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Idle Surface Pro 7 Reborn as Linux AI Dashboard with AI-Guided Setup

A user turned an idle Surface Pro 7 into a Linux-based AI usage dashboard and light workstation, using AI to guide installation and troubleshooting.

AI News Feed · 2026-08-23 19:50

The final setup runs Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, parked on the desk as an always-on display. It shows AI usage dashboards for Claude Code, Codex, Grok, and DeepSeek API balance, using the user's self-developed open-source project AI Usage Dashboard, which is a local-first app that requests APIs directly from the machine without cloud relay. The 3:2 high-resolution screen displays more information than an e-ink panel, with no ghosting, and the device also works as a touchscreen secondary display for watching videos. In addition, it can be accessed via SSH for lightweight tasks.

The modification workflow started with the user providing the hardware specs and requirements to an AI chatbot. Based on official documentation, the AI recommended Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, using Rufus to write the USB installer, wiping the entire Windows partition, and enabling LUKS full-disk encryption. The AI also noted that the Surface's touchscreen and stylus support would require the community-maintained linux-surface kernel.

Before rebooting into UEFI, the user asked the on-computer AI to generate a handoff prompt that summarized the progress, configuration goals, and reminders. This prompt was pasted into a mobile AI assistant, which then guided the physical installation. The phone AI helped confirm UEFI boot order, disk selection, and encryption options, and even judged whether the write progress was normal when the progress bar appeared stuck.

After entering the Ubuntu desktop, the default kernel did not support Surface touch input, so the user attached the Type Cover keyboard and asked a terminal AI agent to check for the linux-surface kernel. The agent found that the software repository and signing key were already present, but the kernel package was not installed. It then installed linux-image-surface (version 6.19.8-surface-3) along with touch components and prepared the MOK signature for Secure Boot.

The first reboot did not restore touch functionality. The AI agent found two reasons: the user missed a confirmation step in the blue MokManager interface, so the key was not enrolled, and GRUB still prioritized the generic kernel. After the assistant re-imported the MOK key and adjusted the GRUB boot order, a second reboot confirmed via uname -r that the system was running on 6.19.8-surface-3, and touch and stylus input worked properly.

A notable issue arose from full-disk encryption: since the device is used as a dashboard without a keyboard, the LUKS password prompt at early boot was inconvenient. The AI suggested TPM2-based auto-unlocking using PCR 7 bound to Secure Boot. The user installed Clevis and related tools, bound the TPM, and kept the original password as a backup. After that, the device boots and decrypts automatically, making it easier to use as a desk display.