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docs(pam): correct the lock-policy test procedure against a real run - #2

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fix-pam-test-procedure
Jul 28, 2026
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docs(pam): correct the lock-policy test procedure against a real run#2
bhdai merged 1 commit into
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fix-pam-test-procedure

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@bhdai bhdai commented Jul 28, 2026

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Follow-up to #1. Running the bhdai/quickshell_config#64 acceptance gate for real
exposed four commands in the procedure that don't work on this machine:

Was Is
sudo pacman -S --needed pamtester yay -S --needed pamtester — it's AUR
Ctrl+Alt+F2 for the root shell Ctrl+Alt+F3 — F2 is sddm here
faillock --reset faillock --user $USER --reset — the bare form also tries root's tally and errors
hyprctl dispatch exec hypridle setsid hypridle >/dev/null 2>&1 & — the Lua config parses the dispatch arg as Lua

Also adds three things the run taught us:

  • A table of what a green run actually prints, so the next person can tell pass from fail.
  • pacman -Qkk pambase sudo util-linux as the after-the-fact check on the shared
    stacks, for when the before-snapshot was never taken. It's stricter than the
    snapshot — it compares against the package database rather than your own earlier copy.
  • The two log lines that look like faults and aren't: pamtester's unprivileged
    Error sending audit message, and the fact that pam_unix logs no successful
    auths at all, so a clean run leaves no positive trace.

Four commands in the procedure were wrong when actually run on this machine:

- pamtester is in the AUR, not the official repos, so `pacman -S` fails.
- Ctrl+Alt+F2 is sddm here; the free TTY for the root shell is F3.
- Bare `faillock --reset` also tries root's tally and errors on it.
- `hyprctl dispatch exec hypridle` is rejected by the Lua config, which
  parses the dispatch argument as Lua.

Also records the expected output of a green run, the pacman -Qkk fallback for
when the before-snapshot was never taken, and the two log lines that look like
faults but are not — pamtester's unprivileged audit-write failure, and pam_unix
not logging successful auths at all.
@bhdai
bhdai marked this pull request as ready for review July 28, 2026 14:15
@bhdai
bhdai merged commit d5cb9a0 into main Jul 28, 2026
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@bhdai
bhdai deleted the fix-pam-test-procedure branch July 28, 2026 14:15
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