Tag Archives: xterm

Minimal X server – Less then 1.2GB

Packages required:

apt-get install xinit blackbox menu xterm xdm

Full list of packages installed (including dependencies):

<code>blackbox fontconfig-config libaudit0 libbt0 libdrm-intel1 libdrm-nouveau1a libdrm-radeon1 libdrm2 libffi5 libfontconfig1 libfontenc1 libgl1-mesa-dri libgl1-mesa-glx libglapi-mesa libice6 libmtdev1 libpciaccess0 libpixman-1-0 libsm6 libutempter0 libx11-xcb1 libxaw7 libxcb-dri2-0 libxcb-glx0 libxcb-shape0 libxcb-util0 libxcomposite1 libxdamage1 libxfixes3 libxfont1 libxft2 libxi6 libxinerama1 libxkbfile1 libxmu6 libxpm4 libxrandr2 libxrender1 libxt6 libxtst6 libxv1 libxvmc1 libxxf86dga1 libxxf86vm1 menu ttf-dejavu-core x11-common x11-utils x11-xkb-utils xbitmaps xfonts-base xfonts-encodings xfonts-utils xinit xserver-common xserver-xorg xserver-xorg-core xserver-xorg-input-all xserver-xorg-input-evdev xserver-xorg-input-mouse xserver-xorg-input-synaptics xserver-xorg-input-vmmouse xserver-xorg-input-wacom xserver-xorg-video-all xserver-xorg-video-apm xserver-xorg-video-ark xserver-xorg-video-ati xserver-xorg-video-chips xserver-xorg-video-cirrus xserver-xorg-video-fbdev xserver-xorg-video-i128 xserver-xorg-video-intel xserver-xorg-video-mach64 xserver-xorg-video-mga xserver-xorg-video-neomagic xserver-xorg-video-nouveau xserver-xorg-video-openchrome xserver-xorg-video-r128 xserver-xorg-video-radeon xserver-xorg-video-rendition xserver-xorg-video-s3 xserver-xorg-video-s3virge xserver-xorg-video-savage xserver-xorg-video-siliconmotion xserver-xorg-video-sis xserver-xorg-video-sisusb xserver-xorg-video-tdfx xserver-xorg-video-trident xserver-xorg-video-tseng xserver-xorg-video-vesa xserver-xorg-video-vmware xserver-xorg-video-voodoo xterm cpp cpp-4.7 libgmp10 libmpc2 libmpfr4 libxcursor1 x11-xserver-utils xdm</code>

I personally needed a light editor, possibly not related to KDE or Gnome (which generally means plenty of packages installed).
I found Leafpad, which does the job. So, I generally install it as well:

With these packages, you should have a very light X environment, with xterm, a basic text editor and a basic bar with workspaces and current time.
Super basic. Super light. Super Functional. 🙂

I liked also to customise the menu, because the default one was too messy for me.

To do this, create a .blackboxrc file if not present in your home directory.
After, just add the following:

session.menuFile: ~/.blackbox/blackbox-menu

Of course, make sure to have also a folder called .blackboxand the file blackbox-menu customised like this one:

[begin] (MinimalMenu)
[exec] (XTerm) {xterm}
[exec] (LeafPad) {/usr/bin/leafpad}
[submenu] (Blackbox)
[config] (Configuration)
[submenu] (Styles)
[stylesdir] (~/.blackbox/styles)
[sep]
[stylesdir] (/usr/share/blackbox/styles)
[end]
[workspaces] (Workspaces)
[sep]
[reconfig] (Reconfigure)
[restart] (Restart)
[exit] (Exit)
[end]
[end]

Otherwise, you can always start using a copy of the default one:

cp /etc/X11/blackbox/blackbox-menu ~/.blackbox/blackbox-menu

Here you go! Enjoy! 😉