STARTX(1) X Version 11 (Release 6.6) STARTX(1)
NAME
startx - initialize an X session
SYNOPSIS
startx [ [ client ] options ... ] [ -- [ server ] options
... ]
DESCRIPTION
NOTE: The startx script supplied with the X11 distribution
is a sample designed more as a base for customization than
as a finished product. Site administrators are urged to
customize it for their site. And to update this manual page
when they do!
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
arguments.
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.
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 last client
should run in the foreground; when it exits, the session
will exit. People often choose a session manager, window
manager, or xterm as the ``magic'' client.
EXAMPLE
Below is a sample .xinitrc that starts several applications
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 &
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STARTX(1) X Version 11 (Release 6.6) STARTX(1)
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.
<XRoot>/lib/X11/xinit/xinitrc
Client to run if the user has no
.xinitrc file. <XRoot> refers to
the root of the X11 install tree.
<XRoot>/lib/X11/xinit/xserverrc
Client to run if the user has no
.xserverrc file. This is only
needed if the server needs special
arguments or is not named. <XRoot>
refers to the root of the X11
install tree.
SEE ALSO
xinit(1)
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