Proposal for Internationalization and Portability of BunsenLabs Scri

tuxlibertario · 2026-10-24 17:47:17

This proposal aims to present a work plan for the internationalization of BunsenLabs scripts and to expand their portability to other Linux distributions while preserving their philosophy of simplicity and lightweight design.

The initiative seeks to make the scripts more accessible to users of different languages and Linux environments. Consequently, it intends to facilitate their adaptation, maintenance, and reuse in other systems.

Concurrently, I am working on compatibility and functional tests for the scripts using Labwc (Wayland) + Devuan and Void Linux, with the goal of evaluating possibilities for adapting features and workflows traditionally associated with the Openbox environment.

## Main Actions

* Identify messages, notifications, dialogs, menus, and text present within the scripts.
* Centralize translatable messages into localization files using tools such as `gettext`.
* Implement support for the `LANGUAGE` environment variable, while also respecting the system's locale configurations.
* Maintain English as the reference language and enable the inclusion of translations for Brazilian Portuguese and other languages.
* Ensure that the absence of translation files does not prevent the scripts from executing.
* Review special characters, accents, UTF-8 encoding, and length differences between translations.

The objective is to allow the addition of new languages without requiring constant modifications to the script logic.

## Portability to Other Linux Distributions

Reduce the coupling of the scripts to BunsenLabs and to tools specific to Debian-based systems.

I propose to:

* Identify mandatory and optional dependencies for each script.
* Separate generic commands from distribution-specific components.
* Verify differences among package managers, file paths, services, and configuration tools.
* Create mechanisms for detecting the environment and available dependencies.
* Implement preventative checks, clear error messages, and alternatives when a specific tool is not installed.
* Document minimum requirements along with installation and configuration procedures.
* Evaluate compatibility with other distributions, initially prioritizing systems that share similar tools and dependencies.

Whenever possible, the scripts should use standardized interfaces and commands, maintaining specific modules for the particularities of each distribution.

Portability will be developed incrementally without compromising compatibility with the original BunsenLabs installation.

## Compatibility Testing with Labwc

Currently, I am working on tests using Labwc + Void Linux, investigating the adaptation of the scripts and their features to a Wayland-based environment.

Part of the tools and configurations traditionally used in BunsenLabs are associated with Openbox.

The tests aim to evaluate:

* The execution of scripts within a Labwc session.
* The compatibility of menus, keybindings, autostart, and environment configurations.
* The functionality of notifications, dialogs, and graphical utilities.
* The identification of dependencies on X11-specific tools.
* The need to replace or adapt components that rely directly on Openbox.
* The preservation of the characteristic lightweight and simplicity of BunsenLabs.

It is important to consider that Labwc is not merely a direct drop-in replacement for Openbox: differences between X11 and Wayland require specific adaptations, and some features may require complementary tools.

The results of these tests will serve as a baseline to define which components can be reused, which need modification, and which require an alternative implementation.

## Expected Results

Implementing this proposal is expected to achieve:

* Scripts prepared for multiple languages.
* Greater ease in code maintenance and evolution.
* Reduction of unnecessary dependencies.
* Better compatibility with different desktop environments and Wayland sessions.
* Increased possibility of script reuse across other Linux distributions.
* A testing base that allows for the systematic identification and correction of incompatibilities.

## Final Remarks

The internationalization and portability of BunsenLabs scripts represent an opportunity to expand the reach of the project's tools and facilitate their use in different contexts.

The ongoing work with Labwc is part of this effort, allowing us to investigate the challenges of transitioning components traditionally associated with Openbox and X11 to a Wayland environment.

The proposal is to conduct these changes gradually, prioritizing compatibility, clarity, simplicity, and code maintainability. The ultimate goal is to contribute to a more flexible, internationalized, and reusable set of scripts, preserving the characteristics that make BunsenLabs a relevant option for lightweight and customizable Linux environments.

* Tint2 / xfce4-panel => Waybar
* Nitrogen => Azote

johnraff · Today 06:09:18

Hello @tuxlibertario and welcome to the BunsenLabs community!

Thank you for your interest in contributing to the project. There has been some discussion among the dev team as to the best way to respond to your various suggestions, which is why it has taken time to reply.

Your proposal is very large and covers a wide area. There are some topics that need discussing, with input from you, the developer team and the whole BunsenLabs community. I'm sure you can appreciate that community buy-in from a thorough discussion should come before implementation.

1. Scope: Translation support + directory restructuring + Wayland adaption + portability is four projects, not one
2. AI generation: You were asked whether the code presented in your GitHub PR had been generated with the help of AI or not, but have not yet given us an answer.
3. Tests and clear maintenance plan: Long-term upkeep must be enabled from the start
4. Project capacity: Any work undertaken must recognize the small size of the staff available to implement it

1) Each of those "scope" topics deserves a separate discussion:

a) I18n support: How many/what languages should be supported? How will updates of scripts be handled, if text strings need modification? Big distributions like debian have large translation teams to do this. Another aspect is that inclusion of translated user interface strings can greatly increase the size of small scripts. Adding i18n to the entire project is a major undertaking for a small team. We'd recommend starting with one or two scripts as a pilot, with full tests and documentation, to demonstrate the approach before expanding further. Your willingness to support the translations over the long term is also a factor to consider.

b) Internal organization of packages is the final responsibility of the maintainer, and should be discussed with him/her. You can identify the maintainer from the debian/control file on GitHub, but anyway I'd suggest discussing directory structure changes in the Dev Discussions subforum.

c) Wayland adaptation is already under way:
https://forums.bunsenlabs.org/viewtopic.php?id=9837

d) Portability to other systems than Debian Stable, while not ruled out completely, is not high on our project goals.

2) While right now we do not impose an absolute ban on the use of AI, we need transparency about how contributions were created so we can properly review and maintain them. Our policy at the moment is similar to Debian's:
https://www.debian.org/vote/2026/vote_002#texte
https://www.fosslinux.com/160593/debian … -means.htm
We require any contributions to clearly state if an LLM has been used, and if so what model. Any git commits must be signed by a human, who takes full responsibility.

How to proceed from here
I would suggest choosing a small BunsenLabs package, choose an improvement to work on and start a new topic in this Development & Suggestions forum section to discuss your proposal.

Let's go forwards from there!

#1 2026-10-24 17:47:17

Proposal for Internationalization and Portability of BunsenLabs Scri

#2 Today 06:09:18

Re: Proposal for Internationalization and Portability of BunsenLabs Scri

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