Openbox: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 07:19, 9 January 2025

Openbox is a minimalistic, highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support.

Note: Before installing any desktop,

Ensure you have Internet connectivity. If the test fails, setup your Internet access first, before you proceed further.
Create a non-privileged user account for security reasons, if you skipped this step during Installation.
Enable community repository.
Install graphics driver for your video hardware.

Installation

Install X11 and set it up using the setup-xorg-base script.

# setup-xorg-base

Install the basic packages for a minimal installation:

# apk add openbox xterm font-terminus

xterm is needed so you have a way to access the terminal in X. There are alternatives but this is the classic. font-terminus is needed because without any fonts, you will not be able to see any text in Openbox.

Configure user

To make Xorg work as normal user you need to add user to these groups: video, input.

# addgroup <username> input

# addgroup <username> video

acpid

If you installed your Alpine Linux as a VirtualBox or VMWare guest, you might find it handy to be able execute an ACPI shutdown.

# rc-update add acpid

Set Openbox as the default WM

$ echo 'exec openbox-session' >> ~/.xinitrc

Copy the config files to your home folder

$ mkdir ~/.config

$ cp -r /etc/xdg/openbox ~/.config

Note: The default configuration is minimal and most menu options won't work unless you customize and/or install additional packages. More information is available in the Openbox configuration documentation. 🔓

Edit Openbox settings

You can now edit the Openbox settings for your user by editing the files located in ~/.config/openbox

The Openbox configuration details can be studied on the Openbox wiki.

Start X

$ startx

Note: The default Openbox menu (right-click on desktop) will have a lot of options that won't work because the required packages haven't been installed. XTerm will work if you added the package in the first step, and you can use that to add additional packages.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-= Initial setup =
+[https://openbox.org/ Openbox] is a minimalistic, highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support.
-Start by booting Alpine (see [[Installation|these]] instructions on how to do that)<BR>
-= Enable Community Repository =
+{{:Include:Desktop prerequisites}}
-We need the Community Repository available for access to the OpenBox packages. Instructions are available on the [[Repositories#Enabling_the_community_repository|Repositories]] page.
-= Install packages =
+== Installation ==
-Install openbox, xterm, and terminus font.<BR>
-{{Cmd|# apk add openbox xterm terminus-font}}
+Install X11 and set it up using the <code>setup-xorg-base</code> script.{{Cmd|# setup-xorg-base}}
-xterm is needed so you have a way to access the terminal in X. There are alternatives but this is the classic.
+Install the basic packages for a minimal installation:{{Cmd|# apk add openbox xterm font-terminus}}
-Terminus is needed because without any fonts, you will not be able to see any text in OpenBox.
-= Configure xorg-server =
+{{Pkg|xterm}} is needed so you have a way to access the terminal in X. There are alternatives but this is the classic.
-On most systems, xorg should be able to autodetect all devices. However, you can still configure xorg-server manually by launching:
+{{Pkg|font-terminus}} is needed because without any fonts, you will not be able to see any text in Openbox.
-{{Cmd|# setup-xorg-base}}
+=== Configure user ===
-= Configure user =
 To make Xorg work as normal user you need to add user to these groups: video, input.
 {{Cmd|# addgroup <username> input}}
 {{Cmd|# addgroup <username> video}}
-== acpid ==
+=== acpid ===
-If you installed your Alpine Linux as a VirtualBox or VMWare guest, you might find it handy to be able execute an ACPI shutdown.<BR>
+If you installed your Alpine Linux as a VirtualBox or VMWare guest, you might find it handy to be able execute an ACPI shutdown.
 {{Cmd|# rc-update add acpid}}
-= Set openbox as the default WM =
+=== Set Openbox as the default WM ===
 {{Cmd|$ echo 'exec openbox-session' >> ~/.xinitrc}}
-= Copy the config files to your home folder =
+=== Copy the config files to your home folder ===
-{{Cmd|$ mkdir /home/<newuser>/.config}}
+{{Cmd|$ mkdir ~/.config}}
 {{Cmd|$ cp -r /etc/xdg/openbox ~/.config}}
-'''Note:''' The default configuration is minimal and most menu options won't work unless you customize and/or install additional packages. More information is available in the [http://openbox.org/wiki/Help:Configuration OpenBox configuration documentation].
+{{Note|The default configuration is minimal and most menu options won't work unless you customize and/or install additional packages. More information is available in the [http://openbox.org/wiki/Help:Configuration Openbox configuration documentation].{{insecure url|This server could not prove that it is openbox.org; its security certificate is from 2007.cccg.ca}}}}
-= Edit openbox settings =
+=== Edit Openbox settings ===
-You can now edit the openbox settings for your user by editing the files located in
-{{Cmd|~/.config/openbox}}
-The OpenBox configuration details can be studied on the [http://openbox.org/wiki/Help:Contents#Configuration OpenBox wiki].
+You can now edit the Openbox settings for your user by editing the files located in <code>~/.config/openbox</code>
+The Openbox configuration details can be studied on the [http://openbox.org/wiki/Help:Contents#Configuration Openbox wiki].
+== Start X ==
-= Start your X! =
 {{Cmd|$ startx}}
-'''Note:''' The default OpenBox menu (right click on desktop) will have a lot of options that won't work because we didnt install anything else! Luckily XTerm will work if you added the package in the first step, and you can use that to add additional packages.
+{{Note|The default Openbox menu (right-click on desktop) will have a lot of options that won't work because the required packages haven't been installed. XTerm will work if you added the package in the first step, and you can use that to add additional packages.}}
+== Troubleshooting ==
+== See also ==
+* [https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Openbox Openbox - Archwiki]
-The default configuration is minimal and most menu options won't work unless you customize and/or install additional packages. More information is available in the [http://openbox.org/wiki/Help:Configuration OpenBox configuration documentation].
+[[Category:Desktop]]
+[[category: Window Managers]]