Fluxbox: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 15:22, 25 May 2025

Fluxbox 🔓 is an easy and fast X11 window manager based on BlackBox.

Prerequisites

Internet connectivity, unless the packages have been pre-fetched into a local cache.
Install appropriate Graphics driver drivers for your hardware. Without graphics drivers, errors are likely to occur when starting your desktop.
A non-root user account.
The community repository must be enabled.
Set up eudev.
Install and enable D-Bus. Without D-Bus, icons and keyboard shortcuts may be missing.
Install Xorg

Installation

Install fluxbox, xterm, and terminus font.

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

Configuration

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 Fluxbox as the default Window Manager

$ echo 'exec startfluxbox' >> ~/.xinitrc

Start X

$ startx

Edit the flux settings for your user by editing the files located in ~/.fluxbox/. This directory is created after your first run of Fluxbox. The Fluxbox configuration details can he studied on the Fluxbox Help Page.

Note: The default menu (right-click on desktop) will contain options that won't work due to missing packages. The default configuration is minimal and most menu options won't work unless you customize and/or install additional packages. 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 =
+{{TOC right}}
-Start by booting Alpine (see [[Installation|these]] instructions on how to do that)<BR>
+[http://fluxbox.org Fluxbox]{{insecure url|HTTPS connection refused}} is an easy and fast X11 window manager based on BlackBox.
+== Prerequisites ==
+{{:Include:Desktop prerequisites}}
+* [[Alpine_setup_scripts#setup-xorg-base|Install Xorg]]
-= Enable Community Repository =
+== Installation ==
-We need the Community Repository available for access to the packages. Instructions are available on the [[Repositories#Enabling_the_community_repository|Repositories]] page.
-= Install packages =
+Install fluxbox, xterm, and terminus font. {{Cmd|# apk add {{Pkg|fluxbox}} {{Pkg|xterm}} {{Pkg|font-terminus}}}}
-Install fluxbox, xterm, and terminus font.<BR>
-{{Cmd|# apk add openbox xterm terminus-font}}
+<code>xterm</code> is needed so you have a way to access the terminal in X. There are alternatives but this is the classic.
+Terminus is needed because without any fonts, you will not be able to see any text in Fluxbox.
-xterm is needed so you have a way to access the terminal in X. There are alternatives but this is the classic.
+== Configuration ==
-Terminus is needed because without any fonts, you will not be able to see any text in OpenBox.
-= Configure xorg-server =
+=== acpid ===
-On most systems, xorg should be able to autodetect all devices. However, you can still configure xorg-server manually by launching:
-{{Cmd|# setup-xorg-base}}
-== 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. {{Cmd|# rc-update add 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>
-{{Cmd|# rc-update add acpid}}
+=== Set Fluxbox as the default Window Manager ===
-= Set fluxbox as the default WM =
 {{Cmd|$ echo 'exec startfluxbox' >> ~/.xinitrc}}
-= Start your X! =
+=== Start X ===
 {{Cmd|$ startx}}
-'''Note:''' The default 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.
+Edit the flux settings for your user by editing the files located in <code>~/.fluxbox/</code>.  This directory is created after your first run of Fluxbox. The Fluxbox configuration details can he studied on the [http://fluxbox.org/help/ Fluxbox Help Page].
-= Edit fluxbox settings =
-You can now edit the flux settings for your user by editing the files located in
-{{Cmd|~/.fluxbox/}}
-This directory is created after your first run of fluxbox. The Fluxbox configuration details can he studied on the [http://fluxbox.org/help/ Fluxbox Help Page].
+{{Note|The default menu (right-click on desktop) will contain options that won't work due to missing packages. The default configuration is minimal and most menu options won't work unless you customize and/or install additional packages. XTerm will work if you added the package in the first step, and you can use that to add additional packages.}}
-The default configuration is minimal and most menu options won't work unless you customize and/or install additional packages. More information is available on the [http://fluxbox.org/help/ Fluxbox Help Page].
+== See also ==
+[http://fluxbox.org/help/ Fluxbox Help Page].
-[[Category:Desktop]]
+[[Category:Window Managers]]