Spec
Overview
Aurora Tromso is a bootable OCI/bootc image running KDE Plasma 6. It is built with BuildStream on top of freedesktop-sdk, using the same methodology as GNOME OS and Project Bluefin dakota.
All KDE .bst elements (Qt6, Frameworks, Plasma, Apps, base image) live directly in
this repo's elements/ tree — see AGENTS.md for the current structure.
Reference sources used during development:
| Source | Purpose |
|---|---|
invent.kde.org/kde-linux/kde-linux | Authoritative KDE package list and versions |
projectbluefin/dakota | OCI/bootc composition patterns, Justfile |
GNOME/gnome-build-meta | Build infrastructure patterns (bootc, initramfs, etc.) |
freedesktop-sdk | Base SDK — Qt6, systemd, kernel, Mesa, pipewire, etc. |
Repository Structure
tuna-os/tromso (this repo)
├── project.conf # BuildStream project config (name: tromso)
├── Justfile # Build recipes (bst, build, boot-vm, etc.)
├── include/
│ └── aliases.yml # URL aliases (kde:, github:, gnome:, etc.)
└── elements/
├── freedesktop-sdk.bst # Junction → freedesktop-sdk (base SDK)
├── kde/ # KDE stack (consolidated in from kde-build-meta)
│ ├── qt6/ # Qt6 base, declarative, multimedia, etc.
│ ├── frameworks/ # kcoreaddons, kio, kirigami, kwin deps, etc.
│ ├── libs/ # libkscreen, qcoro, phonon, etc.
│ ├── plasma/ # plasma-workspace, kwin, sddm, discover, etc.
│ ├── apps/ # dolphin, kate, okular, konsole, etc.
│ └── deps.bst # Master KDE stack
├── kde-linux-deps/ # KDE Linux base deps (consolidated in)
├── kde-linux-system/ # KDE Linux system config/initramfs (consolidated in)
├── core/ # Core freedesktop-sdk-facing elements
├── core-deps/ # Core dependency elements
├── gnomeos-deps/
│ └── bootc.bst # bootc compiled from source (Rust)
├── sdk/ # SDK-facing elements
├── sdk-deps/
├── plugins/ # BuildStream plugins (junctions)
├── test.bst # Minimal test element
├── tromso/ # Aurora-specific additions over KDE Linux base
│ ├── deps.bst # Master stack of all Aurora additions
│ ├── system-config.bst # dbus, sshd, networkd, system users
│ ├── containers-config.bst # containers policy.json for bootc runtime
│ ├── ldconfig-paths.bst # ld.so.conf.d for Qt6 libraries in /usr/lib
│ ├── hardware-enablement.bst # android-udev, iio-sensor-proxy, etc.
│ ├── bluefin-common.bst # Bluefin-compatible common payload
│ ├── common.bst # Aurora branding and config
│ ├── logos.bst # Aurora logos
│ ├── wallpapers.bst # Aurora wallpapers
│ ├── docs.bst # Documentation
│ ├── brew.bst # Homebrew (Linuxbrew) integration
│ ├── tailscale.bst # Tailscale VPN
│ ├── image-overlay.bst # Aurora image overlay files
│ ├── multimedia-overrides.bst # Codec/multimedia config overrides
│ ├── fcitx5-cluster.bst # Input method support (CJK, etc.)
│ ├── sudo-rs.bst # sudo-rs to preserve setuid binary
│ ├── kcm_ublue.bst # KDE Control Module for ublue-style settings
│ ├── krunner-bazaar.bst # KRunner plugin for Bazaar
│ └── kde-linux-noto-fontconfig.bst # Noto font configuration for SDDM
└── oci/
├── tromso.bst # ← Main build target
├── tromso-ostree.bst # OSTree variant
├── os-release.bst # Aurora os-release (overrides KDE Linux)
├── kde-linux/ # KDE Linux base image composition
│ ├── image.bst # Parent OCI image (Aurora fork, no bootc build)
│ ├── stack.bst # KDE Linux full stack
│ └── filesystem.bst # Filesystem layout
└── layers/
├── tromso.bst # Aurora OCI layer (depends on tromso/deps)
├── tromso-runtime.bst
└── tromso-stack.bst # Combined: kde-linux/stack + tromso/deps
All KDE .bst elements live directly in this repo — the former
tuna-os/kde-build-meta junction was removed and its elements consolidated
into elements/ (kde/, kde-linux-deps/, kde-linux-system/, core/,
core-deps/, patches/, files/, keys/, plugins/; see AGENTS.md for
the full history). The role formerly played by the kde-build-meta junction
(gnome-build-meta scaffolding rebranded for KDE) is now filled by this
repo's own elements/ tree plus the freedesktop-sdk junction.
Build Pipeline
freedesktop-sdk (base SDK, via elements/freedesktop-sdk.bst junction)
└── elements/kde/ # Qt6, Frameworks 6, Plasma 6, KDE Applications
└── elements/kde-linux-deps/ # KDE Linux base deps
└── elements/kde-linux-system/ # system config, initramfs, signed modules
└── oci/kde-linux/ # KDE Linux base image
└── elements/tromso/deps.bst # Aurora additions
└── oci/tromso.bst # Final OCI image
└── ghcr.io/tuna-os/tromso:latest
The build is fully reproducible: all sources are pinned by git ref or tarball SHA256. BuildGrid is used for distributed compilation — build jobs run on the home cluster over Tailscale and results are cached as content-addressable artifacts.
Design Decisions
| Decision | Choice | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Display protocol | Wayland-only | Matches KDE Linux upstream; no X11 session |
| Display manager | SDDM | KDE's preferred DM; integrates with KWallet PAM |
| Init system | systemd | Via freedesktop-sdk |
| Bootloader | systemd-boot | Via bootc install |
| Image format | OCI/bootc | Enables atomic upgrades via bootc upgrade |
| Build system | BuildStream 2 | Same as GNOME OS and dakota; hermetic builds |
| Artifact cache | BuildGrid (gRPC) | Home cluster via Tailscale; survives runner restarts |
Key .bst Patterns
KDE cmake element
kind: cmake
build-depends:
- freedesktop-sdk.bst:public-stacks/buildsystem-cmake.bst
- kde/frameworks/extra-cmake-modules.bst
- kde/qt6/qt6-qtbase.bst # required at configure time for Qt6 CMake detection
variables:
cmake-local: >-
-DBUILD_TESTING=OFF
-DWITH_X11=OFF # most frameworks use this; kwindowsystem uses -DKWINDOWSYSTEM_X11=OFF
Note: Use
cmake-local(notcmake-options) for cmake flags in this project.
Transitive build-depends
BuildStream does not automatically propagate CMake config files through depends.
If foo.bst calls find_package(KF6Bar) at configure time, then kde/frameworks/bar.bst
must appear in foo.bst's build-depends, even if it's already in depends.
Updating a pinned element
There is no second repo to keep in sync — elements live in this repo:
# 1. Edit the .bst element (or its source ref) under elements/
# 2. Update the pinned git ref / tarball SHA256 in the element
# 3. Commit + push tromso
cd /path/to/tromso
TMPDIR=/var/tmp git commit -m "Update <element> to <upstream> <ref>"
git push origin main
The only remaining junction is elements/freedesktop-sdk.bst (and the
BuildStream plugins under elements/plugins/); it is pinned by ref and
tracked with track-bst-sources.yml.
CI/CD
Primary workflow: .github/workflows/build-buildgrid.yml
GitHub Actions runner
→ Generate CI BuildStream config
→ bst2 container pull (pinned image SHA)
→ just bst build oci/tromso.bst (local CASD build)
→ just export (exports OCI tarball)
→ skopeo push ghcr.io/tuna-os/tromso:latest
Triggers: push to main (elements/, project.conf, include/), daily at 06:00 UTC, manual dispatch.
Experimental parallel workflow: .github/workflows/build-tromso-multirunner.yml
Splits the build into 10 parallel chunks across GitHub runners using the shared tuna-os/bst-ci reusable workflow (scripts/ci-build-matrix.py no longer lives in this repo).
Triggered manually or by daily schedule.
Packages Not Yet in Aurora
The following packages from the KDE Linux package list require new .bst elements
that have not yet been written:
| Package | Notes |
|---|---|
openrazer-daemon | DKMS-based; needs special handling |
yubikey-full-disk-encryption | Hardware security key disk encryption |
vpl-gpu-rt | Intel VPL GPU runtime |
| Python bindings (Shiboken6/PySide6) | Requires packaging from scratch |