slackware

So I read a bit on #Slackware #Linux. but still curious. Is the Slackware does not handle dependency statement true? Or is it just not handled by default but if you use some third-party tools you get dependencies resolved apt/pacman style? Also related to this, I saw videos / tutorials on installing the systems, so it is generally recommended to simply install tons of packages you might not need in the first place just so when you need them or any other thing that might need something there as dependencies and you will have them already? Seems like trying to do a one-thing-fit-all style to me.

#FOSS #Unix #FediASK

I’ve been using pekwm for only a few days, but it already feels like home.
As a long-time Slackware user, I’ve always preferred minimal and efficient setups like Fluxbox, IceWM and twm, and pekwm fits perfectly into that tradition.

What I enjoy the most is how simple, fast and predictable it is.
I use only my laptop (no external monitor), and pekwm gives me exactly what I want: a clean environment, flexible keybindings, mouse-friendly workflow and no unnecessary complexity.

I’m also using pekwm’s group/tab feature with rules like:

Property = "^Alacritty,^Alacritty,,.*" { ApplyOn = "New Start Reload"; Group = "netwin" { Size = "0" } }
Property = "^Navigator,^firefox,,.*" { ApplyOn = "New Start Reload"; Group = "netwin" { Size = "0" } }
Property = "^xterm,^XTerm" { ApplyOn = "New Start Reload"; Group = "netwin" { Size = "0" } }

This keeps my terminals and browser neatly tabbed together, which is great on a laptop screen.

It also reminds me of this classic article showing how developers desktops hardly changed over the years, always focused on minimal window managers and simple tools:

https://anders.unix.se/2015/12/10/screenshots-from-developers--2002-vs.-2015/

Pekwm has the same timeless Unix spirit.
Great work, and thanks for keeping this project alive!

#pekwm #slackware

The alt.os.linux.slackware FAQs [1] are one of the most comprehensive resources to get started with Slackware.

[1] https://www.therockgarden.ca/aolsfaq.txt

#slackware #usenet

Still using nvi on Slackware.

No plugins. No syntax highlighting. Just speed, predictability, and classic vi behavior, even with multi-GB files.

I wrote a short guide explaining why nvi still matters and how its architecture enables fast, low-memory editing.

📄 https://4c6e.xyz/code_notes.html (NVI Editor Guide)
📄 https://git.sr.ht/~r1w1s1/code-notes/blob/main/notes/NVI_Editor_Guide.txt (plain text)

#slackware #editor #nvi #vi #unix #minimalism

Fresh pkgsrc 2025Q4 packages for Slackware 15.0 now available.

Thunderbird 145, Libreoffice 25.8, XFCE 4.20, and much more.

https://retrobsd.ddns.net/pub/packages/All/
rsync://retrobsd.ddns.net

#pkgsrc #slackware

Someone posted an old Slackware 2005 setup (KDE 3.3.2, kernel 2.4) and it instantly brought back memories.

Before systemd. Before Wayland.
Just KDE 3, Konsole, and Slackware doing exactly what you told it to do.

20 years later and the philosophy hasn’t changed.

https://www.reddit.com/r/unixporn/s/H0QrkazxbJ

#slackware #kde #x11

After seeing @ly2en bsddialog installer UI, I got curious and tried it on my own Slackware ThinkPad.

Built bsddialog from git (thanks to @alfonsosiciliano for the project) and wired it into my tty1 session menu — this is what my login screen looks like now.

Clean fonts, proper spacing, no GUI toolkit… it really feels like a real BSD-style installer, not just “dialog in a box”.

#BSD #Slackware #TUI #Unix

Spent a few hours today testing and tweaking pekwm vs evilwm on my Slackware system (same st + tmux + Firefox, same X setup). evilwm is beautifully minimal and will stay as my backup — and I’ll probably use it more whenever I feel like switching things up — but pekwm feels smoother, with less flicker and cleaner redraws.

I even found and reported a small -snap bug in evilwm while testing 🙂

#Slackware #X11 #Unix #pekwm #evilwm

#TinkerTuesday

I spent the last days building and testing a few minimalist X11 window managers on Slackware: evilwm, shod and Notion — even patching Notion to build with GCC 15.

evilwm is still my lightweight, workspace-oriented backup WM, but for a tab-based, rule-driven stacking workflow, nothing I tried comes close to pekwm.

Firefox, terminal and mail living in one frame, out of the way — that’s still the sweet spot for me.

#pekwm #Slackware #X11 #Unix

I’m currently having a hard/fun time trying to run #Slackware with encrypted #ZFS root. Not like it’s something many seem to do (or document).

Hopefully, https://openzfs.github.io/openzfs-docs/Getting%20Started/Slackware/index.html and https://docs.slackware.com/howtos:slackware_admin:zfs_root are great. But I have only read it 3 times and unsuccessfully applied dozens yet 😰

Slackware isn’t about shortcuts.
It’s about understanding the system, from boot to shell.

This video explains well why Slackware still matters.
https://youtu.be/pRp1I3OzMEY

#slackware

Just switched to mtm (Micro Terminal Multiplexer) a suckless-style terminal multiplexer that does ONE thing: split panes. No sessions, no bloat, just ~1000 lines of clean C code.

The codebase is surprisingly readable and well-organized... unlike larger projects where you get lost in abstraction layers, mtm's simplicity makes it an excellent study resource for learning C.
You can actually understand the entire program flow in a reasonable amount of time.

Bonus: there's already a SlackBuild available, so Slackware users can integrate it seamlessly into their system without manual compilation headaches.
If you want tmux functionality without tmux complexity, check it out.
https://slackbuilds.org/repository/15.0/system/mtm/

#suckless #terminal #slackware #C