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How to install XFCE Desktop in OpenBSD

To install XFCE Desktop

Xfce is an open - source, fast, lightweight, user friendly software for Unix/Linux distributions. The procedures to install XFCE Desktop is explained in detail in this article.

To install the XFCE Desktop environment in OpenBSD, use the following command.


Then install the display manager as follows.

Configure the x window system

Create a file called " .xinitrc" and add the following line into it.

exec startxfce4


Now create a file rc.local inside /etc/ directory to configure the system daemons.
Add the following lines into the file.

/usr/local/bin/slim -d


Then create a file rc.conf.local under the /etc/ directory.
Add the following lines to the file.

pkg_scripts=" dbus_daemon avahi_daemon" 
dbus_enable=YES


Reboot the system

After rebooting the Login screen appears. Enter the login credentials to proceed further.


Now, lets try to install some basic applications.

To install firefox

Run the following command to install firefox application into XFCE Desktop.

# pkg_add -iv firefox                                                           
Update candidates: quirks-2.241 ->  quirks-2.241
quirks-2.241 signed on 2016-07-26T16:56:10Z
firefox-47.0.1:mozilla-dicts-en-GB-1.3p1: ok
firefox-47.0.1:hunspell-1.3.2p2: ok
firefox-47.0.1:nss-3.24: ok
firefox-47.0.1: ok
Look in /usr/local/share/doc/pkg-readmes for extra documentation.
--- +hunspell-1.3.2p2 -------------------
Install mozilla dictionaries for extra hunspell languages.
e.g.
# pkg_add mozilla-dicts-ca 
Extracted 122645058 from 122646989


Then install thunderbird e-mail client.

# pkg_add -iv thunderbird                                                       
Update candidates: quirks-2.241 ->  quirks-2.241
quirks-2.241 signed on 2016-07-26T16:56:10Z
thunderbird-45.2.0: ok
Look in /usr/local/share/doc/pkg-readmes for extra documentation.
Extracted 110350235 from 110350597


Check to install VLC media player.

# pkg_add -iv vlc                                                              
Update candidates: quirks-2.241 ->  quirks-2.241
quirks-2.241 signed on 2016-07-26T16:56:10Z
vlc-2.2.4:libbluray-0.9.3: ok
vlc-2.2.4:libdvdcss-1.4.0: ok
&hellip 
&hellip 
&hellip 
vlc-2.2.4: ok
Extracted 209770142 from 209780087


Execute the below command to install Libre office.

# pkg_add -iv libreoffice                                                       
Update candidates: quirks-2.241 ->  quirks-2.241
quirks-2.241 signed on 2016-07-26T16:56:10Z
libreoffice-5.1.4.2p0v0:python-3.4.5: ok
libreoffice-5.1.4.2p0v0:libxslt-1.1.28p5: ok
&hellip 
&hellip 
&hellip 
libreoffice-5.1.4.2p0v0: ok
The following new rcscripts were installed: /etc/rc.d/saslauthd
See rcctl(8) for details.
Extracted 667101799 from 667111155
Tag : XFCE
Comment
Destructo
Mar 08 2021
Wow great guide and this worked great for me ................BUT BUT........ when i enter username and PW for root or as user it gives me a message : Failed to execute login command. i reboot and i get the logn window. how do i get back to terminal.
either way.. this was the best guide for me..thanks again!!
sorcerer
May 28 2020
This post was helpful and I appreciate it. I have been using OpenBSD for several years I had some trouble on one of my machines getting this to work, I came upon some information that dbus and avahi perhaps have been replaced my messagebus. In rc.conf.local multicast_host=YES
pkg_scripts="messagebus"
xenodm_flags= # could use slim per your post, your choice
Then in the home folder craeted a file .xsession per the read-me
exec ck-launch-session startxfce4
This worked well.
Cheers!
dsobrinho
May 21 2020
Very good and usefull post.
Thank you a lot.
shubers79
Apr 07 2019
I installed OpenBSD 6.4 PPC on a 2005 iBook G4 with 1 GB RAM. After installation I set up networking (wifi etc) and started downloading nano-packages first. After that I followed this tutorial. XFCE 4.12 will download and install, as well as slim and slim-themes. However, installing XFCE4 there are a few small quirks that I've yet got to fix.
Command given: "pkg_add -iv xfce". Result is a list of added packages for xfce 4.12, as it's the current running version on openBSD. However, it'll state at the end not to be abled to install xfce-4.12p10 due to missing xfce4-terminal-0.8.7.4p0 and tumbler-0.2.3 packages. Upon careful scanning and searching, I've found out that the openBSD repository mirrors don't have those packages on them anymore. I wonder how to fix that?
Also: after rebooting, the system will use the graphical login and boot into xfce4 perfectly fine. The shutdown and hibernate buttons won't work though. I wonder if it's not working because I'm on a powerpc? Can they ever work on a powerpc?
And is there a way to install a package manager in xfce on openbsd, so that adding software becomes easier?
Which browsers of current date can be found and installed on openBSD and are there step-by-step guides available? Firefox and chromium are no longer supported by openBSD (since version 6.1) and hence I need an alternative. I'm asking for the guides, since it's my very first serious attempt at non Windows and non MacOS software on a dedicated platform. I do have some computer knowledge, but Unix/Linux at this level is new for me, so I should be considered Noob!
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
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FAQ
Q
Is this a Theme?
A
Not Just a theme It’s a Desktop environment which changes every things in the aspact of Design
Q
Is XFCE is a Theme?
A
Not Just a theme It’s a Desktop environment which changes every things in the aspact of Design
Q
Does it have an archive file extraction in XFCE?
A
Yes you can view and extract the archieve files
Q
Does it have a archieve file extraction?
A
Yes you can view and extract the archieve files
Q
How can I see a list of all the shortcut keys in XFCE?
A
Use the following command, which will produce a nicely formatted text list to standard output:



xfconf-query -c xfce4-keyboard-shortcuts -l -v | cut -d'/' -f4 | awk '{printf "%30s", $2; print "\t" $1}' | sort | uniq