Enterprise-Grade System Maintenance, Kernel Lifecycle, Driver Orchestrator & Workstation Suite for Slackware Linux
Slacky-Update is an all-in-one system maintenance station, background monitor, driver orchestrator, and gaming/workstation modernization suite engineered specifically for Slackware Linux (-current / 15.0+).
Canonical source: GitHub | Mirror: Codeberg | Master Guide: The Ultimate Survival Guide | Hyprland: Oh My Hyprland Guide | Technical Architecture: Technical Companion Guide | Troubleshooting: Troubleshooting Guide
Important
TARGET DISTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT & VERSION DISCLAIMER
Slacky-Update is engineered strictly for Slackware 15+ (slackware-current / Slackware 16 alpha).
It is NOT compatible with or supported on legacy Slackware 15.0 (stable). Legacy 15.0 systems feature older core packages, toolchains, and shared libraries (older glibc, GCC, Wayland/Mesa, PipeWire, and kernel headers) that cause package and soname conflicts which cannot be safely resolved. Users on Slackware 15.0 must migrate to slackware-current before using this suite.
Caution
COMPREHENSIVE TESTING, LIABILITY & USE-AT-YOUR-OWN-RISK DISCLAIMER
- Hardware Testing & Verification: Slacky-Update has been extensively verified and field-tested on the author's bare-metal workstations, and dry-run/simulated test passes have been executed across diverse build environments. However, this in no way guarantees that it will operate seamlessly or without anomalies on your specific hardware configuration.
- 100% User Responsibility: Slacky-Update executes deep, low-level modifications to foundational system components, including kernel deployments, proprietary graphics stacks, initramfs generation, Btrfs subvolumes, and UEFI bootloader topologies. All installation, upgrades, and system modifications are performed 100% at your own discretion and risk.
- No Liability for Data Loss: The authors, maintainers, and contributors assume no liability, warranty, or responsibility for system malfunctions, unbootable states, hardware quirks, or loss of personal data.
- Mandatory Backups: Always maintain current, tested backups of your personal data (
/home, configuration files, and boot partitions) and keep a bootable Slackware Live-USB accessible before performing upgrades or modifying bootloaders. - Bug Reporting & Support: If you encounter bugs, regressions, or hardware edge-cases, please report them on GitHub Issues so they can be addressed. Beyond the comprehensive documentation provided in
docs/, no individual customer support, warranties, or service level agreements are offered.
| 🖥️ Interactive Terminal Command Center | 🔔 System Tray Monitor & Applet |
|---|---|
 |
 |
Slacky-Update adheres strictly to Slackware's native packaging standards (/var/log/packages), BSD-style init scripts (/etc/rc.d/), and pure source transparency:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SLACKY-UPDATE ARCHITECTURE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [User Layer] CLI Interface (Bash) │ System Tray Applet (PyQt5) │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Desktop Layer] Hyprland + Noctalia │ KDE Plasma Wayland │ XFCE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Graphics/Audio] NVIDIA Master Stack │ AMD ROCm / HIP │ PipeWire/DSP │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Kernel Layer] CachyOS Schedulers │ Arch Zen/Linux │ Stock Huge │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Init/Storage] Dracut Initramfs │ Btrfs Snapper Snapshots │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [Boot Layer] Limine (Two-Zone + sbctl) │ GRUB / ELILO Coexistence │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
For full architectural breakdowns, step-by-step walkthroughs, and troubleshooting, consult The Ultimate Slacky-Update Survival Guide.
=============================================================================
⚡ SLACKY-UPDATE CONTROL CENTER ⚡
=============================================================================
[1] Total System Synchronization --> Slackware + Flatpaks + SBo + Kernels
[2] CachyOS Kernel Time Machine --> 9 Kernel Schedulers, Deploy & Purge
[3] NVIDIA & ROCm Graphics Hub --> CachyOS Master, DKMS, OpenCL / HIP
[4] Curated & Underpants Gnomes --> Native Workstation Apps, Games & Drivers
[5] System Cleanup & Retention --> Dual Kernel Retention & Artifact Purge
[6] Limine & Secure Boot Armor --> Two-Zone Config, CMDLINE Hub, sbctl Signing
[7] System Performance Tweaks --> NVIDIA 615+ VRAM Booster, TCP BBR, NTSYNC
[8] Master Field Guide & Manual --> Open Documentation & Mobile Export
[9] Multi-Lingual Engine (i18n) --> 24 Locales with 100% Key Parity (244 keys)
=============================================================================
- 10-Worker Parallel Pre-fetch: Accelerates
.txzdownloads with resume support (-C -), cutting download phases by 5–10×. - Stream Normalizer: Real-time VT100/CSI/DEC normalizer in
run_slackpkg()converts\rto\n, strips spinner jumps, filters backgroundwgetlogs, and ensures full scrollback retention in Konsole/zsh. - Smart
.newReconciliation: Intelligently categorizes and resolves/etc/*.newconfiguration files.
- Microarchitecture Targeting: Auto-detects host CPU features (
x86_64_v4,x86_64_v3,x86_64_v2,znver4). - 9 Specialized Schedulers: Deploys
bore,standard,lto,eevdf,bmq,rt-bore,rc,lts, and handhelddeckify(strictly for handhelds/Steam Deck, never for desktop PCs/laptops). - Multi-Kernel DKMS & Retention: Automatically builds out-of-tree modules across all installed kernels and safely retains the 2 newest standard kernels plus active running kernel.
- Automated Module Orchestration: Installs precompiled open modules for CachyOS kernels and
nvidia-open-dkmsfor Slackware/Arch kernels. - Userspace Integration: Automatically resolves and packages
cachyos-nvidia-utils,libnvidia-egl-gbm, 64-bit Xorg output class configs, and GLX symlinks. (The official.runinstaller remains supported as a custom fallback). - AMD ROCm / HIP Creator Toolkit: Complete compute runtime deployment for DaVinci Resolve Studio with automatic Mesa OpenCL conflict resolution.
- Two-Zone
limine.conf: Preserves custom user styling in Zone A while atomically calculating kernel boot entries and BLAKE2B anti-tamper hashes in Zone B. - Interactive CMDLINE Hub: Instant toggles for NVIDIA DRM modesetting, AMD LACT overclocking, USB autosuspend, watchdog, and ZSWAP compression.
- Seamless Windows 11 Dual-Booting: Keeps UEFI Secure Boot permanently ENABLED in motherboard BIOS via automated
sbctlkey management and signing.
- Host-Sovereign Transmutation: Transmutes upstream Arch and CachyOS packages into native
.txzpackages isolated under/opt/underpants/pkgs/without polluting the host Slackware base. - Mandatory Runtime Pool: Run
gnomes runtime install allbefore deploying individual standalone packages.
hyprland-noctalia: Mac-like Wayland desktop with Noctalia Shell (topbar, dock, spotlight launcher, control center), modular Lua configuration (hyprland.lua+modules/*.lua), and HyprMod GTK4 visual settings.hyprland-core: DIY minimalist compositor for custom setups. Detailed in Oh My Hyprland Guide.
- Full internationalization across 24 languages with 100% key parity (244 keys each), including sober standard editions and radical 90s pop-culture editions (
en-radical,nb-radical).
Paste the one-liner for your preferred mirror directly into your terminal. This securely clones to /tmp, builds a native Slackware .txz package via slacky-update.SlackBuild, installs or upgrades it via upgradepkg, and cleans up the temporary build directory:
GitHub:
git clone https://github.com/TuxOfValhalla/slacky-update.git /tmp/slacky-update && (cd /tmp/slacky-update/slackbuild && sudo ./slacky-update.SlackBuild && sudo upgradepkg --install-new --reinstall /tmp/slacky-update.txz) && rm -rf /tmp/slacky-updateCodeberg:
git clone https://codeberg.org/TuxOfValhalla/slacky-update.git /tmp/slacky-update && (cd /tmp/slacky-update/slackbuild && sudo ./slacky-update.SlackBuild && sudo upgradepkg --install-new --reinstall /tmp/slacky-update.txz) && rm -rf /tmp/slacky-updateIf you prefer maintaining a persistent local clone of the repository:
# 1. Clone repository (GitHub or Codeberg)
git clone https://github.com/TuxOfValhalla/slacky-update.git
cd slacky-update/slackbuild
# 2. Build the package via SlackBuild
sudo ./slacky-update.SlackBuild
# 3. Install or upgrade
sudo upgradepkg --install-new --reinstall /tmp/slacky-update.txz# Interactive Control Center
slacky-update
# Full unattended system update
slacky-update -y
# Curated Hyprland Desktop Deployment
slacky-update --hyprland
slacky-update --hyprland-noctalia
slacky-update --hyprland-core
# Underpants Gnomes CLI (Experimental Sidecar)
gnomes runtime install all # Install shared runtime pool
gnomes -S <package> # Install package
gnomes -Ss <query> # Search packages
gnomes -Syu # Update installed packages
gnomes -R <package> # Remove package
# Bootloader & Hardware Hubs
slacky-update --limine # Limine & Secure Boot Matrix
slacky-update --cmdline # Kernel CMDLINE & Gaming Hub
slacky-update --sync-nvidia # NVIDIA Driver Stack Synchronization
slacky-update --clean # Cache & Kernel Cleanup
slacky-update --tweaks # System Performance & Gaming Tweaks- 📘 The Ultimate Slacky-Update Survival Guide — Master operational manual, engine architecture, ELI5 breakdowns, and troubleshooting playbooks.
- 🖥️ Oh My Hyprland Guide — Deep dive into
hyprland-noctaliavshyprland-core, modular Lua configs, HyprMod GUI editor, and keybinding references. - 🛠️ Technical Companion Guide — Architectural whitepaper detailing internal engines, sandboxing, and Slackware coexistence philosophy.
- 🚨 Disaster Recovery & Troubleshooting Guide — Recovery playbooks, symptom catalogs, and emergency live-USB chroot procedures.
- 🥾 Limine & Secure Boot Field Guide — ESP partitioning standards, topology migration, and
sbctlsetup. - 🧙 Underpants Gnomes Field Guide — Pacman sidecar CLI guide and runtime pool management.
This suite was architected, debugged, refactored, and validated on bare-metal Slackware hardware by tuxofvalhalla with the assistance of advanced AI pair-programming agents.
- Slacky-Update is an independent open-source project by and for the Linux enthusiast community.
- This project is not officially affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Patrick Volkerding or Slackware Linux, Inc.
- The name Slackware and the Slackware logo are registered trademarks of Patrick Volkerding and Slackware Linux, Inc., used under nominative fair use strictly to identify target system compatibility.
Licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0). See LICENSE for details.