1---
  2template:
  3slug: signal-vmm
  4title: Signal Desktop on OpenBSD via vmm(4)
  5subtitle: X11 forwarding to the rescue
  6date: 2021-12-26
  7---
  8
  9Early this year, I completely switched over to Signal and I'm fortunate enough
 10to have everyone that I talk to switch over as well. I know I wrote what some
 11might view as a [hit piece on Signal](/blog/signal), but I have immense respect
 12for the project and will continue to use it until an actually viable
 13alternative comes along.
 14
 15Unfortunately, their desktop application isn't natively available for OpenBSD.
 16A solution that's worked decently enough for me is to run it via X11 forwarding
 17on a Ubuntu VM running on [vmm(4)](https://man.openbsd.org/vmm) -- OpenBSD's
 18built-in hypervisor.
 19
 20## setting up the VM 
 21
 22I recommend reading the [FAQ on
 23Virtualization](https://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq16.html) first, but here's a
 24quick overview. Note that I'll be skipping the networking bits so I highly
 25recommend reading the FAQ to get your VM connected to the internet.
 26
 27Create a disk image for the VM to install onto.
 28
 29```sh
 30$ vmctl create -s 30G ubuntu.img
 31```
 32
 33I'm using the Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
 34[mini.iso](archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/bionic/main/installer-amd64/current/images/netboot/mini.iso).
 35I ran into issues with the 20.04 LTS ISO, but I think you should be able to
 36`dist-upgrade` from 18.04 without much trouble. Once you have the ISO
 37downloaded somewhere, edit `/etc/vm.conf`:
 38
 39```conf
 40vm "ubuntu" {
 41    memory 2G 
 42    cdrom "/path/to/mini.iso"
 43    disk "/path/to/ubuntu.img"
 44    interfaces 1
 45    local interface tap
 46    owner icy   # this is your user
 47    disable
 48}
 49```
 50
 51Start and (optionally) enable [vmd(8)](https://man.openbsd.org/vmd).
 52
 53```sh
 54$ doas rcctl -f start vmd
 55$ doas rcctl enable vmd
 56```
 57
 58We can now boot into the VM, and interface via the serial console. This can be
 59done using [vmctl(8)](https://man.openbsd.org/vmctl).
 60
 61```sh
 62$ vmctl start -c ubuntu  # note -c for console
 63```
 64
 65Hit Tab on the bootloader screen to edit the kernel parameters. We want to
 66force it to use the serial console for installation. This is done by adding
 67`console=ttyS0,115200` on the line shown. If there's a `quiet`, delete that and
 68add the above. You can then continue on with the installation -- install
 69OpenSSH, add your keys etc.
 70
 71Once installed, remove the `cdrom` line from your `vm.conf` and start the VM
 72without the serial console.
 73
 74```
 75$ vmctl start ubuntu
 76```
 77
 78## installing and running Signal Desktop
 79
 80SSH into the VM with X11 forwarding enabled:
 81
 82```sh
 83$ ssh -Y myvmhost
 84```
 85
 86Install `signal-desktop`, following the instructions at
 87https://signal.org/download. You can now run the `signal-desktop`
 88command from the VM's shell. As long as it spawns a GUI, the multitude
 89of warnings and errors it produces can ge ignored.
 90
 91Below is a helper script to launch Signal from your host machine:
 92```sh
 93#!/bin/sh
 94# signal: launch signal-desktop via a vm (vmm(4))
 95
 96status="$(vmctl status ubuntu | grep running)"
 97[[ "$status" == "" ]] && {
 98    vmctl start ubuntu
 99    sleep 10
100}
101
102ssh -Y pantwo signal-desktop &> /dev/null
103```
104
105![signal desktop](https://x.icyphox.sh/HwF45.png)
106
107## caveats
108
109- Files to be shared will have to be transferred to the VM's filesystem
110  for upload. Images/text can be pasted into the text-box from the
111  clipboard, however.
112- UI elements are slightly laggy but text input is fast enough.
113- No notifications, but I think that's a feature.