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 cannot start X directly from
       /etc/init or in environments that use multiple window systems.  When this first client exits, xinit will kill the X server and then  termi-
       nate.

       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.  However, servers are usually named Xdisplaytype where
       displaytype is the type of graphics display which is driven by this server.  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/X11R6/bin/Xqdss  :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 -- ./Xsun -l -c
	       This will use the command .Xsun -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/X11R6/bin/X bc

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), xterm(1)

AUTHOR

       Bob Scheifler, MIT Laboratory for Computer Science

XFree86 							   Version 4.7.0							  XINIT(1)