Openbox
Initial setup
Start by booting Alpine (see these instructions on how to do that)
Enable Community Repository
We need the Community Repository available for access to the OpenBox packages. Instructions are available on the Enable Community Repository page.
Install packages
Install openbox, xterm, and terminus font.
# apk add openbox xterm 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 OpenBox.
Configure xorg-server
On most systems, xorg should be able to autodetect all devices. However, you can still configure xorg-server manually by launching:
# 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.
# rc-update add acpid
Set openbox as the default WM
$ echo 'openbox-session' >> ~/.xinitrc
Copy the config files to your home folder
$ mkdir /home/<newuser>/.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 he studied on the OpenBox wiki.
Start your X!
$ 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.
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.