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 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 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 following 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  emula-
       tor) 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 arguments (for  example,  foreground  and  back-
       ground 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/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 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
               . /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 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 1.3.2                                                           XINIT(1)