Section 0: startx



This page was been converted automatically, from Debian GNU/Linux man pages.




STARTX(1)                                               STARTX(1)


NAME

startx - initialize an X session

SYNOPSIS

startx [ [ client ] options ... ] [ -- [ server ] options ... ]

DESCRIPTION

The startx script is a front end to xinit that provides a somewhat nicer user interface for running a single session of the X Window System. It is typically run with no argu- ments. One important exception is the case when a different color depth is being selected. Since this is involves passing an argument to the server, the option has to be prefixed with two dashes, with spaces to either side `--' (see the xinit(1) manual page for more details on the arguments). In order to start the server in 16bpp use startx -- -bpp 16 Note that in the Debian GNU/Linux system, what many people traditionally put in the .xinitrc file should go in .xses- sion instead; the idea is that the user's X environment should look and act the same whether startx, xdm, or xinit is used to start the X session. All discussion of .xini- trc below applies equally well to .xsession. Keep in mind, however, that X sessions started from xdm will com- pletely disregard the .xinitrc file. To determine the client to run, startx first looks for a file called .xinitrc in the user's home directory. If that is not found, it uses the file xinitrc in the xinit library directory. If command line client options are given, they override this behavior. To determine the server to run, startx first looks for a file called .xserverrc in the user's home directory. If that is not found, it uses the file xserverrc in the xinit library directory. If command line server options are given, they override this behavior. Users rarely need to provide a .xserverrc file. See the xinit(1) manual page for more details on the arguments. In the Debian system, the system-wide xinitrc file is found in the /etc/X11/xinit directory, and no system xserverrc file is present. Site administrators may create one, however, in /etc/X11/xinit. The .xinitrc is typically a shell script which starts many clients according to the user's preference. When this shell script exits, startx kills the server and performs any other session shutdown needed. Most of the clients started by .xinitrc should be run in the background. The X Version 11 Release 6.3 1 STARTX(1) STARTX(1) last client should run in the foreground; when it exits, the session will exit. People often choose a session man- ager, window manager, or xterm as the ``magic'' client.

EXAMPLE

Below is a sample .xinitrc that starts several applica- tions and leaves the window manager running as the ``last'' application. Assuming that the window manager has been configured properly, the user then chooses the ``Exit'' menu item to shut down X. xrdb -load $HOME/.Xresources xsetroot -solid gray & xbiff -geometry -430+5 & oclock -geometry 75x75-0-0 & xload -geometry -80-0 & xterm -geometry +0+60 -ls & xterm -geometry +0-100 & xconsole -geometry -0+0 -fn 5x7 & exec twm ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES DISPLAY This variable gets set to the name of the display to which clients should connect. Note that this gets set, not read.

FILES

$(HOME)/.xinitrc Client to run. Typically a shell script which runs many programs in the background. $(HOME)/.xserverrc Server to run. The default is X. /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc Client to run if the user has no .xinitrc file. /etc/X11/xinit/xserverrc Client to run if the user has no .xserverrc file. This file is not present by default in the Debian GNU/Linux system. SEE ALSO xinit(1), xdm(1), Xserver(1), XFree86(1), Xsession(5) X Version 11 Release 6.3 2