Build Information or source to help with RISC-V

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Hello… I have been using Mabox for over 3 years and would like to port to my visionfive2 machine. Is there any information on the build system or source?

OR is it just the correct packages on top of a fresh arch install?

I have been able to PKGBUILD some custom builds for risc-v and see that there is work on the labwc port for Mabox. how can I help…

thanks.

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Hi @mharbuck,

I am not sure you want to go this road, though, because creating a Mabox-like experience on RISC-V involves a lot of manual tweaking. Mabox isn’t just a set of packages—it’s a carefully curated environment with scripts, themes, and configurations tailored to work seamlessly on x86 systems with Manjaro as the base.

If you’re still up for the challenge, here’s a more detailed roadmap:

  1. Start with ARM Manjaro: Install the minimal version without a desktop environment. You’ll have a clean slate to work from.

  2. Install Openbox and Mabox Tools:

    • Begin by installing Openbox as the window manager.
    • Check out the Mabox Git repository for scripts, themes, and configurations. These will need to be adapted for ARM/RISC-V.

  3. Tweak Configurations: Many of Mabox’s utilities are shell scripts or configuration files. You’ll need to ensure they work with the ARM architecture and VisionFive 2’s hardware.

  4. Test Performance: Openbox runs well on lightweight systems, but some dependencies or utilities might not yet be available for RISC-V. This could require you to compile software from source or find alternatives.

  5. Contribute Back: If you succeed, consider sharing your work with the Mabox community or creating a guide to help others bring Mabox to RISC-V devices.

Manjaro is Arch-based , but it is not Arch Linux .

Key Differences Between Manjaro and Arch:

  1. Ease of Use:

    • Manjaro is designed to be user-friendly and accessible out of the box, with graphical installers, pre-configured environments, and tools for beginners.
    • Arch is a minimalist, do-it-yourself distribution, requiring users to manually configure almost everything during installation.

  2. Repositories:

    • Manjaro uses its own repositories that sync with Arch repositories but with a delay (usually 1-2 weeks) to ensure better stability and testing.
    • Arch repositories are cutting-edge and receive updates as soon as they are released upstream.

  3. Package Management:

    • Both use pacman as the package manager. However, Manjaro also includes tools like pamac for graphical package management.
    • Arch relies solely on pacman and the command line, with no official graphical frontend.

  4. Pre-configurations:

    • Manjaro provides pre-configured desktop environments, proprietary drivers, and various tools, making it ready to use immediately.
    • Arch leaves everything to the user, including setting up drivers, choosing and configuring a desktop environment, etc.

  5. Rolling Release Model:

    • Both Manjaro and Arch are rolling-release distributions. However, Manjaro focuses on stability by holding back updates until they are thoroughly tested.

:bird:

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