Stealthy VM

It Looks like a terminal on your Mac but scales to a fully working i3 desktop.

Since I develop for Linux systems, I need a reliable Linux VM on my Mac. I also want it to support GUI apps, since I want to be able to use it as my primary development platform, not just a text based terminal. However, Since I already have a great graphical environment on my Mac, with a highly optimized web browser and Visual Studio code running, I want to be able to use all of that together with my guest VM without introducing yet another graphical desktop running inside of my regular desktop. I dont want to have to move files back and forth between the Host and VM. They should optimally just be there, in my home directory like on the Mac. What if we could seamlessly integrate a fully functioning i3 desktop into my Mac workflow that by default just behaves like the built-in Terminal.app but that can run X11 applications such as a full web browser? Optimally, it should just boot up really quick and look like I just started a terminal right on my Mac.

This is how I solved it:

Configuration of Debian Machine

Sudo

To enable the default user to run sudo in Debian, you need to add the user to the sudo group. Here's how you can do it:

Boot up your machine and log in as your your_username
Run the following command to add the user to the sudo group and configure sudo to execute without the need for a password:
```
su -
apt update
apt install -y sudo
/sbin/usermod -aG sudo your_username
echo "your_username ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL" | tee -a /etc/sudoers
exit
```
Replace your_username with the actual username of the user.
Enter the root password when prompted.
Once the command completes successfully, the user will have the necessary privileges to run sudo commands without entering a password.

Autologin to Console

To automatically log in to your user account during boot, you can configure the agetty service. Here's how you can do it:

Edit the agetty service configuration file using a text editor:

sudo vi /etc/systemd/system/getty.target.wants/getty@tty1.service

Add an empty ExecStart= and an ExecStart that autologins your_username lines to the file:
```
[Service]
ExecStart=
ExecStart=-/sbin/agetty --autologin your_username --noclear - $TERM
```
Replace your_username with the actual username of the user.
Save the file and exit the text editor.
Reload the systemd daemon to apply the changes:
```
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
```
Reboot your Debian machine.
Your user account will now be automatically logged in during boot.

Guest $HOME in the VM

Installing host filesystem drivers (virtio-fs)

In Linux, the Virtio drivers play a crucial role in enhancing the performance of virtual machines by providing efficient communication between the guest operating system and the underlying hypervisor. To install Virtio drivers in Debian, we need to ensure that the necessary modules are included in the initial ramdisk (initramfs) to enable proper device recognition during the boot process.

Editing the Initramfs Modules File

The modules file located at /etc/initramfs-tools/modules contains a list of modules that are included in the initramfs. To add Virtio drivers, follow these steps:

Open the modules file using your preferred text editor. In this example, we'll use vi:
```
sudo vi /etc/initramfs-tools/modules
```

Add the Virtio modules to the file. Include the following lines if they are not already present:

# List of modules that you want to include in your initramfs.
# They will be loaded at boot time in the order below.
#
# Syntax:  module_name [args ...]
#
# You must run update-initramfs(8) to effect this change.
#
# Examples:
#
# raid1
# sd_mod
virtio_pci
virtio_blk
virtio_net

Mounting on boot

Edit the /etc/fstab file using a text editor such as vi or vim:
```
sudo vi /etc/fstab
```
Add the following line to the end of the file:
```
share /home virtiofs rw,nofail, 0   0
```
Save the file and exit the text editor.
Mount the host VM home directory to the guest home directory by running the following command:
```
sudo mount -a
```

Now, the host VM home directory will be mounted to the guest home directory using Virtiofs. You can access and modify the files in the host VM home directory from within the guest VM.

Test: Reboot to mount $HOME

Now reboot your machine.
```
sudo reboot
```
Now, whenever editing any files under the user $HOME directory, just open them on the Host machine instead of on the Guest. All the paths relative the user $HOME should now be the same as the ones relative to your host $HOME directory. In this way, you can use copy-paste to not have to punch every line in manually. This is important, since we won't have native copy-paste support before almost the end of this document.

Graphical Desktop

Installing Neccessary packages

Install the X11 server, xterm, and i3 window manager by running the following command:
```
sudo apt install -y xorg xterm i3
```
Make sure that no display manager is installed. By default, Debian installs the lightdm display manager with Xorg:
```
sudo apt remove -y lightdm
```
Once the installation is complete, you can start using X11 and i3 window manager on your Debian machine.

Enabling Copy-Paste Between Host and VM (X11)

Install the Spice package by running the following command:
```
sudo apt install -y spice-vdagent
```
Once your X11 session is up and running, you will now have copy+paste support between your terminal and the host machine.

Always one Xterm running

No matter what, we want at least one instance of xterm running in full screen mode. This is what makes our VM window look like a terminal on your host thanks to the borderless settings for I3. To implement this behaviour, we are going to use a systemd user service called xterm.service which will be explicitly started by i3 wm:

If it does not exist yet, create the directory ~/.config/systemd/user

Edit the file .config/systemd/user/xterm.service and make sure it contains:

[Unit]
Description=xterm Service

[Service]
Type=simple
Restart=always
RestartMode=direct
RestartSec=0
Environment=DISPLAY=:0
ExecStart=xterm
StartLimitInterval=0 

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target

Reload the user configuration
```
systemctl --user daemon-reload
```

Window Manager configuration

The i3 window manager is highly customizable. You can adjust the appearance and behavior of windows by editing the i3 configuration file. Here is a minimal configuration I created that supports window tiling and two separate workspaces (1 and 2) but not much else. It is also stripped of any status bar or other typically default visual elements of a standard i3 setup such as window borders.

Create or replace any pre-existing config for i3 at ~/.config/i3/config using the following minimal configuration:

Paste the following

set $mod Mod4
font pango:noto mono 20
exec --no-startup-id dex --autostart --environment i3
set $refresh_i3status killall -SIGUSR1 i3status
bindsym XF86AudioRaiseVolume exec --no-startup-id pactl set-sink-volume @DEFAULT_SINK@ +10% && $refresh_i3status
bindsym XF86AudioLowerVolume exec --no-startup-id pactl set-sink-volume @DEFAULT_SINK@ -10% && $refresh_i3status
bindsym XF86AudioMute exec --no-startup-id pactl set-sink-mute @DEFAULT_SINK@ toggle && $refresh_i3status
bindsym XF86AudioMicMute exec --no-startup-id pactl set-source-mute @DEFAULT_SOURCE@ toggle && $refresh_i3status

floating_modifier $mod
tiling_drag modifier titlebar
bindsym $mod+Return exec xterm
bindsym $mod+Shift+q kill
bindcode $mod+40 exec "rofi -modi drun,run -show drun"
bindsym $mod+j focus left
bindsym $mod+k focus down
bindsym $mod+l focus up
bindsym $mod+semicolon focus right
bindsym $mod+Left focus left
bindsym $mod+Down focus down
bindsym $mod+Up focus up
bindsym $mod+Right focus right
bindsym $mod+Shift+j move left
bindsym $mod+Shift+k move down
bindsym $mod+Shift+l move up
bindsym $mod+Shift+semicolon move right
bindsym $mod+Shift+Left move left
bindsym $mod+Shift+Down move down
bindsym $mod+Shift+Up move up
bindsym $mod+Shift+Right move right
bindsym $mod+h split h
bindsym $mod+Shift+h split v
set $ws1 "1"
set $ws2 "2"

bindsym $mod+1 workspace number $ws1
bindsym $mod+2 workspace number $ws2

bindsym $mod+Shift+1 move container to workspace number $ws1
bindsym $mod+Shift+2 move container to workspace number $ws2

bindsym $mod+Shift+c reload
bindsym $mod+Shift+r restart

mode "resize" {
        bindsym j resize shrink width 10 px or 10 ppt
        bindsym k resize grow height 10 px or 10 ppt
        bindsym l resize shrink height 10 px or 10 ppt
        bindsym semicolon resize grow width 10 px or 10 ppt

        bindsym Left resize shrink width 10 px or 10 ppt
        bindsym Down resize grow height 10 px or 10 ppt
        bindsym Up resize shrink height 10 px or 10 ppt
        bindsym Right resize grow width 10 px or 10 ppt

        bindsym Return mode "default"
        bindsym Escape mode "default"
        bind
8000
sym $mod+r mode "default"
}

bindsym $mod+r mode "resize"
gaps inner 5
gaps outer -5
smart_gaps on
default_border pixel 0

As the last line in that file, add the starting of the xterm user service, so that we always have at least one xterm instance running:

exec systemctl --user start xterm

Save and close the file.
To make the changes take effect, you need to restart i3. You can do this by pressing Mod+Shift+R.

Start X11 on boot

Create a new systemd unit file. For example:
```
sudo vi /etc/systemd/system/startx.service
```

In the text editor, add the following content to the startx.service file:

[Unit]
Description=Stealth Mode VM Xorg
After=graphical.target systemd-user-sessions.service

[Service]
User=<YOUR_USERNAME>
WorkingDirectory=/home/<YOUR_USERNAME>
PAMName=login
Environment=XDG_SESSION_TYPE=x11
TTYPath=/dev/tty8
StandardInput=tty
UnsetEnvironment=TERM
UtmpIdentifier=tty8
UtmpMode=user
StandardOutput=journal
ExecStartPre=/usr/bin/chvt 8
ExecStart=/usr/bin/startx -- vt8 -keeptty -verbose 3 -logfile /dev/null 
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=graphical.target

Replace <YOUR_USERNAME> with the actual username for which you want xterm to start. This will start X11 using the startx script on VTY 8 replacing the usual login mechanism

Reload the systemd manager configuration to recognize the new unit file:
```
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
```
Set the graphical.target as the default target for systemd on boot:
```
sudo systemctl set-default graphical.target
```

Autoresize of Host window

Creating the ~/bin Folder

First, create the ~/bin folder. Here, we will have all our local executable scripts. Follow these steps:

Run the following command to create the ~/bin folder:
```
mkdir ~/bin
```
Add the folder to your $PATH
```
echo "export PATH=/home/your_username/bin:$PATH" | tee -a ~/.bashrc
```
and replace your_username with the correct username

Creating the refresh.sh Script

The ~/bin/refresh.sh script is used to adjust the screen resolution when the VM window is resized. It should be placed in the ~/bin directory. Here are the steps to create this script:

Make sure that the contents of the file is:

#!/bin/bash
xrandr --output Virtual-1 --auto

Save and close the file.
Make the script executable by running the following command:
```
chmod +x ~/bin/refresh.sh
```

Resizing the VM window automatically

Add this content to the script ~/bin/autorefresh.sh:

#!/bin/bash
while true; do
    LC_ALL=C xev -root -event randr |
    while read -r line; do
        if [[ $line == "RRScreenChangeNotify event"* ]]; then
            exec ~/bin/refresh.sh
        fi
    done
done

Save the file as autorefresh.sh in the ~/bin folder.
Make the script executable by running the following command:
```
chmod +x ~/bin/autorefresh.sh
```

Copy-Paste Keyboard Shortcuts

To add keyboard shortcuts for copy and paste operations in X11 applications, you can configure the .Xresources file. This guide will show you how to set Command+C for copy and Command+V for paste.

Edit the .Xresources file. If the file does not exist, this command will create it. Add the following lines to the file to set the copy and paste shortcuts:

*metaSendsEscape: true
*selectToClipboard: true
*VT100.Translations: #override \
   Super <Key>c: copy-selection(CLIPBOARD) \n\
   Super <Key>v: insert-selection(CLIPBOARD)

*VT100.selectToClipboard: true
*trimSelection: true
*cutNewLine: false
*cutToBeginningOfLine: false

Save and close the file.
To make the changes take effect, you need to merge the .Xresources file with your current resources. Run the following command:
```
xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources
```
The changes should now be in effect.

Note: These changes will only take effect in X11 applications that use the standard X11 copy and paste mechanism. Some applications, like certain terminal emulators or text editors, may use their own copy-paste mechanism and may not respect these settings.

X11 Startup configuration

The .xinitrc file is a shell script read by xinit and startx. Use it to start the i3 window manager, the spice-vdagent and the autorefresh.sh script that we created earlier:

Edit the .xinitrc file. This file is located in your home directory:

exec xrdb -load ~/.Xresources &
exec spice-vdagent &
exec ~/bin/autorefresh.sh &
exec i3

Save and close the file.

Test: Reboot the VM

Now, you should reboot the VM to test whether it starts up correctly, into a single xterm instance running on Xorg.

sudo reboot

Once this works, you can now rely on copy-paste for the rest of the document.

Styling X11

Font Rendering

You can customize the appearance of X applications by setting various X resources. Here are some settings that you can use to adjust the font rendering and cursor size:

Add these lines to the top of .Xresources to provide for a proper font rendering for modern hidpi displays. Make sure to set the dpi value below to match your current monitor.
```
Xft.dpi: 140
Xft.antialias: true
Xft.hinting: true
Xft.rgba: none
Xft.autohint: true
Xft.hintstyle: hintslight
Xft.lcdfilter: lcddefault
```

Mouse Cursor

The default mouse cursor is ugly and small. Let's make it a bit bigger and nicer to match the Host VM better.

Install the Bibata cursor theme package using the apt command:
```
sudo apt install bibata-cursor-theme
```
Add the Bibata mouse cursor theme that we installed earlier to your ~/.Xresources file:
```
Xcursor.size: 32
Xcursor.theme: Bibata
```

Colors

Add a color theme to hipsterize your terminal. The default colors make it look awful. Choose a nice theme and export into your clipboard. I choose the default theme from http://www.terminal.sexy.

! special
*.foreground:   #c5c8c6
*.background:   #1d1f21
*.cursorColor:  #c5c8c6

! black
*.color0:       #282a2e
*.color8:       #373b41

! red
*.color1:       #a54242
*.color9:       #cc6666

! green
*.color2:       #8c9440
*.color10:      #b5bd68

! yellow
*.color3:       #de935f
*.color11:      #f0c674

! blue
*.color4:       #5f819d
*.color12:      #81a2be

! magenta
*.color5:       #85678f
*.color13:      #b294bb

! cyan
*.color6:       #5e8d87
*.color14:      #8abeb7

! white
*.color7:       #707880
*.color15:      #c5c8c6

Save and close the file.
To make the changes take effect, you need to merge the .Xresources file with your current resources. Run the following command:
```
xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources
```
The changes should now be in effect.

Font

Downloading and Installing Overpass Mono Font

Overpass Mono is a monospace font that is suitable for terminal applications and coding. Here are the steps to download and install it:

Download the Overpass Mono font from its GitHub repository from the release page at https://github.com/RedHatBrand/Overpass/releases
The unzipped folder contains the Overpass Mono font files. On my machine, It ended up in ~/Downloads/Overpass-3.0.5/desktop-fonts/overpass-mono
```
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/fonts
cd ~/Downloads/Overpass-3.0.5/desktop-fonts/overpass-mono
mv overpass-mono* ~/.local/share/fonts
```
Update the font cache to make the new font available:
```
fc-cache -fv
```
The Overpass Mono font should now be installed and available for use.

Add font settings to .Xresources

Edit the .Xresources file. Add the following lines to the file to set your custom Xterm settings:
```
xterm.vt100.faceName: xft:Overpass Mono
xterm*faceSize: 14
```
Save and close the file.
To make the changes take effect, you need to merge the .Xresources file with your current resources. Run the following command:
```
xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources
```

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 20 Commits
bin		bin
dotconfig		dotconfig
dotlocal/fonts		dotlocal/fonts
img		img
sysroot/etc		sysroot/etc
.Xresources		.Xresources
.bashrc		.bashrc
.xinitrc		.xinitrc
README.md		README.md

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Stealthy VM

Configuration of Debian Machine

Sudo

Autologin to Console

Guest $HOME in the VM

Installing host filesystem drivers (virtio-fs)

Editing the Initramfs Modules File

Mounting on boot

Test: Reboot to mount $HOME

Graphical Desktop

Installing Neccessary packages

Enabling Copy-Paste Between Host and VM (X11)

Always one Xterm running

Window Manager configuration

Start X11 on boot

Autoresize of Host window

Creating the ~/bin Folder

Creating the refresh.sh Script

Resizing the VM window automatically

Copy-Paste Keyboard Shortcuts

X11 Startup configuration

Test: Reboot the VM

Styling X11

Font Rendering

Mouse Cursor

Colors

Font

Downloading and Installing Overpass Mono Font

Add font settings to .Xresources

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Stealthy VM

Configuration of Debian Machine

Sudo

Autologin to Console

Guest $HOME in the VM

Installing host filesystem drivers (virtio-fs)

Editing the Initramfs Modules File

Mounting on boot

Test: Reboot to mount $HOME

Graphical Desktop

Installing Neccessary packages

Enabling Copy-Paste Between Host and VM (X11)

Always one Xterm running

Window Manager configuration

Start X11 on boot

Autoresize of Host window

Creating the ~/bin Folder

Creating the refresh.sh Script

Resizing the VM window automatically

Copy-Paste Keyboard Shortcuts

X11 Startup configuration

Test: Reboot the VM

Styling X11

Font Rendering

Mouse Cursor

Colors

Font

Downloading and Installing Overpass Mono Font

Add font settings to .Xresources

About

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