From b9878547b37918123ee46dae8f534e584ec1e491 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Hyperling <me@hyperling.com>
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 2026 08:21:42 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Add draft for fixing GTK issues on Artix with Intel XE GPU.

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+---
+draft: true
+pinned: false
+hidden: false
+title: "Artix with `runit` on Intel Integrated XE Graphics"
+subtitle: "Resolving GTK Rendering Issues"
+feathericon: "monitor"
+author: Hyperling
+started: 2026-09-11T08:00:00-07:00
+#date:    2026-07-15T14:59:10-07:00
+#lastmod: 2026-07-15T14:59:10-07:00
+toc: true
+audio: false
+images:
+tags:
+  - tech # food, drink, craft, poetry, blog, video, tech, tourism
+  - linux
+  - arch
+  - artix
+  - runit
+  - systemd
+  - gnome
+  - lxqt
+  - cinnamon
+  - intel
+  - xe
+  - i915
+  - gtk
+  - qt
+series:
+  - sysadmin
+categories:
+  - guides # recipes, musings, videos, articles
+  - articles
+aliases:
+  - /posts/blog/20260911-artix-intel-gpu
+  - /posts/blog/artix-intel-gpu
+  - /posts/guides/tech/20260911-artix-intel-gpu
+  - /posts/guides/tech/artix-intel-gpu
+  - /artix-intel-gpu
+---
+
+## Introduction
+
+After installing Artix with LXQT and `runit` on my NovaCustom laptop I was finding that many GUI applications were failing to run properly.
+There were also issues in the `/run/user/` hierarchy, such as the `1000` directory not being created, and getting deleted if created manually.
+
+Eventually I realized that it was only the GTK programs such as `kitty`, `transmission-gtk`, `gnome-system-monitor`, etc.
+Apps such as `qterminal`, `firefox`, and `transmission-qt` were working with no issues!
+This seemed odd since on my mid-2010s Macbook everything had been working flawlessly from the start, but it was installed with a Cinnamon `runit` ISO
+, so I thought maybe I was missing some graphics drivers that come with GTK desktop environment.
+
+After doing some pacman-fu with `-Qqn` from the Macbook to the newer system it still did not resolve the issues
+, so I figured it must be something specific to the laptop
+, similar to how the ISO needed booted with `nomodeset` [see this article (TBD)]().
+
+The steps below are what got me successfully running all GUI applications properly with Intel Integrated 12th-gen XE graphics.
+
+## Instructions
+
+Check the GPU and driver in use.
+
+```shell
+$ lspci -k -d ::03xx
+00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Alder Lake-P GT2 [Iris Xe Graphics] (rev 0c)
+        DeviceName: VGA compatible controller
+        Subsystem: CLEVO/KAPOK Computer Device 4041
+        Kernel driver in use: i915
+        Kernel modules: i915, xe
+```
+
+Ensure the Intel drivers are all installed.
+
+```shell
+sudo pacman -Sy mesa vulkan-intel lib32-mesa lib32-vulkan-intel intel-media-driver
+```
+
+You may need to enable the 32-bit repo in /etc/pacman.conf first.
+
+```shell
+$ sudo vi /etc/pacman.conf
+[lib32]
+Include = /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
+```
+
+Get the PCI ID (value after the colon in [xxxx:yyyy]).
+
+```shell
+$ lspci -nn | grep VGA
+00:02.0 VGA compatible controller [0300]: Intel Corporation Alder Lake-P GT2 [Iris Xe Graphics] [8086:46a6] (rev 0c)
+```
+
+Switch to `xe` driver using the PCI ID above in the kernel parameterss for GRUB.
+
+```shell
+$ sudo vi /etc/default/grub
+GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT='quiet i915.force_probe=!46a6 xe.force_probe=46a6 ...'
+$ sudo update-grub
+```
+
+Enable `xe`'s hardware acceleration modes (GuC and HuC).
+
+```shell
+echo 'options xe enable_guc=3' | sudo tee /etc/modprobe.d/intel-xe.conf
+```
+
+Remove legacy drivers which may get in the way.
+
+```shell
+sudo pacman -Rns xf86-video-intel
+```
+
+Reboot the system.
+
+```shell
+reboot
+```
+
+Check which driver is now in use.
+
+```shell
+$ lspci -k -d ::03xx
+00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Alder Lake-P GT2 [Iris Xe Graphics] (rev 0c)
+	DeviceName: VGA compatible controller
+	Subsystem: CLEVO/KAPOK Computer Device 4041
+	Kernel driver in use: xe
+	Kernel modules: i915, xe
+```
+
+Validate whether GTK applications are happy now.
+
+In my case, `kitty`, `gnome-system-monitor`, `codium`, `transmission-gtk`, `mullvad-vpn`, and all other GTK apps are now all running properly and their GUI interfaces are now working flawlessly. :D
+
+Artix is feeling fast as ever and the simplicity of using a feature-complete init system like `runit` are at their full power! >:)
+
+---
+
+[blog.hyperling.com/artix-intel-gpu](/artix-intel-gpu)