Eloy Melo

I have built my own Home Lab, and it's fantastic!

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 12:40:27 -0300

I recently have made this post talking about why I am ditching Windows and going full Linux. If you want to get a better context for what I am going to write here, you can check that out first.

Yes, that’s right, I have build my very own home lab running Debian 13 Trixie, and it’s a life changer. For starters, I have completely ditched services like ChatGPT, Proton Drive, Google Photos, Spotify, Netflix, Amazon Music and so on. Now I host all of that in my own server, well, not exactly the same services, but the open source free (as in freedom) alternatives.

Goodbye, Windows. Hello, Linux!

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 02:32:36 -0300

Well, I am back to Linux, and this time I believe it’s for good. Before I tell you why I am completely switching, let me give you some context.

I’ve been on and off of Linux Distros for quite some time now. However, in late November of this year, I found myself in a pickle. Since I’m currently unemployed and with no money to continue paying for services like Proton Drive, Proton Pass, things of that nature, I decided to look into the self hosted aspect of things. I tried to do all of that using Windows, it kinda worked, but it felt wrong, I had some weird issues. Then I thought: “Now this is a great opportunity to install once more a Linux Distro and try it out over there.”. I couldn’t be more right. I installed Fedora 43 on my main tower, configured everything and I was ready to go. All working flawlessly with a server working with Debian as well, all perfect. I will definitely write a post about this whole process in the future.

Fedora Apps

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 16:42:03 -0300

Fedora oficial repository

OBS Studio, Steam, VLC media player, Cheese, LibreOffice, BTRFS Assistant, MenuLibre, qBittorrent, Kdenlive, Wine, Protontricks, Lutris, GIMP, GParted, Audacity, OpenRGB, Guvcview, Chromium, Firefox, QEMU, libvirt Daemon (QEMU), Virtual Machine Manager.

Command to install all of them at once:

sudo dnf install obs-studio steam vlc cheese libreoffice btrfs-assistant menulibre qbittorrent kdenlive wine protontricks lutris gimp gparted audacity openrgb guvcview chromium firefox qemu libvirt-daemon-qemu virt-manager

Flatpaks

Tube Converter, Signal, Bitwarden, Discord, Flatseal, Heroic Games Launcher, Extension Manager, Blanket, Spotify, MangoHud (Steam Utility), GDM Settings, Constrict, Obsidian, Piper, Pika Backup, Adwaita-dark Theme, LocalSend, MusicBrainz Picard and Spotube.

Fedora Fixes

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 16:33:34 -0300

1. Flatpaks missing dark GTK theme

flatpak install org.gtk.Gtk3theme.Adwaita-dark

Also see this article about it.

2. Virtual Manager (KVM) ethernet not working

Open this file and add the following at the end right under #firewall_backend = “nftables”.

firewall_backend  = "iptables"

Restart the libvirtd service.

sudo systemctl restart libvirtd

Now it should work after restarting the VM.

Source

3. NVIDIA drivers

If you have a NVIDIA card, I suggest you follow the steps covered in this tutorial created by Fady Osama.

Fedora Better Fonts

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 17:57:51 -0300

1. Install Microsoft Fonts

sudo dnf install curl cabextract xorg-x11-font-utils fontconfig -y

And then:

sudo rpm -i https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/mscorefonts2/rpms/msttcore-fonts-installer-2.6-1.noarch.rpm

If you got errors while trying to run the command above, run it with the –nodigest flag. So basically

sudo rpm --nodigest -i ...

2. Enable COPR repository (CURRENTLY NOT WORKING FOR FEDORA 43)

sudo dnf copr enable chriscowleyunix/better_fonts -y

Install these packages:

sudo dnf install fontconfig-font-replacements -y

(Optional) Enable subpixel (rgb) antialiasing:

sudo dnf install fontconfig-enhanced-defaults -y

3. GNOME Tweaks

Make sure to set “Antialiasing” to “Subpixel (for LCD screens)” and “Rendering” to “Slight”.

Debian Apps

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 15:59:11 -0300

A collection of applications to improve desktop experience.

GNOME:

sudo apt install obs-studio steam vlc libreoffice menulibre qbittorrent kdenlive wine protontricks lutris gimp gparted audacity goverlay piper guvcview chromium timeshift nvtop gnome-shell-extension-manager hunspell-pt-br hunspell-pt-pt openjdk-25-jdk nvidia-driver-libs:i386 heif-gdk-pixbuf passwd ffmpegthumbnailer libnotify-bin gamemode bluetooth bluez-cups bluez-meshd rclone fonts-ubuntu fastfetch btop

KDE:

sudo apt install obs-studio steam vlc libreoffice qbittorrent kdenlive wine protontricks lutris gimp audacity goverlay piper guvcview chromium timeshift nvtop hunspell-pt-br hunspell-pt-pt openjdk-25-jdk nvidia-driver-libs:i386 heif-gdk-pixbuf passwd ffmpegthumbnailer libnotify-bin gamemode bluetooth bluez-cups bluez-meshd rclone filelight fonts-ubuntu fastfetch btop

Additional packages:

Debian Broken QT Theme

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 01:58:00 -0300

1. Open terminal and type the following

sudo apt install qgnomeplatform-qt5

2. Edit `/etc/environment` and paste the following:

sudo vim /etc/environment

# fix for broken QT themes
QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb

3. Log out of the session or restart the machine.

sudo reboot

Recommended Guides:

Debian Post Install

Debian Apps

Debian Firewall

Debian Better Fonts

Debian Firewall

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 01:57:35 -0300

Setting up Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW)

1. Install it using your package manager.

sudo apt install ufw

2. Now use these recommended rules:

sudo ufw limit 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw enable

3. If you are using the application LocalSend, also run this:

sudo ufw allow 53317

This will allow localsend to work properly with the ufw rules above.

Debian Better Fonts

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 01:45:18 -0300

1. Install the Microsoft Fonts using this command:

sudo apt install ttf-mscorefonts-installer -y

2. Create the following directory and the fonts.conf file:

mkdir -p ~/.config/fontconfig/

then

vim ~/.config/fontconfig/fonts.conf

now paste this setting:

<?xml version='1.0'?>
<!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM 'fonts.dtd'>
<fontconfig>
<match target="font">
    <edit mode="assign" name="antialias">
        <bool>true</bool>
    </edit>
    <edit mode="assign" name="embeddedbitmap">
        <bool>false</bool>
    </edit>
    <edit mode="assign" name="hinting">
        <bool>true</bool>
    </edit>
    <edit mode="assign" name="hintstyle">
        <const>hintslight</const>
    </edit>
    <edit mode="assign" name="lcdfilter">
        <const>lcddefault</const>
    </edit>
    <edit mode="assign" name="rgba">
        <const>rgb</const>
    </edit>
</match>
</fontconfig>

3. Run these commmands:

# Reconfigure fontconfig
sudo dpkg-reconfigure fontconfig-config

# Regenerate fonts cache
sudo dpkg-reconfigure fontconfig

Or just run

Arch Firewall

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:15:53 -0300

Setting up Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW)

You can install it using your package manager.
```
sudo pacman -S ufw
```

Now use these recommended rules:

sudo ufw limit 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw enable

If you are using the application LocalSend, also run this:
```
sudo ufw allow 53317
```

This will allow localsend to work properly with the ufw rules above.

Cedilla Fix for US Keyboard Layout

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0300

Simple fix for those using a US keyboard layout who cannot type “ç”.

Create a hidden file in your home directory called .XCompose:

nano .XCompose

Copy and paste the following:

include "%L"
<dead_acute> <c>     : "ç"
<dead_acute> <C>     : "Ç"

Log out and log back in.

Extensions

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0300

My recommended extensions for GNOME 48+:

App Indicator
Blur My Shell
Caffeine
Dash to Dock
GNOME 4x UI Improvements
Impatience
GSConnect
Just Perfection
Notification Timeout
QS Tweak Quick Setting Tweaker
Tiling Assistant
Unblank Lock Screen

QT Broken Theme

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0300

First install the adw-gtk3 package.


Fedora	`dnf install adw-gtk3-theme`
Arch	`pacman -S adw-gtk-theme`
Debian	3rd party repo

Then open your terminal and make the following changes to the environment file.

sudo nano /etc/environment

QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb

QT_STYLE_OVERRIDE=adw-gtk3-theme

Optional

GSK_RENDERER=ngl

FREETYPE_PROPERTIES=“cff:no-stem-darkening=0 autofitter:no-stem-darkening=0”

Settings

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 10:00:00 -0300

Just a couple of adjustments that I usually make whenever I use GNOME as my default DE

Changing the timeout of the “App is not responding” popup.

The default time is set to 5 seconds. In order to change it to a higher value or to remove it, follow these steps.

Open the terminal and paste these values:

To 60 seconds:

gsettings set org.gnome.mutter check-alive-timeout 60000

To completely disable it:

Arch Better Fonts

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 09:56:15 -0300

1. Install the Microsoft Fonts.

yay -S ttf-ms-fonts 
yay -S ttf-ms-win11-auto
yay -S ttf-ms-win10-auto

Choose one, here I recommend “ttf-ms-fonts”.

yay -S ttf-ms-fonts

2. Install a better text font.

For my use case, I always install Ubuntu fonts.

sudo pacman -S ttf-ubuntu-font-family

3. Create the following directory and the fonts.conf file:

mkdir -p ~/.config/fontconfig/

then

vim ~/.config/fontconfig/fonts.conf

now paste this setting:

<?xml version='1.0'?>
<!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM 'fonts.dtd'>
<fontconfig>
<match target="font">
    <edit mode="assign" name="antialias">
        <bool>true</bool>
    </edit>
    <edit mode="assign" name="embeddedbitmap">
        <bool>false</bool>
    </edit>
    <edit mode="assign" name="hinting">
        <bool>true</bool>
    </edit>
    <edit mode="assign" name="hintstyle">
        <const>hintslight</const>
    </edit>
    <edit mode="assign" name="lcdfilter">
        <const>lcddefault</const>
    </edit>
    <edit mode="assign" name="rgba">
        <const>rgb</const>
    </edit>
</match>
</fontconfig>

3.1. Run this command to build font cache:

fc-cache -fv

3.2 Reboot your PC.

sudo reboot

4. Open GNOME Tweaks and set the following:

Interface Text: Ubuntu
Document Text: Ubuntu
Monospace Text: MesloLGS NF (or any of the ttf-meslo-nerd)
    
Rendering (Hinting):
        
Slight

Antialiasing:

Subpixel (for LCD screens)

5. Optional (Highly Recommended)

Using the FREETYPE_PROPERTIES option for bolder fonts (less pixelated, more like Windows TrueType):

Arch Apps

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 09:24:54 -0300

A collection of applications to improve desktop experience.

GNOME:

sudo pacman -S obs-studio steam discord qbittorrent kdenlive vlc libreoffice-fresh blanket wine timeshift lutris gimp obsidian network-manager-applet gparted audacity signal-desktop goverlay openrgb piper chromium guvcview ffmpegthumbs ffmpegthumbnailer kimageformats qt6-imageformats nvtop gamemode tree btop

sudo pacman -Rns $(pacman -Qtdq)

yay -S brave-bin spotify localsend-bin 1password extension-manager menulibre gdm-settings upscayl-bin protontricks steamtinkerlaunch-git proton-vpn-gtk-app hunspell-en_gb hunspell-pt-br warsaw-bin oversteer proton-pass-bin ttf-ms-fonts ffmpeg-audio-thumbnailer visual-studio-code-bin

yay -S vscodium-bin

KDE Plasma:

sudo pacman -S obs-studio steam discord qbittorrent kdenlive vlc libreoffice-fresh wine timeshift kate lutris gimp obsidian network-manager-applet audacity signal-desktop goverlay openrgb piper chromium btop nvtop filelight gamemode okular ark gwenview spectacle kwalletmanager kalk partitionmanager guvcview-qt kfind ksystemlog elisa kmail kgeography kcolorchooser kclock ffmpegthumbs ffmpegthumbnailer kimageformats qt6-imageformats tree

sudo pacman -Rns $(pacman -Qtdq)

yay -S brave-bin spotify localsend-bin 1password upscayl-bin protontricks steamtinkerlaunch-git proton-vpn-gtk-app hunspell-en_gb hunspell-pt-br hunspell-pt_pt warsaw-bin oversteer breezex-cursor-theme proton-pass-bin ttf-ms-fonts ffmpeg-audio-thumbnailer visual-studio-code-bin

yay -S vscodium-bin

Misc

If you have an EPSON printer, install the following:

Windows Setup Manager

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Automate Windows software installation with one command. Built with Python and PowerShell.

Quick Install

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

iwr -useb "eloymelo.com/scripts/win/setup.ps1" | iex

An interactive window will appear where you can select packages from my curated collection of 95+ applications.

How It Works

Run the command above
Select the packages you want from the list
Click OK and the tool installs everything automatically
Done

Source Code

This is an open-source project. Check out the code and contribute:

ProtonGE Setup

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 10:00:00 -0300

ProtonGE is a custom version of Proton with additional patches and fixes for better game compatibility on Linux.

Go to the ProtonGE GitHub page and download the latest release.
Create the compatibilitytools.d directory if it does not exist:

mkdir -p ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d

Extract the downloaded file to the directory:

tar -xf GE-ProtonVERSION.tar.gz -C ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/

Restart Steam and select ProtonGE in the compatibility settings of any game.

Setting up an EPSON Printer

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 10:00:00 -0300

1. Install the required driver for your distro

Debian:

sudo apt install printer-driver-escpr

Fedora:

sudo dnf install epson-inkjet-printer-escpr

Arch:

yay -S epson-inkjet-printer-escpr

2. Enable and start the CUPS service

sudo systemctl enable cups && sudo systemctl start cups

3. Add the printer via CUPS web interface

Go to http://localhost:631, then navigate to Administration > Add Printer, select the printer on your network and follow the prompts. When choosing the driver model, pick the closest match — for the L355, the L405 or L455 works well.

This Website is a Work in Progress

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 02:21:23 -0300

Hello! As you can see, this website still is a work in progress. So you’ll likely see a lot of things out of order. I just wanted to make this clear, just in case you see some broken links or something. I’ll do my best to keep the “Tutorials” section functional at all times, since I’ll be focusing on it at this time.

That’s it for now, see you on the next one. Bye!

Fedora Post Install

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 00:10:06 -0300

Make DNF faster by adding these lines in /etc/dnf/dnf.conf

# DNF config
fastestmirror=True
max_parallel_downloads=10
defaultyes=True
keepcache=True

Update your system

sudo dnf update

Enable RPM Fusion

sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

Source

Switch to full ffmpeg

sudo dnf swap ffmpeg-free ffmpeg --allowerasing

Source

Enable Flatpaks

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Source

Install media plugins

sudo dnf group install Multimedia

Source

Enable video thumbnails

sudo dnf install ffmpegthumbnailer

Enable HEIC image support

sudo dnf install heif-pixbuf-loader

sudo dnf install libheif-freeworld

Change Hostname of the machine

sudo hostnamectl set-hostname "New_Custom_Name"

Recommended Guides:

Fedora Better Fonts

Debian Post Install

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 00:05:35 -0300

Enable contrib and non-free sources

Using the terminal, edit the following file, add the “contrib” and “non-free” sources, or replace with these lines:

sudo vim /etc/apt/sources.list

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian-security/ bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian-security/ bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware

Enable bookworm backports (it works for Trixie as well)

Just a Simple Website

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 08:57:01 -0300

When I first thought of hosting a website, I never wanted to create something too bloated with a bunch of JavaScript like many websites out there. Don’t get me wrong, there are many websites that look great and they have tons of CSS and JavaScript; but that approach is not my cup of tea… I was looking for something simple and functional, that’s why I went with the Hugo framework + PaperMod theme, and I’m really glad that I did that.

Arch Post Install

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 01:16:05 -0300

Update the system:

sudo pacman -Syu

Install vim (or other text editor)

sudo pacman -S vim git

Open /etc/pacman.conf and make the following changes in order to improve the overall experience.

sudo vim /etc/pacman.conf

Remove the # from Color and ParallelDownloads.

# Misc options
#UseSyslog
Color
#NoProgressBar
CheckSpace
#VerbosePkgLists
ParallelDownloads = 5

Update the system:

sudo pacman -Sy

Install reflector so you can get the most up-to-date mirrors. You can also choose the mirrors by country if you want.

sudo pacman -S reflector

Create a backup of the mirrorlist file.

Hello, Hugo

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 01:16:05 -0300

UPDATE: Hey there! This is my very first post here.

I’m setting up this website as a hybrid portfolio. It’ll be a place where I’ll write about my learning journey plus some tutorials and random topics as well about random stuff.

Stay tuned!

Eloy Melo

I have built my own Home Lab, and it's fantastic!

Goodbye, Windows. Hello, Linux!

Fedora Apps

Fedora oficial repository

Command to install all of them at once:

Flatpaks

Fedora Fixes

1. Flatpaks missing dark GTK theme

2. Virtual Manager (KVM) ethernet not working

3. NVIDIA drivers

Fedora Better Fonts

1. Install Microsoft Fonts

2. Enable COPR repository (CURRENTLY NOT WORKING FOR FEDORA 43)

Install these packages:

(Optional) Enable subpixel (rgb) antialiasing:

3. GNOME Tweaks

Debian Apps

A collection of applications to improve desktop experience.

GNOME:

Debian Broken QT Theme

1. Open terminal and type the following

2. Edit /etc/environment and paste the following:

3. Log out of the session or restart the machine.

Recommended Guides:

Debian Firewall

Setting up Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW)

1. Install it using your package manager.

2. Now use these recommended rules:

3. If you are using the application LocalSend, also run this:

Debian Better Fonts

1. Install the Microsoft Fonts using this command:

2. Create the following directory and the fonts.conf file:

3. Run these commmands:

Arch Firewall

Setting up Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW)

Cedilla Fix for US Keyboard Layout

Extensions

QT Broken Theme

Optional

Settings

Just a couple of adjustments that I usually make whenever I use GNOME as my default DE

Arch Better Fonts

1. Install the Microsoft Fonts.

2. Install a better text font.

3. Create the following directory and the fonts.conf file:

3.1. Run this command to build font cache:

3.2 Reboot your PC.

4. Open GNOME Tweaks and set the following:

5. Optional (Highly Recommended)

Arch Apps

A collection of applications to improve desktop experience.

GNOME:

KDE Plasma:

Misc

Windows Setup Manager

Quick Install

How It Works

Source Code

ProtonGE Setup

Setting up an EPSON Printer

1. Install the required driver for your distro

2. Enable and start the CUPS service

3. Add the printer via CUPS web interface

This Website is a Work in Progress

Fedora Post Install

Recommended Guides:

Debian Post Install

Just a Simple Website

Arch Post Install

Hello, Hugo

2. Edit `/etc/environment` and paste the following: