Manual: xinit

XINIT(1)					   General Commands Manual					    XINIT(1)

NAME
       xinit - X Window System initializer

SYNOPSIS
       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 us‐
       ing a display manager such as xdm(1) or in environments that use multiple window systems.  When this first client ex‐
       its, 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
       following 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 fol‐
       lowing 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 .xinitrc 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).

       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 command.

       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 ar‐
       guments (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 argument 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/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/bin/ssh -X fasthost cpupig --	 :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	 lo‐
	       cal workstation.

       Below  is  a  sample  .xinitrc  that  starts a clock, several terminals, and leaves the window manager running as the
       ``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
	       . /etc/X11/xinit/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 /etc/X11/xinit/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 containing 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(7), startx(1), Xserver(1), Xorg(1), xorg.conf(5), xterm(1)

AUTHOR
       Bob Scheifler, MIT Laboratory for Computer Science

X Version 11						 xinit 1.4.2						    XINIT(1)