Introduction¶

Welcome to the t2linux wiki!

This wiki contains knowledge about running Linux on Macs with the T2 chip. A list of those devices can be found on Apple's website.

Getting started¶

To get started with an installation, refer to the roadmap.

Contact us¶

You may contact us on the Linux on T2 Macs (2018+) Discord Server, where you can find most of the people involved.

Contribute¶

Visit the Contribute page for more details.

Notable Resources¶

Distributions¶

Different distributions are maintained by different people in their own repositories. If the distribution you want to use has a guide here, it's recommended to follow it instead of the instructions given in one of the repositories or otherwise official documentation by distribution vendor, as it considers T2 support.

Arch https://github.com/t2linux/archiso-t2
EndeavourOS https://github.com/t2linux/EndeavourOS-ISO-t2
Fedora https://github.com/t2linux/fedora-iso
Gentoo https://github.com/t2linux/T2-Gentoo-Kernel
Manjaro https://github.com/NoaHimesaka1873/manjaroiso-t2
Tails https://github.com/T2minator/mbp-tails
Ubuntu & Kubuntu https://github.com/t2linux/T2-Ubuntu

Kernel Modules¶

Support for hardware is cross distro besides patches to the distribution specific kernel. The following repos contain kernel modules for said support:

MacBook Bridge / T2 Linux Driver https://github.com/t2linux/apple-bce-drv
Touchbar and Ambient Light https://github.com/t2linux/apple-ib-drv (Upstreamed in kernel 6.15)

Instead of installing these modules manually, it is suggested to follow the distro specific guides since they are pre-installed in our distro specific ISOs.

Guides and similar¶

The following guides are third party

These guides/configurations aren't supported by t2linux maintainers. Use at your own risk. If you are using one of the distributions listed above, you should follow their install guides rather than the ones listed under this section. However, they might still be important to gain a better general picture or to help with specific issues.

List of Mac Model Identifiers on everymac.com
Using Luks with the integrated keyboard https://github.com/DimitriDokuchaev/GrubLuksUnlock
Adding macOS-like screenshot shortcuts to KDE Plasma https://gist.github.com/networkException/5a68299accc1872749c86301c1449690
Disable thermal throttling (better performance but higher temperatures) https://github.com/yyearth/turnoff-BD-PROCHOT
Install a distribution in a virtual machine and copy it to bare metal afterwards https://gist.github.com/Redecorating/c876a4c3b24e47d79c1f921495f62213 (using Pop!_OS as an example)
Get SMART information of your Apple Internal SSD using Linux https://gist.github.com/AdityaGarg8/b03e57826213019fbffa747e1c724cac
Keyboard related issues https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Apple_Keyboard
Get silent boot experience similar to macOS and Windows on Ubuntu and Arch Linux.

Trackpad tuning¶

Wayland
- libinput tuning is typically applied by distribution maintainers rather than end users. You can test changes on your own, see debugging touchpad pressure and palm detection guides. If you get a configuration that works well, please notify the t2linux maintainers.
Xorg (deprecated, use Wayland instead if possible)
- Implement macOS-like Keyboard and trackpad experience on Gnome Xorg. Read the top comments of each file in the links given below to understand requirements, additional tools and usage.
  - Synaptics Config (for general trackpad behaviour using Synaptics)
  - Fusuma Config (for additional gestures commands using Fusuma)

Outdated¶

State of Linux on the MacBook Pro (technical documentation) https://github.com/Dunedan/mbp-2016-linux
Arch on 2018 MacBook Pro https://gist.github.com/TRPB/437f663b545d23cc8a2073253c774be3
Ubuntu on 16 inch, 2019 MacBook Pro https://gist.github.com/gbrow004/096f845c8fe8d03ef9009fbb87b781a4

Notable Contributors¶

Check out the list of all Notable Contributors here.