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How to use KDE Plasma on openRuyi

This article explains how to install, log in to, and customize the KDE Plasma desktop session on openRuyi. KDE Plasma is a full-featured desktop environment. On openRuyi, it is provided as a complete KDE Plasma environment by the openruyi-desktop-setup-kde package.

Installation​

If you are using an image that does not come with the desktop environment preinstalled, run the following command to install it:

sudo dnf install sddm openruyi-desktop-setup-kde

Then restart the display manager so that the new session becomes available:

sudo systemctl restart sddm
Warning

Restarting SDDM closes any graphical session that is currently running. Save your work before running the command.

Installing openruyi-desktop-setup-kde brings in the Plasma workspace and the core applications it depends on, including:

  • plasma-workspace, plasma-desktop, and plasma-session, which provide the desktop services, the panel, and the session management.

  • systemsettings, the configuration application of Plasma.

  • konsole and dolphin, the terminal emulator and the file manager.

A few additional applications, such as discover, falkon, and mpv, are recommended rather than required. They are installed by default, and you may skip them with --setopt=install_weak_deps=False if you prefer a smaller installation.

Log In​

Select the Plasma session in SDDM and log in. openRuyi runs Plasma on Wayland by default.

Customization​

System Settings​

Most of the Plasma desktop is customized through the graphical System Settings application, which you can launch from the application launcher or by running systemsettings. Appearance, panels, window behavior, keyboard shortcuts, displays, and input devices are all configured there, and the changes are written to the configuration files described below.

Configuration files​

Plasma follows the XDG configuration layout. The system-wide preset configuration files are located in the /etc/xdg/ directory, and the per-user configuration files are located in the ~/.config/ directory.

Note

Configuration files in the user directory take precedence over the system-wide preset files, so they are the ones that take effect.

The ~/.config/ directory usually contains the following files:

  • kdeglobals

    Defines the settings shared by all KDE applications, such as fonts, the color scheme, the icon theme, and the single-click or double-click behavior.

  • kwinrc

    Defines the behavior of KWin, the Plasma window manager and compositor, including window decorations, virtual desktops, tiling, and desktop effects.

  • plasma-org.kde.plasma.desktop-appletsrc

    Defines the layout of the desktop and the panels, such as which widgets are present, where the panels are placed, and how they are sized.

  • plasmarc

    Defines the Plasma theme and the general look and feel of the shell.

  • kglobalshortcutsrc

    Defines the global keyboard shortcuts, such as the ones used to launch applications or to switch between virtual desktops.

Editing these files by hand is possible, but a running session may overwrite them when it exits. Change them either while no Plasma session is running, or with the kwriteconfig6 command, which is the supported way to script configuration changes:

kwriteconfig6 --file kdeglobals --group General --key ColorScheme BreezeDark

The matching kreadconfig6 command reads a value back:

kreadconfig6 --file kdeglobals --group General --key ColorScheme

Autostart​

Programs or scripts that should be executed automatically when the session starts are configured in System Settings → Autostart, which writes desktop entries to the ~/.config/autostart/ directory.

Scripts that need to run before the desktop shell starts, such as the ones setting environment variables for an input method, should be placed in the ~/.config/plasma-workspace/env/ directory instead.

Wallpaper​

The openRuyi wallpapers are installed in the /usr/share/wallpapers/ directory, and the openruyi-desktop-setup-kde package replaces the images of the default Next wallpaper with the openRuyi artwork.

To choose a different wallpaper, right-click the desktop and select Configure Desktop and Wallpaper, or open System Settings → Wallpaper.

Login screen​

The SDDM login screen is configured in System Settings → Login Screen (SDDM). If you prefer to edit the configuration directly, place your own configuration files in the /etc/sddm.conf.d/ directory.

Further Reading​