Manual Pages for UNIX Operating System command usage for man xinit

User Commands                                            XINIT(1)



NAME
     xinit - X Window System initializer

SYNOPSIS
     /usr/bin/xinit [ [ client ] options ... ] [ -- [ server ]  [
     display ] options ... ]

DESCRIPTION
     The xinit program is used  to  start  the  X  Window  System
     server  and  a  first client program on systems that are not
     using a display manager such as xdm(1)  or  in  environments
     that  use  multiple  window systems.  When this first client
     exits, xinit will kill the X server and then terminate.

     If no specific client program is given on the command  line,
     xinit  will  look  for  a  file in the user's home directory
     called .xinitrc to run as a shell script to start up  client
     programs.   If  no such file exists, xinit will use the fol-
     lowing as a default:

          xterm  -geometry  +1+1  -n  login  -display  :0


     If no specific server program is given on the command  line,
     xinit  will  look  for  a  file in the user's home directory
     called .xserverrc to run as a shell script to start  up  the
     server.   If no such file exists, xinit will use the follow-
     ing as a default:

          X  :0

     Note that this assumes that there is a program  named  X  in
     the  current  search  path.   The site administrator should,
     therefore, make a link to the appropriate type of server  on
     the  machine,  or create a shell script that runs xinit with
     the appropriate server.

     Note, when using a .xserverrc script be sure to ``exec'' the
     real  X  server.   Failing  to do this can make the X server
     slow to start and exit.  For example:

          exec Xdisplaytype

     An important point is that programs which are run  by  .xin-
     itrc  should  be  run  in the background if they do not exit
     right away, so that they don't prevent other  programs  from
     starting  up.   However, the last long-lived program started
     (usually a window manager or terminal  emulator)  should  be
     left  in the foreground so that the script won't exit (which
     indicates that the user is done and that xinit should exit).





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     An alternate client and/or server may be  specified  on  the
     command  line.  The desired client program and its arguments
     should be given as  the  first  command  line  arguments  to
     xinit.   To specify a particular server command line, append
     a double dash (--) to the  xinit  command  line  (after  any
     client  and  arguments)  followed by the desired server com-
     mand.

     Both the client program name and  the  server  program  name
     must  begin  with  a  slash (/) or a period (.).  Otherwise,
     they are treated as an arguments to  be  appended  to  their
     respective  startup  lines.   This  makes it possible to add
     arguments (for example, foreground  and  background  colors)
     without having to retype the whole command line.

     If an explicit server name is not given and the first  argu-
     ment following the double dash (--) is a colon followed by a
     digit, xinit will use that  number  as  the  display  number
     instead  of  zero.   All remaining arguments are appended to
     the server command line.

EXAMPLES
     Below are several examples of how command line arguments  in
     xinit are used.

     xinit   This will start up a server  named  X  and  run  the
             user's  .xinitrc,  if  it  exists,  or else start an
             xterm.

     xinit -- /usr/local/bin/Xvnc  :1
             This is how one  could  start  a  specific  type  of
             server on an alternate display.

     xinit -geometry =80x65+10+10 -fn 8x13 -j -fg white -bg navy
             This will start up a server named X, and will append
             the  given  arguments  to the default xterm command.
             It will ignore .xinitrc.

     xinit -e widgets -- ./Xorg -l -c
             This will use the command ./Xorg -l -c to start  the
             server  and  will append the arguments -e widgets to
             the default xterm command.

     xinit /usr/ucb/rsh fasthost cpupig -display ws:1 --  :1 -a 2 -t 5
             This  will  start a server named X on display 1 with
             the arguments -a 2 -t  5.   It  will  then  start  a
             remote  shell  on  the  machine fasthost in which it
             will run the command cpupig, telling it  to  display
             back on the local workstation.

     Below is a sample .xinitrc that starts a clock, several ter-
     minals,  and  leaves  the  window  manager  running  as  the



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User Commands                                            XINIT(1)



     ``last'' application.  Assuming that the window manager  has
     been configured properly, the user then chooses the ``Exit''
     menu item to shut down X.

             xrdb -load $HOME/.Xresources
             xsetroot -solid gray &
             xclock -g 50x50-0+0 -bw 0 &
             xload -g 50x50-50+0 -bw 0 &
             xterm -g 80x24+0+0 &
             xterm -g 80x24+0-0 &
             twm

     Sites that want to create a common startup environment could
     simply create a default .xinitrc that references a site-wide
     startup file:

             #!/bin/sh
             . /usr/local/lib/site.xinitrc

     Another approach is to write a script that starts xinit with
     a  specific  shell  script.   Such scripts are usually named
     x11, xstart, or startx and are a convenient way to provide a
     simple interface for novice users:

             #!/bin/sh
             xinit /usr/local/lib/site.xinitrc -- /usr/bin/X -br


ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
     DISPLAY        This variable gets set to  the  name  of  the
                    display to which clients should connect.

     XINITRC        This variable specifies an init file contain-
                    ing  shell  commands  to start up the initial
                    windows.  By default, .xinitrc  in  the  home
                    directory will be used.

FILES
     .xinitrc       default client script

     xterm          client to run if .xinitrc does not exist

     .xserverrc     default server script

     X              server to run if .xserverrc does not exist

SEE ALSO
     X(5), startx(1), Xserver(1), Xorg(1), xorg.conf(4), xterm(1)

AUTHOR
     Bob Scheifler, MIT Laboratory for Computer Science




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User Commands                                            XINIT(1)



ATTRIBUTES
     See attributes(5) for descriptions of the  following  attri-
     butes:

     ____________________________________________________________
    |       ATTRIBUTE TYPE        |       ATTRIBUTE VALUE       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Availability                | x11/session/xinit           |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Interface Stability         | Committed                   |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|












































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