85 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
85 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
# matchbox‑wm
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matchbox‑wm is a minimal, single‑window X11 window manager originally designed for embedded systems, kiosks, and low‑resource devices. Unlike traditional window managers, it enforces a strict one‑window‑only model, making it ideal for fullscreen kiosk applications such as Chromium dashboards.
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**Key characteristics:**
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* Single‑window design: Only one application window is shown at a time, always fullscreen.
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* Extremely lightweight: Uses roughly 1–2 MB of RAM, suitable for low‑memory environments.
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* No desktop components: No panels, menus, compositors, notifications, or session daemons.
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* Deterministic behavior: Eliminates window management complexity, ideal for locked‑down kiosk workflows.
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* Runs on Xorg: Works as a tiny layer on top of the X11 display server.
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* Perfect for kiosks: Commonly paired with Chromium in kiosk mode for dashboards and appliances.
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## Install
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``` bash
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apt update
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apt install matchbox-window-manager xorg
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```
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## Setup
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Example to start matchbox-window-manager, auto login user xxx and start chromium.
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1. Auto login
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``` bash
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mkdir -p /etc/systemd/system/getty@tty1.service.d
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```
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``` bash
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#/etc/systemd/system/getty@tty1.service.d/autologin.conf
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[Service]
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ExecStart=
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ExecStart=-/sbin/agetty --autologin xxx --noclear %I $TERM
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```
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``` bash
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sudo systemctl daemon-reload
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```
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2. Setup user to startx
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``` bash
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# /home/xxx/.bash_profile
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if [ -z "$DISPLAY" ] && [ "$(tty)" = "/dev/tty1" ]; then
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startx
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fi
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```
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3. Setup setup scripts
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``` bash
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# /home/xxx/.xinitrc
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eval $(dbus-launch --exit-with-session)
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export SSL_CERT_DIR=/etc/ssl/certs
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export SSL_CERT_FILE=/etc/ssl/certs/ca-certificates.crt
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matchbox-window-manager &
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chromium \
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--kiosk \
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--noerrdialogs \
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--disable-infobars \
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https://yoursite
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```
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``` bash
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chmod +x /home/xxx/.xinitrc
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```
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## misc
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Stop auto tty session and kill session:
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``` bash
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sudo systemctl stop getty@tty1
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```
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