Archer Compatibility Suite (Linuwu-DAMX Installer v2.0)

Have an Acer laptop running Arch Linux? You're in the right place.

A comprehensive, modular compatibility suite for Acer laptops running Arch Linux and Arch-based distributions. Originally built for Linuwu-Sense and DAMX (Div Acer Manager Max), the installer now provides hardware-aware detection and targeted fixes for a broad range of Acer laptop issues on Linux.

Supported Hardware

Model Family	Fan/RGB (DAMX)	Battery Limit	GPU Switching	Touchpad Fix	Audio Fix	WiFi/BT	Power Mgmt	Thermal Profiles
Nitro	R	R	R	O	O	O	O	O
Predator	R	R	R	O	O	O	O	O
Helios	R	R	R	O	O	O	O	O
Triton	R	R	R	O	O	O	O	O
Swift	O	R	-	O	O	O	O	-
Aspire	O	R	O	O	O	O	O	-
Spin	O	R	-	O	O	O	O	-

R = Recommended, O = Optional/Available, - = Not applicable

Supported Distributions

• Arch Linux
• CachyOS (auto-detected kernel headers)
• EndeavourOS
• Manjaro
• Garuda Linux

Available Modules

1. DAMX Fan & RGB Control (core-damx)

Installs the Linuwu-Sense kernel driver via DKMS and the DAMX GUI daemon for fan speed control and RGB keyboard management. Blacklists the default acer_wmi module for exclusive hardware access.

2. Battery Charge Limit (battery)

Installs the acer-wmi-battery DKMS module to limit charging to 80%, extending battery lifespan. Persists across reboots via a udev rule. Prefers AUR installation when paru or yay is available.

3. GPU Switching (gpu)

Installs EnvyControl for NVIDIA Optimus hybrid graphics management. Supports three modes:

• hybrid — Integrated GPU by default, NVIDIA on demand (recommended)
• nvidia — Always use discrete GPU
• integrated — Disable NVIDIA entirely for maximum battery life

4. Touchpad Fix (touchpad)

Addresses I2C HID touchpad detection failures common on several Acer models. Applies up to three strategies:

• AMD pinctrl_amd module load ordering fix
• Systemd service for I2C HID module reload on boot
• GRUB kernel parameters (i8042.reset i8042.nomux)

5. Audio Fix (audio)

Installs SOF firmware and ALSA UCM configuration. Platform-specific fixes:

• AMD: Configures SOF driver, disables legacy ACP PDM conflicts
• Intel: Validates SOF firmware loading, rebuilds initramfs if needed

6. WiFi/Bluetooth Troubleshooting (wifi)

Chipset-aware diagnostics and fixes:

• MediaTek (MT7921/MT7922/MT7925): Firmware checks, PCIe device reset, compatibility warnings
• Intel (AX200/AX210/AX211/BE200): rfkill unblocking, firmware validation
• Realtek: Guidance for AUR out-of-tree drivers
• Common: Bluetooth service setup, NetworkManager enablement

7. Power Management (power)

Installs TLP with an Acer-optimized configuration:

• Performance governor on AC, powersave on battery
• WiFi power management, USB autosuspend
• Runtime PM for PCI devices (NVIDIA GPU power saving)

8. Kernel Thermal Profiles (thermal)

Enables native acer_wmi thermal profile support on kernel 6.8+. Provides access to Eco, Silent, Balanced, Performance, and Turbo modes via the standard platform_profile sysfs interface and the physical mode button.

Conflict Warning: This module requires acer_wmi to be loaded, which conflicts with the DAMX module (Linuwu-Sense blacklists acer_wmi). You cannot use both simultaneously.

Installation

Clone the repository and run the installer:

git clone https://github.com/otectus/Linuwu-DAMX-Installer.git
cd Linuwu-DAMX-Installer
./install.sh        # Bash
./setup.fish         # Fish

The installer will:

1. Detect your hardware (model, GPU, WiFi chipset, battery, kernel, distro)
2. Recommend modules based on detected hardware
3. Present an interactive menu for module selection
4. Install shared dependencies and selected modules
5. Verify each installation and report results

Non-Interactive Installation

# Install all recommended modules
./install.sh --all

# Install specific modules
./install.sh --modules "core-damx,battery,gpu"

# Skip confirmation prompts
./install.sh --all --no-confirm

# Preview without making changes
./install.sh --dry-run

# Show help
./install.sh --help

CLI Flags

Flag	Description
--all	Install all recommended modules (non-interactive)
--modules LIST	Comma-separated list of module IDs to install
--no-confirm	Skip all confirmation prompts
--dry-run	Show what would be done without making changes
--help, -h	Show help message
--version, -v	Show installer version

Verification

After installation, verify the state of installed modules:

# DAMX / Linuwu-Sense
dkms status                                    # linuwu-sense should show 'installed'
lsmod | grep linuwu_sense                      # Module should be loaded
systemctl --user status damx-daemon            # Daemon should be active

# Battery
cat /sys/bus/wmi/drivers/acer-wmi-battery/health_mode  # Should read '1'

# GPU
envycontrol --query                            # Should show configured mode

# TLP
sudo tlp-stat -s                               # Should show TLP active

# Thermal Profiles
cat /sys/firmware/acpi/platform_profile        # Should show current profile

Uninstallation

The uninstaller reads the install manifest to selectively remove only what was installed:

./uninstall.sh       # Bash
./uninstall.fish     # Fish

If no manifest is found (v1 installation), a legacy fallback removes all known components.

Project Structure

Linuwu-DAMX-Installer/
  install.sh / setup.fish       # Main entry points with interactive menu
  uninstall.sh / uninstall.fish # Manifest-aware uninstallers
  lib/
    utils.sh / .fish            # Shared logging, error handling, helpers
    detect.sh / .fish           # Hardware detection and recommendation engine
    manifest.sh / .fish         # Install state tracking (JSON manifest)
  modules/
    core-damx.sh / .fish        # Linuwu-Sense + DAMX fan/RGB control
    battery.sh / .fish          # acer-wmi-battery charge limiting
    gpu.sh / .fish              # EnvyControl GPU switching
    touchpad.sh / .fish         # I2C HID touchpad fixes
    audio.sh / .fish            # SOF firmware and audio config
    wifi.sh / .fish             # WiFi/Bluetooth troubleshooting
    power.sh / .fish            # TLP power management
    thermal.sh / .fish          # Kernel thermal profiles

Technical Notes

• Secure Boot: If Secure Boot is enabled, you must manually sign DKMS kernel modules (linuwu-sense, acer-wmi-battery) or disable Secure Boot.
• BIOS Configuration: Some Acer laptops ship with RAID storage mode enabled. Switch to AHCI mode in BIOS for Linux compatibility. Disable Fast Startup for dual-boot setups.
• CachyOS: The installer automatically detects CachyOS kernels and installs the correct -cachyos-headers package. Clang/LLVM compiler flags are applied when a Clang-built kernel is detected.
• AUR Helpers: Modules that install AUR packages (battery, GPU) prefer paru or yay if available, with manual fallback otherwise. The installer never installs an AUR helper for you.
• Install Manifest: Stored at ~/.local/share/damx/install-manifest.json. Tracks installed modules, files, DKMS modules, and packages for clean uninstallation.

Contributing

To add a new module, create modules/<id>.sh and modules/<id>.fish implementing the module interface:

MODULE_NAME="Display Name"
MODULE_ID="module-id"
MODULE_DESCRIPTION="What this module does"

module_detect()          # Return 0 if relevant to current hardware
module_check_installed() # Return 0 if already installed
module_install()         # Perform installation
module_uninstall()       # Reverse installation
module_verify()          # Return 0 if working correctly

Then add the module ID and label to the MODULE_IDS and MODULE_LABELS arrays in install.sh and setup.fish, and update the recommendation logic in lib/detect.sh / lib/detect.fish.

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Maintained for the Acer Linux Community.