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Omarchy

ProbeLabs65 findings · 95 requirements

A proof layer — requirements, tests and verified fixes — for two of Omarchy's subsystems: the application menu (launcher scripts, QML model, JSONC config, search and selection) and the lock screen (lock scripts, QML, PAM authentication). Scope is deliberately limited to those components of omacom/omarchy; the rest of the distribution is not covered.

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ReportR-4692GitHub issuePublicReceived

Installer erases EFI/APPLE payload required by T1 MacBook hardware

Reported by sebastiang · filed Aug 26, 2026Closed upstream on 2026-09-21 by bjarneo via an automated message, as a duplicate of #8271 (R-1452). GitHub close reason: completed.

Open at source
Received and recorded verbatim. Nothing has been checked yet.

At a glance

1 · What is claimed?
Only the report text below — no validator has restated it as checkable claims yet.
2 · What does it affect?
Not yet mapped to any requirement or component.
3 · Is it reproducible?
No validation has been run yet.
4 · What remains unclear?
  • Not validated yet: no claims, no reproducer.
5 · What happens next?
Our staff decide whether the report is valid. Where this project allows it, agents decide whether it duplicates another report or a known issue. No decision has been recorded yet.

Original report

Installer erases EFI/APPLE payload required by T1 MacBook hardwarerevision 1 · captured 2026-10-04 12:03 UTC via poll

System details

  • Model: MacBookPro13,3 (15-inch 2016, T1)
  • Omarchy: 4.0.1-1
  • Kernel: 7.1.9-arch1-2
  • Installation: automatic full-disk Omarchy installation

What happened

Before installing Omarchy, macOS and the Touch Bar worked normally.

The automatic installer replaced the existing disk layout with a new 2 GiB FAT32 partition mounted at /boot and a LUKS system partition. After installation, the T1/iBridge appears as:

05ac:1281 Apple Mobile Device (Recovery Mode)

instead of the functioning device:

05ac:8600 Apple iBridge

The old EFI variables still reference macOS and Apple updater partitions whose partition UUIDs no longer exist.

T1 MacBook Pros require Apple initialization payloads stored under EFI/APPLE on the EFI System Partition. Removing these files prevents initialization of the iBridge, affecting at least the Touch Bar and FaceTime camera.

This behavior was previously described in Discussion #2457:
https://github.com/basecamp/omarchy/discussions/2457

Additional installation failure

The installer installed:

macbook12-spi-driver-dkms 0+git.315-1

but did not install matching linux-headers. /var/log/pacman.log contains:

ERROR: Missing 7.1.9-arch1-2 kernel headers for module macbook12-spi-driver/0+git.315.

Consequently:

  • dkms status is empty
  • apple_ibridge, apple_ib_tb, and apple_ib_als do not exist
  • the installed package cannot provide Touch Bar support

Even a successfully built driver could not bind while the T1 remains in recovery mode.

Expected behavior

When the installer detects a T1 MacBook Pro, it should do one of the following:

  1. Preserve the existing EFI/APPLE directory while recreating the ESP.
  2. Back it up and restore it to the new ESP.
  3. Refuse destructive automatic partitioning until the user explicitly acknowledges that the Touch Bar, camera, and other iBridge hardware may stop working.

It should also install matching kernel headers before installing a DKMS package and verify that the DKMS build succeeded.

Proposed detection

Affected hardware can be detected through DMI identifiers including MacBookPro13,2, MacBookPro13,3, and relevant MacBookPro14,x T1 models.

Before formatting the ESP, check for EFI/APPLE. If present, preserve it and warn the user. After installation, USB device 05ac:1281 indicates that the T1 is in recovery mode.

Impact

This is more serious than ordinary unsupported Touch Bar functionality: installation removes Apple-specific boot data that existed before installation and that Linux needs to initialize otherwise functional hardware.

View raw text
### System details

- Model: MacBookPro13,3 (15-inch 2016, T1)
- Omarchy: 4.0.1-1
- Kernel: 7.1.9-arch1-2
- Installation: automatic full-disk Omarchy installation

### What happened

Before installing Omarchy, macOS and the Touch Bar worked normally.

The automatic installer replaced the existing disk layout with a new 2 GiB FAT32 partition mounted at `/boot` and a LUKS system partition. After installation, the T1/iBridge appears as:

```
05ac:1281 Apple Mobile Device (Recovery Mode)
```

instead of the functioning device:

```
05ac:8600 Apple iBridge
```

The old EFI variables still reference macOS and Apple updater partitions whose partition UUIDs no longer exist.

T1 MacBook Pros require Apple initialization payloads stored under `EFI/APPLE` on the EFI System Partition. Removing these files prevents initialization of the iBridge, affecting at least the Touch Bar and FaceTime camera.

This behavior was previously described in Discussion #2457:
https://github.com/basecamp/omarchy/discussions/2457

### Additional installation failure

The installer installed:

```
macbook12-spi-driver-dkms 0+git.315-1
```

but did not install matching `linux-headers`. `/var/log/pacman.log` contains:

```
ERROR: Missing 7.1.9-arch1-2 kernel headers for module macbook12-spi-driver/0+git.315.
```

Consequently:

- `dkms status` is empty
- `apple_ibridge`, `apple_ib_tb`, and `apple_ib_als` do not exist
- the installed package cannot provide Touch Bar support

Even a successfully built driver could not bind while the T1 remains in recovery mode.

### Expected behavior

When the installer detects a T1 MacBook Pro, it should do one of the following:

1. Preserve the existing `EFI/APPLE` directory while recreating the ESP.
2. Back it up and restore it to the new ESP.
3. Refuse destructive automatic partitioning until the user explicitly acknowledges that the Touch Bar, camera, and other iBridge hardware may stop working.

It should also install matching kernel headers before installing a DKMS package and verify that the DKMS build succeeded.

### Proposed detection

Affected hardware can be detected through DMI identifiers including `MacBookPro13,2`, `MacBookPro13,3`, and relevant `MacBookPro14,x` T1 models.

Before formatting the ESP, check for `EFI/APPLE`. If present, preserve it and warn the user. After installation, USB device `05ac:1281` indicates that the T1 is in recovery mode.

### Impact

This is more serious than ordinary unsupported Touch Bar functionality: installation removes Apple-specific boot data that existed before installation and that Linux needs to initialize otherwise functional hardware.

Validation

Not checked yet. A validator will restate this report as checkable claims, map it to the project's requirements and write a reproducer that the proof engine runs.

Linked

  • Related PRpr/7064· confirmed

Decision

Decisions are recorded by our staff — or, where this project allows it, by agents: checked by a second, independent agent, or by a single agent where the project's policy says so. Any decision reached so far is shown below.

No decision has been recorded yet.