Sxmo/Tips and Tricks
Here is a growing list of tips, tricks and configuration snippets for using Sxmo.
This pages is intended to focus mostly on "non-core" issues, such as running apps and everyday usability. The core configuration issues should end up in sxmo doc, as discussed on https://todo.sr.ht/~mil/sxmo-tickets/275
Calls, SMS, Modem
Sometimes Modem gets stuck
Sometimes the modem does not respond, stops receiving/sending calls, etc.
Preferred solution: toggle 'Modem Daemons' in the menu under 'Config'.
Reliable solution: reboot.
Sometimes SMS dont get sent/received
The latest biktorgj firmware (0.5.3) should address this situation. Alternatively, check for stuck sms and delete them:
mmcli --modem any --messaging-list-sms
mmcli --modem 0 --sms 0
mmcli --modem 0 --messaging-delete-sms=##
mmcli --modem 0 -r
- The identifying number of the modem may vary, being incremented upon toggles and sometimes reboots. you probably also can use:
--modem any
How to send an SMS via command line (or ssh)
cat mysupersmsfile | sxmo_modemsendsms.sh +33123123123 -
How to call from the command line
Example:
sxmo_modemdial.sh 08003301000
How to change SIM pin
From 1234 to 1010:
mmcli -i any --pin=1234 --change-pin=1010
Disabling:
mmcli -i any --pin=1010 --disable-pin
How to send USSD
Try something like:
mmcli -m any --3gpp-ussd-initiate="*100#"
How to send AT command
Directly
- If desired monitor output as root:
cat /dev/ttyUSB2
- In another terminal, send the command, in this example to check the ADSP firmware version:
echo -ne "AT+QGMR\r" >/dev/ttyUSB2
Through modem manager
- Restart modem manager in debug mode:
sudo /sbin/rc-service modemmanager stop
sudo /usr/sbin/ModemManager --debug
- In another terminal, send the command, in this example to check the ADSP firmware version:
mmcli -m any --command="AT+QGMR"
- Stop modem manager in debug mode, then run:
sudo /sbin/rc-service modemmanager start
Retrieving signal strength information
See https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Modem#ModemManager
Create contacts.tsv for Sxmo from Android data
This assumes you have developer mode enabled on your phone and usb debugging using adb.
I messed around with different API calls, I store the contacts locally on the device, what worked for me to get the full set of phone numbers was:
adb shell content query --uri content://com.android.contacts/data --projection display_name:data1:data3:data4 | grep '[0-9]\{10\}' | grep -v gprofile > raw_contacts
`create_contact_tsv.py` depends on python package `phonenumbers`, please install it.
then run on the terminal
python3 create_contacts_tsv.py raw_contacts | sort | uniq > contacts.tsv
For completeness, entire content of the python file `create_contact_tsv.py`
import csv, sys, phonenumbers as p;
with open(sys.argv[1], 'r') as file:
reader = csv.reader(file)
for row in reader:
name = row[0][str(row[0]).find("=") + 1:]
for match in p.PhoneNumberMatcher(str(row), None):
number = p.format_number(match.number, p.PhoneNumberFormat.E164)
print(number + "\t" + name)
Create contacts.tsv for Sxmo from a vcard export ( vcf export from nextcloud for example )
We can convert an export in vcard format of a contact list to a file sxmo can work with with the following commands:
git clone https://github.com/gled-rs/cvf2csv.git && cd cvf2csv && pip install phonenumbers
Put the vcard export you downloaded in the same directory as the convert.py script, name it contacts.vcf Look at README.md if you want to change the default behaviour of the convert script.
python convert.py && cp contacts.csv ~/.config/sxmo/contacts.tsv
General configuration
How to easily change the size of the text, system-wide?
Change the value in: /usr/share/sxmo/appcfg/xresources_xft.xr (try 160!)
Xft.dpi: 192
(chaning it in ~/.Xresources
works as well)
if you remove the dpi line there you can set dpi on the fly via
xrandr --dpi x
How to change the keyboard layouts? (wvkbd/wayland)?
edit your .config/sxmo/profile and add default command lines options for wvkbd like this:
export KEYBOARD_ARGS="-l full,special -H 200 -fn 'Hack 11'"
How to activate data
In menu under Networks select 'Add a GSM'.
How to launch programms on startup?
If you run dwm, then edit ~/.config/sxmo/xinit. If you run sway, then edit ~/.config/sxmo/sway. In either case, you can also copy over /usr/share/sxmo/default_hooks/start to ~/.config/sxmo/hooks/start and edit that file. NOTE: Make sure you chmod +x ~/.config/smxo/hooks/start.
mount /tmp/ in RAM, to save write cycles on storage device
add the following in /etc/fstab
tmpfs /tmp tmpfs rw,nodev 0 0
Help with adding cronjobs
You can edit your crontab via
crontab -e
This website https://crontab.guru/ has proven useful in making cronjobs.
If using mnc, make sure that commands run via sxmo_rtcwake.sh.
Example:
55-59/2 7 * * 1-5 sxmo_rtcwake.sh /home/user/script
How to customize the colours/fonts of the interface?
xorg/dwm
Get example in the alpine blooms theme by Tetrakist, as entries to add in /home/user/.Xresources
wayland/sway
- .config/sxmo/sway
- bemenu parameters through BEMENU_OPTS env variable. for instance in .profile:
export BEMENU_OPTS="--fn 'FiraMono Nerd Font 13' --tf '$MYCOLOR' --tb '#00000090' --nb '#00000090' --nf '$MYCOLOR' --hb '$MYCOLOR' --hf '#000000' --sb '$MYCOLOR' --sf '$MYCOLOR' --scb '#000000' --scf '$MYCOLOR' "
- mako config in .config/mako/config
- In depth guide on editing colors in Sway, bemenu, Foot, and wvkbd with all color options detailed. At the bottom of the guide is the link to a script which will do it all for you once you set the colors.
Some notifications stay stuck on the screen!
If in dwm:
pkill dunst
If in sway:
pkill mako
Select 'Networks' in the menu and add a USB hotspot.
Where can i read logs for sxmo?
try
less /home/user/.local/state/tinydm.log
or
tail -f /home/user/.local/state/tinydm.log
or
logread -f
for the generic pmOS log, that also displays some of sxmo deamons (modemmanager, etc.) information
Applications specific
osmin works well. gps can be used with the package geoclue and running
/usr/libexec/geoclue-2.0/demos/agent
.
Pure-maps sort of works (using OpenTopo or Sputnik tiles), as well as Marble (QT/KDE, heavy...). Unsure yet how to make the GPS work for both of these, but it has reported being feasible...
Apparently a good start to enable GPS should be:
sudo /etc/gpsd/device-hook "" ACTIVATE
Also, Mepo, under heavy development, seems promising, and seems already packaged for alpine/postmarketOs in its alpha versions.
See https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Applications_by_category#Geography for geography applications.
QT app (vlc-qt, etc.) doesnt fit the screen!
try adding the following in your .config/sxmo/xinit
export QT_AUTO_SCREEN_SCALE_FACTOR=1
export QT_SCALE_FACTOR=0.7
(change the factor until it suits your need)
You can also copy https://git.sr.ht/~anjan/sxmo-userscripts/tree/master/item/scripts/scale_display.sh to ~/.config/sxmo/userscripts/scale_display.sh
change the title of the terminal in the cmus config file $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/cmus/rc
to contain the string "cmus":
echo "set format_title= %a %t %c cmus" >> .config/cmus/rc
Flatpak
If you use Flatpak apps, you probably will have problems with sound. That is because Flatpak requires a PulseAudio-compatible sound server, but SXMO uses by default only ALSA. To install and setup PipeWire as well as its PulseAudio implementation, please refer to SXMO's documentation.
NB: it seems that as of latest (1.8.2 at time of writing), pipewire now comes as default in sxmo
Telegram Desktop
The onscreen keyboard may overlap the text input field on Wayland. See https://github.com/telegramdesktop/tdesktop/issues/3274
As a workaround set the scaling to 1.75 or less. Use swaymsg "output DSI-1 scale 1.75"
or the scale_display.sh
user script from the sxmo-userscripts repository.
Additionally the window decorations can be removed via Telegram Settings > Advanced > System Integration > Use System Window Frame > Enable (restart required).
Extra features, advanced tweaking
A Wayland version of Sxmo, really??
Yes. Really! It's the default now. Use WM Toggle in the menu under 'Power' to toggle between dwm and sway.
How to Add Apps to the List?
Copy /usr/share/sxmo/default_hooks/sxmo_hook_apps.sh ~/.config/sxmo/hooks/sxmo_hook_apps.sh and edit that file. NOTE: make sure you chmod +x ~/.config/sxmo/hooks/sxmo_hook_apps.sh