madOS Kernel

Linux kernel packages for madOS with two flavors:

• linux-mados: broad x86_64 compatibility (Intel Atom 64-bit and newer)
• linux-mados-perf: optimized flavor for newer x86_64 CPUs

Both flavors are configured to support Plymouth reliably during early boot.

Goals

• Boot across a wide range of x86_64 hardware
• Keep desktop responsiveness (1000Hz + preemptive scheduling)
• Ensure early graphics stack is available for Plymouth splash

Packages

• linux-mados
• linux-mados-headers
• linux-mados-perf
• linux-mados-perf-headers

Build From Source

sudo pacman -Syu --needed base-devel bc cpio gettext libelf pahole perl python tar xz zstd git ccache ncurses clang lld llvm binutils
git clone https://github.com/madoslinux/mados-kernel.git
cd mados-kernel
makepkg -s

Install

sudo pacman -U ./linux-mados-*.pkg.tar.* ./linux-mados-headers-*.pkg.tar.*
# or
sudo pacman -U ./linux-mados-perf-*.pkg.tar.* ./linux-mados-perf-headers-*.pkg.tar.*

Plymouth Requirements

Plymouth needs both kernel-side and initramfs-side support.

1. Ensure your initramfs hooks include plymouth and kms.
2. Regenerate initramfs after installing a new kernel:

sudo mkinitcpio -P

3. Use a bootloader command line with splash (and typically quiet).

Example (/etc/mkinitcpio.conf) hooks with systemd initramfs:

HOOKS=(base systemd autodetect microcode modconf kms keyboard sd-vconsole block filesystems plymouth fsck)

Kernel Config Strategy

Configuration is generated from x86_64_defconfig and then layered with fragments:

• config.base: compatibility-oriented baseline
• config.plymouth: early graphics and splash-related options
• config.perf: additional tuning for the performance flavor

This keeps the config reproducible and avoids long, stale monolithic configs.

CI Validation

GitHub Actions now validates:

• Package build via makepkg
• Key kernel symbols for compatibility and Plymouth
• QEMU smoke boot for linux-mados in BIOS and UEFI mode using a tiny initramfs

The smoke test confirms early boot execution path (SMOKE_OK) and catches hard boot regressions quickly.

Troubleshooting

• No splash shown:
  • Verify HOOKS contain kms and plymouth
  • Verify kernel cmdline includes splash
  • Rebuild initramfs with mkinitcpio -P
• Older hardware fails to boot with perf flavor:
  • Switch to linux-mados compatibility flavor

Credits

• zen-kernel team
• Arch Linux kernel tooling

License

GPL-2.0-or-later