d_%T).png"'` | `Shift` + `Super` + `V` |
+| `xflock4`                                                                 | `Super` + `L`           |
+| `loginctl suspend`                                                        | `Shift` + `Super` + `L` |