HuHa's SUSE tips

License: GNU Free Documentation License

(considerably less than the Ubuntu counterpart because I've been using SUSE for so long that most things in a SUSE environment come natural to me)

Getting a freshly installed SUSE up and running

Install bare minimum tools

sudo zypper in mmv zsh emacs
sudo zypper in exif exiftool exiftran jhead id3v2
sudo zypper in qt5ct

Add the PackMan repo, then

sudo zypper in vlc

If your machine has a DVD drive and you want to watch video DVDs, add the libdvdcss community repo, then

sudo zypper in libdvdcss2

Allow 'sudo' without password for yourself:

sudo visudo

Add those lines at the end of the file (AFTER any include):

myusername  ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL
Defaults !log_allowed
Defaults env_keep = "DISPLAY QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME LANG LC_ADDRESS LC_CTYPE LC_COLLATE LC_IDENTIFICATION LC_MEASUREMENT LC_MESSAGES LC_MONETARY LC_NAME LC_NUMERIC LC_PAPER LC_TELEPHONE LC_TIME LC_ALL LANGUAGE LINGUAS XDG_SESSION_COOKIE"

Replace myusername with your real user name, of course.

Alternative to the env_keep line: Add

Defaults    !env_reset

Explanation:

The first line allows you to use sudo without entering the password all the time.

Notice that SUSE needs you to enter the root password, for Ubuntu / Debian you need to enter your normal user account's password.
The !log_allowed line does not write every succesful sudo command to the log; which by itself is a severe privacy intrusion.
The env_keep line lists those environment variables to keep while invoking a command with sudo. By the (maybe more secure, but extremely user-unfriendly) defaults, it simply deletes them all, so you can't even do basic things with X11 or Qt programs. So we added DISPLAY and QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME here. The others are copied form the original line somewhere in the middle of the file.
The alternative !env_reset line doesn't delete the environment variables in the first place, but it might open up other security holes with environment variables that you might not even think of.

Alternative: Disable 'sudo' logging

sudo visudo

Add line

Defaults !syslog, !pam_session

Alternatively:

Just for user 'kilroy':

Defaults: kilroy !syslog, !pam_session

Just don't log successful sudo commands (this will still log the sudo session start and and the UID):

Defaults !log_allowed

Disable forced NumLock

Whoever came up with the brain-dead idea to force this to "on" should be shot!

sudo zypper rm numlockx
sudo zypper addlock numlockx

Get a usable font size for Qt programs

sudo zypper in qt5ct

Add to ~root/.bashrc:

export QT_QPA_PLATFORMTHEME=qt5ct

Source that file for using right now: As root:

. ~root/.bashrc

Configure the Qt look and feel: As root:

qt5ct

The result is stored in ~root/.config/qt5ct.

Install the Opera Browser

No need to add an extra repo; Opera is available from the Leap Non-OSS repo.

sudo zypper in opera

But adding the extra codecs from Chromium is strongly advised. Add the PackMan community repo, then

sudo zypper in chromium-ffmpeg-extra

Keeping Opera and Codecs in sync

Notice that the codecs need to match the chrome engine that this version of Opera was built against. Sometimes it is advisable to lock both packages because they might get updates out of sync with each other.

In Opera, use the "Help" menu -> "About Opera" to check the Chromium version. That's the version of chromium-ffmpeg-extra that should definitely work.

If the versions don't match, consider locking and unlocking both packages to update both when matching versions are available:

sudo zypper addlock opera chromium-ffmpeg-extra

and

sudo zypper removelock opera chromium-ffmpeg-extra

Check with

sudo zypper ll

Notice that in Leap, sometimes you also have to lock specific patches that bring an Opera update; but if the codes don't also get an update, you'll get a dysfunctional Opera: Some web videos simply won't play. That typically affects YouTube (some videos, not all), Facebook, Twitter.

Always check with

zypper lp

or

zypper lp | grep opera

if a patch would update Opera.

Switch off Annoying Emojis on Opera Tabs

Edit the launcher (the .desktop file) on your desktop (right-click, then "Properties", switch to the "Launcher" tab) end add to the opera command line:

--with-feature:tab-art=off

(Found somewhere in an Opera user forum, NOT on any official Opera web site)

Making this the default is annoying enough, but not giving the user the possibility to disable this is adding insult to injury.

This is one more step in all the enshittification that Opera has undergone in recent years. Simply stop adding more and more bullshit that nobody wants! Colored smileys that just get in the way when you want something as simple as closing a tab, really? What is this, built-in Candy Crush? What are they thinking?!

Change Default Browser for URL Handling

Symptom: Hyperlinks (http, https) are opened in Firefox, not in your favourite browser. In this example: Opera.

Make sure that your favourite browser is selected as the default in your desktop. In Xfce:

Settings -> Default Applications -> Web Browser

Find the .desktop file for that browser from its package file list. For Opera:

rpm -ql opera | grep '\.desktop'

/usr/share/applications/com.opera.opera.desktop

Check what handler is currently used for the relevant MIME types:
- x-scheme-handler/https
- x-scheme-handler/http
with:
```
 xdg-mime query default x-scheme-handler/https
 xdg-mime query default x-scheme-handler/http
```

Set your favourite browser as the new handler:

xdg-mime default com.opera.opera.desktop x-scheme-handler/https
xdg-mime default com.opera.opera.desktop x-scheme-handler/http

Check the new handler:

xdg-mime query default x-scheme-handler/https
xdg-mime query default x-scheme-handler/http

Notice that just setting the MIME association text/html to that browser might not work.

Firefox

Don't Quit Firefox when Closing the Last Tab

Go to about:config, search for closeWindow and change

browser.tabs.closeWindowWithLastTab

to false.

X11 Mouse Pointer Grabs

Use Ctrl + Alt + NumPad/ to stop a grabbed X11 mouse pointer.

If that doesn't work, check with xev (sudo zypper in xev) if that key combination indeed sends the XF86Ungrab key symbol.

Disable Web Pages Confirmation Popup when Closing

Go to about:config, search for dom.disable_beforeunload, change to false.

-> No more impertinent asking by web pages such as YouTube's comment history if you are sure you want to leave the page.

None of your fucking business, YouTube! I am the boss on my machine, not some impertinent web programmer!

Xfce Desktop

Usable Font Size on Full HD Laptop

14" Laptops with a 1920x1200 or 1920x1080 resolution have 160 dpi, but setting that is too much: Fonts become huge, and you'd have to select a 7 or 8 point font which does not leave any room for smaller fonts on the desktop etc., and UI elements in Gtk become too large.

Workaround: Select 128 dpi instead of the real 160 dpi.

Go to Settings -> Appearance -> Tab "Fonts", check "Custom DPI setting", enter "128", then select the fonts you like.

On my laptop, I have "Sans Regular 9.5" (yes, you can enter fractional numbers here) and "Monospace Regular 9".

Don't forget:

-The xfce4-terminal settings: Context menu -> "Preferences" -> Tab "Appearance"; "Dejavu Sans Mono Book 9" is a good choice.

The desktop settings: Right-click on the desktop, "Desktop Settings", tab "Icons"; if you have "Use custom font size", an 8 point font is a good choice here.
"Settings" -> "Window Manager" -> tab "style"; "Title font" -> "Sans Regular 9".
Firefox fonts
Thunderbird fonts
Qt programs (qt5ct; see that section here)

The larger UI elements are also used by Firefox and Thunderbird.

Xfce NumLock State

Open Settings -> Keyboard -> Tab "Behavior"
Set or unset "Restore num lock state on startup"

Or check with:

xfconf-query -c keyboards -lv

Get Rid of Duplicate SysTray Icons

xfce4-panel --restart

Open Desktop Folder Links in a New Window in PcManFM

Open Settings -> Default Applications -> Tab "Utilities"
Combo box "File Manager" -> "Other"
Select "pcmanfm" and add option -n (/usr/bin/pcmanfm -n "%s")

Install Additional Xfce Packages

sudo zypper in xfce4-places-plugin xfce4-cpugraph-plugin xfce4-mount-plugin xfce4-systemload-plugin
sudo zypper in xfwm4-themes

Check out xfwm4-theme-*.

For laptops:

sudo zypper in xfce4-battery-plugin

Personal preference: Replace xfce4-*-branding-openSUSE with xfce4-*-branding-upstream.

Change Tiny Bootloader and Console Font

Change Grub Font

Create a .pf2 font in the size you like from a True Type Font (ttf):

sudo grub2-mkfont -s 24 -o /boot/grub2/deja.pf2 \
  /usr/share/fonts/truetype/DejaVuSansMono.ttf

Add that font to /etc/grub.d/00_header:

sudo vi /etc/grub.d/00_header

GRUB_FONT=/boot/grub2/deja.pf2

Disable graphical booting and restore plain text mode for Grub:

sudo vi /etc/default/grub

and comment out the lines with those variables:

# GRUB_TERMINAL="gfxterm"
# GRUB_GFXMODE="auto"
# GRUB_THEME=...

Build a complete grub.cfg from all the snippets in /etc/grub.d:

sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

Change Console Font

Install the terminus-bitmap-fonts:

sudo zypper in terminus-bitmap-fonts

Check the available fonts in that package with

rpm -ql terminus-bitmap-fonts | grep console

To preview the font, change to a text console (Ctrl-Alt-F1) and enter

setfont ter-v24b

Configure an appropriate font:

sudo vi /etc/vconsole.conf

FONT=ter-v24b.psfu

(original: FONT=eurlatgr.psfu) See also man vconsole.conf.

Add this font as a default kernel parameter:

sudo vi /etc/default/grub

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="... vconsole.font=ter-v24b.psfu ..."

and recreate the grub configuration:

sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg

Kernel and kernel modules

Compile your own NVidia driver

echo "blacklist nouveau" >> /etc/modprobe.d/50-blacklist.conf

Add kernel command parameter:

nouveau.modeset=0

Disable kernel module at Grub2 prompt

At Grub2 prompt: Select entry to boot, then hit 'e' (edit)
Add to the kernel command line:
```
brokenmodules=nouveau
```
Boot that boot entry with F10
After boot: Check /etc/modprobe.d/50-blacklist.conf

Ignore a Disk / Block Device

echo 1 >/sys/block/sdX/device/delete

ssh

Can't ssh as root Anymore

This affects mostly openSUSE Tumbleweed since mid-2021.

Log in to that remote machine as a normal user
Edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config (notice the d! not /etc/ssh/ssh_config, /etc/ssh/sshd_config!) with root privileges:
```
ssh mynormaluser@mytumbleweed
cd /etc/ssh
sudo vi sshd_config
```
Add
```
PermitRootLogin  yes
```
Make sure to add it at the very end of the file to avoid any include files overriding your explicitly requested change again. They love to do that (also in /etc/sudoers).

Disabling this by default is considered a security "feature" by those who keep making everything more and more unusable for people actually trying to work with Linux machines.

They also make work pretty much impossible for system-level Linux developers who need to work with virtual machines, so they need root access to their VMs really frequently. Fiddling with ssh keys etc. is not a viable option here; this is much too complicated and too error-prone to set up.

I am the boss on my machine, and I get root access to VMs on it whenever I please. Do you read me, security folks? The same applies to all my machines in my home network.

It's nobody's business to make life even harder for users even in their home networks where nobody can log in from the outside to begin with. All you do is encourage people to migrate to BSD or to MacOS X or back to Windows.

X11 / Desktop

Don't Boot Systemd into Graphical Login

If X11 or Wayland don't work, boot into a text mode login. From the Grub prompt:

systemd.unit=multi-user.target

Get Rid of Ever-Growing ~/.xsession-errors

Symptom

The .xsession-errors file in your home directory keeps growing and growing (it can easily exceed 150+ MB).

Background Information

Most of that are pointless Gtk+ errors that you can't do anything about anyway; that toolkit just appears to be changing all the time with application developers never being able to catch up, so it clutters stderr with all kinds of errors and warnings which for X11 applications end up in ~/.xsession-errors, cluttering your home directory and filling up your disk.

Quick Fix

echo >~/.xsession-errors

Do not just remove it:

rm ~/.xsession-errors     # WRONG!

This would still keep the disk space allocated because active processes (your X server!) are still keeping that file open, so it would just disappear from the directory, but the disk blocks are only freed once the last process keeping it open exits. If you keep your X11 session running, this will not have any effect.

Don't worry if shortly after the echo >~/.xsession-errors command it keeps coming back; it is now just a sparse file that allocates only disk space for new messages, i.e. whenever the next message is written to the file, it appends to the file, but it leaves the disk blocks at the start of the file untouched and unallocated.

It is still most annoying, though.

More Permanent Fix

cd /etc/X11/xdm
sudo vi Xsesssion

Locate that block

#
# Redirect errors to the standard user log files.
#

for errfile in "${HOME}/.xsession-errors" \
               "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/xerr-${USER}-${DISPLAY}"
do
    stderr=$(readlink -fs /dev/stderr)
    ...
    ...
    ...
done
unset tmpfile errfile

The safest thing is to comment that block out completely. After it, add

exec >/dev/null
exec 2>/dev/null

This just redirects both stdout and stderr of that process (the X session) to /dev/null without cluttering your home directory.

Restart X11.
You can now safely delete the old .xsession-error file(s):

rm ~/.xsession-error*

They should not come back.

Since /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession is a config file, the change should survive package updates. That file is not only used by XDM, but also by LightDM (tested and verified).

Not sure if it also works with KDM and GDM (please let me know), but if not, they should have an equivalent file where you can change the error log file.

Package management

Allow vendor change in Zypper

https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Vendor_change_update

sudo vi /etc/zypp/zypp.conf

Add

solver.allowVendorChange = true

Disable Delta RPMs

If your Internet connection is fast, but delta RPMs take a long time to apply, simply tell zypper to download the complete new RPM instead of just a delta and apply the delta to the old RPM:

sudo vi /etc/zypp/zypp.conf

Locate this line, uncomment it and set the value to false:

download.use_deltarpm = false

Manually Updating

Leap

sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper lp
sudo zypper patch

(lp is equivalent to list-patches)

Tumbleweed

sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper dup -dRy
sudo zypper dup -dRy

(-dRy is equivalent to --download-only --no-force-resolution --no-confirm)

until nothing is downloaded anymore; then:

sudo zypper dup

Downloading all pending updates before actually applying them minimizes the risk of getting into an inconsistent state where some packages were updated, some were not, and some may already be available again in an even newer version.

VPN

zypper in NetworkManager-openvpn

Disable Automatic Daily Updates Check

Configuring that only in the Xfce/GNOME systray applet has no effect:

That applet will STILL alert you at the most inconvenient times. And it will never realize when you already did today's updates manually (still screaming its ALARM!! at you); and when you use the GNOME PackageKit app, that thing will always be in a totally antisocial fullscreen mode (which cannot be configured away), so you have to resize it manually to a reasonable size to make your computer usable while it is running.

It's much better to update manually (see previous section) when it's convenient for you, not at some random time when some systemd timer runs out, and then that alarm icon keeps nagging you in the systray.

So, disable that timer-based auto-update with:

sudo systemctl disable packagekit-background.timer

Check with:

sudo systemctl status packagekit-background.timer

Check all related systemd units:

sudo systemctl list-unit-files "packagekit*"

The units are defined in /usr/lib/systemd/system/packagekit* or (if there are user-defined ones) in /etc/systemd/.

Zypper Documentation

How-To:

https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:Zypper_usage

SLES Manual:

https://documentation.suse.com/sles/15-SP1/html/SLES-all/cha-sw-cl.html#sec-zypper https://documentation.suse.com/sles/15-SP1/html/SLES-all/cha-upgrade-online.html#sec-upgrade-online-zypper-plain

Expand an RPM Macro

The macros used in .spec files are defined in /usr/lib/rpm and its subdirectories.

To see a specific one expanded, e.g. _sbindir:

rpm -E '%{_sbindir}'

or

rpm --eval '%{_sbindir}'

Applications

Change Thunderbird "Trash" folder

cd ~/.thunderbird/*.default
vi prefs.js

Add for the correct (!) account:

user_pref("mail.server.server4.trash_folder_name", "Gelöscht");

Fix Emacs complains about:

** (emacs:6834): WARNING **: Couldn't register with accessibility bus: Did not
   receive a reply. Possible causes include: the remote application did not
   send a reply, the message bus security policy blocked the reply, the reply
   timeout expired, or the network connection was broken.

Fix:

export NO_AT_BRIDGE=1

Truncate or wrap long lines in Emacs

M-x toggle-truncate-lines

Removable media

Assign volume label to VFAT partition / USB stick:

fatlabel /dev/sdc1 'MyLabel'

(from package dosfstools)

Alternative:

sudo mlabel -i /dev/sdc1 ::'MYLABEL'

Caution: This forces the label to be uppercase.

Time Zones

GUI: Use YaST

YaST lets you select your time zone from a world map:

sudo yast2 timezone

Text-driven menu: tzselect

[sh @ balrog-tw-dev] ~ 7 % sudo tzselect

Please identify a location so that time zone rules can be set correctly.
Please select a continent, ocean, "coord", or "TZ".
 1) Africa
 2) Americas
 3) Antarctica
 4) Asia
 5) Atlantic Ocean
 6) Australia
 7) Europe
 8) Indian Ocean
 9) Pacific Ocean
10) coord - I want to use geographical coordinates.
11) TZ - I want to specify the timezone using the Posix TZ format.
#? 7

Please select a country whose clocks agree with yours.
 1) Albania		  18) Hungary		    35) Portugal
 2) Andorra		  19) Ireland		    36) Romania
 3) Austria		  20) Isle of Man	    37) Russia
 4) Belarus		  21) Italy		    38) San Marino
 5) Belgium		  22) Jersey		    39) Serbia
 6) Bosnia & Herzegovina  23) Latvia		    40) Slovakia
 7) Bulgaria		  24) Liechtenstein	    41) Slovenia
 8) Croatia		  25) Lithuania		    42) Spain
 9) Czech Republic	  26) Luxembourg	    43) Svalbard & Jan Mayen
10) Denmark		  27) Malta		    44) Sweden
11) Estonia		  28) Moldova		    45) Switzerland
12) Finland		  29) Monaco		    46) Turkey
13) France		  30) Montenegro	    47) Ukraine
14) Germany		  31) Netherlands	    48) United Kingdom
15) Gibraltar		  32) North Macedonia	    49) Vatican City
16) Greece		  33) Norway		    50) Åland Islands
17) Guernsey		  34) Poland
#? 14

Please select one of the following timezones.
1) Swiss time
2) Germany (most areas)
#? 2

The following information has been given:

	Germany
	Germany (most areas)

Therefore TZ='Europe/Berlin' will be used.
Selected time is now:	Di 19. Okt 16:32:42 CEST 2021.
Universal Time is now:	Di 19. Okt 14:32:42 UTC 2021.
Is the above information OK?
1) Yes
2) No
#?

Command line: zic

sudo zic -l Europe/Berlin