GNOME test suite (GN1-GN7), KDE-unchanged block, runner support for the GNOME VM; remove the Go refactor's backend suite and golden sandbox

TESTPLAN.md

@@ -64,6 +64,22 @@ change only shows right after Enter).
 
 ## F. Features per release
 
+### F-GNOME. Steamify on GNOME/GDM (`feature/gnome-prototype`; suite `gnome` on `~/vms/gnome-vm`, plain CachyOS + GNOME + GDM, no Steamify)
+
+`scripts/vmsuite.sh gnome` (also part of `vmtest.sh`). KDE regression for it: cli block `70-k1-kde-unchanged.sh`.
+
+| # | Block | Expect |
+|---|---|---|
+| GN1 | `10-n1-menu.sh` | GDM and GNOME detected; GNOME theme offered; Plasma theme and single user mode hidden (menu and `--backend status`) |
+| GN2 | `20-n2-conversion.sh` | `custom.conf` autologin, AccountsService `Session`/`XSession`, GDM-aware session tools (CachyOS's kept as `.bak-steamify`), pacman hook, sudoers rule, GNOME packages, launcher entry, shellcheck, second apply changes nothing |
+| GN3 | `30-n3-turn-off.sh` | `custom.conf` and CachyOS's tools exactly as before; hook, sudoers rule, helper gone; GDM stays |
+| GN4 | `40-n4-theme.sh` | dark style, accent, wallpaper, buttons, GTK4 colors, extensions; off restores every value |
+| GN5 | `50-n5-desktop-pref.sh` | `--desktop kde\|gnome\|last` stored, bad values refused, the session tool resolves to what is installed |
+| GN6 | `60-n6-switch-reboot.host.sh` | stand-in gamescope session: boot into it, Switch to Desktop, Return to Gaming Mode, boot into desktop and back across reboots, pacman hook restores our tools |
+| GN7 | `70-n7-both-desktops.sh` | with Plasma installed too: GDM kept, both themes offered, preferred/last desktop picks the session |
+
+Not automatable: gamescope itself (no rendering in the VM), the app's dock icon and window frame, the Settings panel, real hardware (GDM restart behaviour).
+
 ### F2.12.0 The SteamOS conversion on NVIDIA (`release/2.12.0`; suite `nvidia`, fake NVIDIA PC)
 
 Since 2.12.0 "Gaming on NVIDIA" (Steam on the desktop) is replaced by the SteamOS conversion with a patched gamescope
@@ -178,3 +194,4 @@ and started with `--fremont`. Automated: `scripts/vmtest.sh` (see the vm-install
 | 2026-10-14 | Steamify `release/2.12.0` (dc189dc), plain CachyOS VM `~/vms/steamify-vm` (new ssh key: the old throwaway one was gone, authorized in the `ssh-ready` snapshot), dev `main` + the new nvidia suite; on the laptop (Ubuntu, KVM), headless | cli, menu, hw, installer, toggles, nvidia (N1, G1, N2-N5 rewritten for 2.12.0); boot loaders and the plain-PC install check not run (need the Steamify ISO) | **292 pass, 0 fail** (cli 65, menu 37, hw 78, installer 4, toggles 42, nvidia 66). Before the rewrite the old nvidia suite failed 8 checks, all because "Gaming on NVIDIA" is gone in 2.12.0. Test side: gamescope's smoke test needs a Vulkan device, so the VM gets `vulkan-swrast`; after a reboot the same gamescope fails with `vkAllocateMemory failed (-2)` on lavapipe in this VM (before the reboot it passes), so the offline-reinstall check runs before the reboot. Not seen on real hardware yet (N6) |
 | 2026-10-14 | Steamify 2.12.0 on the ISO `steamify-cachyos-2.12.0-dev-261014-x86_64.iso` (sha256 `bd93fa6b…ed47c`, built from `release/2.12.0`), dev `main` (7dd1f37); on the laptop (Ubuntu, KVM), headless | B1-B5 for limine, systemd-boot and grub; the plain-PC install check (generic) for all three | boot loaders: **limine 43, systemd-boot 42, grub 42 pass, 0 fail**. Plain PC: 21-22 pass, **1 fail per loader: "cec is on, but this is not a Steam Machine"**. Cause: `steamify-install` falls back to "everything on" (`...,vram,cec,machine,poweroff`) when Calamares passes no selection (the headless test install), and `cec` is offered on every PC; `poweroff` stays off by itself (`machine_available`). The docs say HDMI-CEC is ticked by default only on a Steam Machine: either the ISO's fallback should only include `cec` on a Steam Machine, or this check should not expect it off. To decide; a real install through the chooser is not affected by the fallback. Test side: three parallel first installs corrupted the shared package cache (`could not rename ... .part`): install one VM first to fill `~/vms/pkg-cache`; a first retry also hit a transient "cachyos: signature ... is invalid" from a mirror. Laptop needs a `bsdtar` shim (pycdlib) and `VM_SSH_KEY` outside `~/.ssh` |
 | 2026-10-14 | Steamify 2.12.0 on the rebuilt ISO `steamify-cachyos-2.12.0-dev-261014-x86_64.iso` (the ISO repo's PR #26 merged: the install fallback only turns HDMI-CEC on for a Steam Machine), dev `main` (7e11b94); laptop, headless | B1-B5 for limine, systemd-boot, grub; the plain-PC install check for all three | **boot loaders: limine 43, systemd-boot 42, grub 42; plain PC: limine 23, systemd-boot 22, grub 22: all pass, 0 fail.** The earlier "cec is on, but this is not a Steam Machine" is fixed. (The limine boot line in the summary says "aborted" only because its VM already existed from the first run of the same ISO; its 43 passed.) Test side: six parallel installs of a newly released kernel corrupted the shared package cache (`linux-cachyos ... corrupted (PGP signature)`): delete the new files from `~/vms/pkg-cache/pkg`, install one VM first, then the rest |
+| 2026-10-15 | Steamify `feature/gnome-prototype` (dbaeaa1, from 2.12.0), plain CachyOS VM `~/vms/steamify-vm` and the new GNOME VM `~/vms/gnome-vm`, dev `main` + the `gnome` suite; laptop, headless | KDE regression: cli (+ new block 70-k1), menu, hw, installer, toggles, nvidia. GNOME: GN1-GN7 | **KDE: cli 89, hw 78, menu 37, installer 4, nvidia 66, toggles 42: 0 fail.** **GNOME: 0 fail** (first run 110 pass, 5 fail, all test bugs: shellcheck needs `-S warning -e SC2034,SC2154`, the VM's GDM already had autologin, a sed range cut the function out; GN2, GN3, GN5 re-run: 32, 11, 8 pass; GN1, GN4, GN6, GN7 passed first time). The Go-only `backend` suite and `share/golden` were removed (the Go refactor is scrapped). Not run: boot loaders, app screens U1-U9, real hardware |