Add draft for fixing GTK issues on Artix with Intel XE GPU.

This commit is contained in:
me committed 2026-09-11 08:21:42 -07:00
1 parent 5f3409e80f
commit b9878547b3
1 file changed
+138
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
---
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)