Introduction

Sometimes when logging in to my Artix installation I’d get an array of dconf errors from multiple programs. i3’s status bar would not show up, certain programs like Codium would not launch, and the system would just behave in peculiar ways.

dconf-CRITICAL **: 07:54:25.230: unable to create directory '/run/user/1000/dconf': Permission denied.  dconf will not work properly.

Checking logind would show that it was running, and loginctl list-sessions would list the session, but the /run/user directory would be completely empty. Any attempt to manually create the hierarchy would cause the new folders to get immediately and completely nuked. Restarting and enabling logind did not seem to have any effect.

On my other system I had been using lightdm without issues, and on this one I had been using sddm since it was allowing login back before resolving the graphical issues. I switched back to lightdm and it ended up alleviating this situation. It’s a super simple process that I’ve detailed below.

Instructions

This one is easy. All you need to do is switch from sddm (or whatever) to lightdm.

First ensure all the packages are installed. If it asks you to remove any conflicting packages (such as sddm-runit), choose Y.

$ sudo pacman -Sy lightdm lightdm-runit

Next ensure the service script is linked.

$ sudo ln -s /etc/runit/sv/lightdm /run/runit/service/

Then reboot, choose your display manager at the login screen, and enjoy!

Cleanup

If you’d like, you can also now remove the old display manager from your services.

$ sudo rm -v /run/runit/service/sddm

Since the script (sddm-runit in this case) has been uninstalled it doesn’t really matter, but it can help prevent confusion down the road if you forget which you’re actually using.

Happy hacking! :)

blog.hyperling.com/artix-dconf-issues