XFCE Setup
From Alpine Linux
Contents |
Initial setup
Start by booting up Alpine (see these instructions on how to do that)
When Alpine is up and running, do the initial setup.
setup-alpine
Install packages
Install xorg, XFCE and basic desktop system.
This might take a few minutes depending on your network speed.
apk add alpine-desktop
Optional packages
Video and Input packages
You might also want to install a package suitable for your video chipset and input devices.
For example, if you have an Sis video chipset install 'xf86-video-sis', for Intel video chipset install 'xf86-video-intel'.
apk add xf86-video-sis
and / or
apk add xf86-input-synaptics
Run 'apk search xf86-video*' to see available xf86-video packages.
Run 'apk search xf86-input*' to see available xf86-input packages.
acpid
If you installed your Alpine Linux as a VirtualBox or VMWare guest you might find it handy to be able send ACPI shutdown.
rc-update add acpid
Configure xorg-server (optional)
On most systems, xorg should be able to autodetect all devices. However you can still configure xorg-server by hand by launching:
Xorg -configure
This will result in `/root/xorg.conf.new`. You can modify this file to fit your needs.
(When finished modifying and testing the above configuration file, move it to `/etc/X11/xorg.conf` for normal usage.)
Keyboard Layout
If you use a layout different than "us", you need to:
apk add setxkbmap setxkbmap <%a language layout from /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/xorg.lst%>
In order to make it persistent add this section to /etc/X11/xorg.conf:
Section "InputClass" Identifier "Keyboard Default" MatchIsKeyboard "yes" Option "XkbLayout" "<%a language layout from /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/xorg.lst%>" EndSection
udev
Adding udev might help you with some finicky hardware like touchpads.
apk add udev /etc/init.d/udev start && /etc/init.d/udev-postmount start rc-update add udev sysinit rc-update add udev-postmount default echo "fbcon" >> /etc/modules
Adding evdev might also be necessary, for example if the keyboard doesn't work in X...
apk add xf86-input-evdev
Create user accounts
Create a normal user account.
adduser ncopa
Optionally, give that user sudo permissions in /etc/sudoers. When doing so, it is important to use the command:visudo
This ensures that only one user is changing the file at any given time. Visudo has two modes: Command mode and Insert mode. To edit the file, use the arrows to navigate to the appropriate line and enter Insert mode by pressing the 'i' key. To save and exit, enter Command mode by pressing the 'Esc' key, then ':w' + 'enter' to save, and finally ':q' + 'enter' to quit.Start your desktop
Start lxdm and log in with your new user.
rc-service lxdm start
Once you have verified that it actually works you can make lxdm start up at boot:
rc-update add lxdm
Troubleshooting
If you are unable to login, check /var/log/lxdm.log, there may be output there from X to indicate failed modules, etc.
If your mouse / keyboard is not responding, try to install xf86-input-evdev (that will appeared in lxdm.log if you lack it).
Screenshot
