Xorg
Xorg is an open source implementation of the X Window System. It used to be the de-facto standard way to launch graphical applications. Wayland is its recent alternative. Wayback is a X11 compatibility layer which allows for running full X11 desktop environments using Wayland components.
Installation
Xorg can be installed automatically by running the setup-xorg-base script as follows:
# setup-xorg-base
The above command installs the following packages xorg-server, xf86-input-libinput, xinit, eudev, mesa-dri-gallium and Sets up eudev
Install atleast one X11 based desktop before proceeding further.
Configuration
You may also want per-user configuration. Create the ~/.xinitrc file to start the window manager with startx or xinit. If you installed cwm desktop, the ~/.xinitrc file should be as follows:
Contents of ~/.xinitrc
If D-Bus is installed and enabled along with cwm desktop, the ~/.xinitrc file should be as follows:
Contents of ~/.xinitrc
Xorg sessions can be started via display manager or manually with command:
$ startx
Video drivers
Most basic X features should work fine with just using the default kernel video-modesetting drivers.
For better performance, you may want to choose appropriate drivers for your hardware. For legacy driver support or in case of errors, refer to Xf86 Video page or Graphics driver|graphics drivers]] page for current video drivers.
Input packages
You probably at least want xf86-input-libinput or xf86-input-evdev. The former is for Wayland with wrapper for Xorg and is installed by the setup-xorg-base script. The xf86-input-evdev package is Xorg only.
For touchpad tapping support on many laptops:
# apk add xf86-input-synaptics
If the Numlock settings are not working, or getting 'setleds not found' errors:
# apk add kbd
If some input device is not working at all, the available xf86-input drivers can be listed with:
$ apk search xf86-input
The following legacy drivers are not packaged at least as of 2/2022:
- xf86-input-mouse
- xf86-input-keyboard
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 create a /root/xorg.conf.new file. 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 (optional)
If you use a keyboard layout different than "us", and you are using a window manager or desktop environment that does not support to configure the keyboard layout itself, then you need to install setxkbmap package:
# apk add setxkbmap
Then try
# 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
Another way to change the keymap when logging into X is to use ~/.xinitrc. The following example loads a British keymap, simply add this line to the beginning of the file as follows :
Contents of ~/.xinitrc
Troubleshooting
If the Numlock settings are not working, or getting 'setleds not found' errors, refer to Input packages section above.
If some input device is not working at all, refer to Input packages section above for various options to resolve this.
In case of errors, refer to Xf86 Video page for legacy video hardware driver support or graphics drivers page for current video drivers.