Are sys-audio and sys-gui implemented by default in R4.2.4? A couple years ago they were on the horizon, but IDK if they are already here hidden in sys-usb, or if they are planned for R4.3 or later.
I can find guides on sys-audio on the forum. But they are pretty long, and from like 2023 or earlier. I don’t want to dig into that can of worms to find out it’s already implemented…
I can confirm neither sys-audio or sys-gui is not installed in R4.2.4 by default - as I was writing a new user guide for how to install sys-audio on R4.2.4 (and that started heading towards a full rewrite of all the user documentation, so I’ve not recommenced progressing it further yet).
I’ve loosely seen some information from various sources that make me suspect they will not be a part of R4.3 either. However, I’m not a member of the Qubes OS dev team, so I’m not the ultimate authority on R4.3 goals.
Almost certainly, sys-gui will not be installed by default on R4.3. Probably the same for sys-audio too.
N.B. I’ve seen some forum posts that imply there might be some Salt scripts installed by default. As I’ve never actually read through them, I’m not sure if there is a Salt script that might assist the process.
Forgot to mention, on R4.2.4 (or any R4 version of Qubes OS), you can run the following:
[user@dom0 ~]$ qubes-prefs
You’re looking for default_audiovm and default_guivm in the first column.
If both of those are listed as dom0 in the third column, then no, sys-audio and sys-gui are not enabled.
The second column, if it represents a D, then it is currently set to a Qubes OS default setting.
Refer to the manual page for qubes-prefs(1) for more info.
Thanks for the fast reply! I ran qubes-prefs in dom0. The output implies dom0 is both the default_audiovm and default_guivm.
I looked around for some salt scrips and found this qubes-mgmt-salt-dom0-virtual-machines/qvm at master · QubesOS/qubes-mgmt-salt-dom0-virtual-machines · GitHub
I don’t know enough about salt to feel comfortable running it on my daily driver. If I have time, I might try running these after setting up a test install of qubes on an old second computer.
Yes, which is the default option on R4.2.4. So you’ve not overidden the R4.2.4 defaults to something else of your choosing yet 
Using qubes-prefs(1), is one of the last steps you would take to enable a switch of the default_audiovm (sys-audio) or default_guivm (sys-gui) to a different qube(s). But first you have to build those qubes yourself, with the required and optional software, appropriate for your hardware platform.
I’ve found maybe 5 other repos from other authors too, which also deal with sys-audio and sys-gui in Salt scripts.
Couldn’t say I’m a Salt expert either - but I know enough to know to tell you - you probably don’t want to do that.
Salt scripts can call other Salt scripts within the repo’s structure. They’re often personalised to the author’s own system and/or own requirements. Here be dragons!
You might learn a couple things from reading through them though.
For sys-audio, the best source of information is still this Qubes OS Forum post: Audio qube
But it is a lot to read through, is not easy for a beginner who might be lacking foundational Qubes OS knowledge, and it (at time of writing this) has almost 350 comments on it - some of which are relavent to understanding the process.
It’s a great a resource. And at the same time, it can also be a chore if you’ve never successfully customized Qubes OS with a sys-audio.
For sys-gui, you’re on your own.
Never done it before. There’s not a lot of people who have done it, and most who have are dev team or been on Qubes OS for a really long time.
It requires you to build a qube to support your own GPU card(s), and troubleshoot lots of low level hardware problems while almost certainly breaking graphics on your Qubes OS. Best of luck!