Clear Linux on 12” MacBook8,1

July 7, 2022

I really, really like the form factor and overall versatility of my MacBook Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015.

Therefore, it is of course also a viable target for distribution hopping optimizing my (mobile) work/ computing setup. 🤓

The installation is smooth and uneventfull, though an external (usb) keyboard/ mouse is required due to applespi drivers not being (auto) loaded at boot time and therefore the buildin keyboard and touchpad are not usable.

But this can be fixed rather easily by following Clear Linux’s official documentation on how to configure kernel modules to load at boot:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/modules-load.d
# /etc/modules-load.d/applespi.conf
spi_pxa2xx_platform
spi_pxa2xx_pci
applespi  

Then, one is left w/ only some minor weak points:

• Full disk encryption using LUKS not usable—b/c of missing drivers for macbook8,1 builtin keyboard in initrd for full disk encrpytion via LUKS. I opened an issue #2668, though eventually I’ll have to build my own kernel—and maintain any updates to the kernel going forward 😿
  
• Bluetooth is not working—b/c no driver available.
  
• Suspend is not working—b/c keyboard and touchpad are available after resuming from suspend.
  
• Audio is only available via headphone jack—b/c speakers and microphone are not working.