Desktop Environments

Once you have successfully completed the installation of the ISO and the post-install tasks described in man lfirsttime, what you are left with is a pretty minimal installation - this is deliberate!

Lunar Linux now gives you the power and the freedom to customize your system to your own specific needs.

Minimal Installation

After completing the base installation:

For a lean, mean server: You don't have to uninstall lots of things and hope you have closed potential security holes. You have a secure system on which to build. You probably don't need to read the rest of this article either.
For a desktop environment or lightweight window manager: You still have a little work to do.

Tips for New Users

If you have a "standard" hardware configuration and stick to the defaults, the installation of Lunar Linux should be straightforward and therefore appears deceptively simple. There are some things you can do to keep things running smoothly:

Keep it simple
Take it one step at a time
Build a working system first
Add the bells and whistles later

How Dependencies Work

In Lunar, modules have explicit dependencies on things that are really needed, so installing 'a' will first install 'b' and 'c' for you. Some modules have explicit optional dependencies on nice-to-have features, so if 'd' isn't already installed you will be asked whether you want to install it too. Saying yes could mean installing all of those modules that 'd' depends on as well.

In addition, each module's own configuration process may detect what is and isn't installed, and adapt itself accordingly.

Note: You can preview what will be built and pre-answer the installation questions by using lin -r --deps before running the real lin.

When Things Go Wrong

Usually all of this Just Works™, but sometimes a module fails to build. Sometimes dependencies have changed, or are missing, and you may need to install the missing module explicitly before trying again.

Troubleshooting steps:

If it's an optional dependency: Re-run with lin -rc and this time say yes, or maybe even no
If it can't download the source file: Go to the website for that package and see if you can download it manually, then save it in /var/spool/lunar
If you have persistent download problems: Run lunar and check whether changing the mirror site helps

Getting Help

The ISO comes with:

screen for switching between virtual terminals
lynx - ASCII-based web browser
irssi and ircii - IRC clients

You may be able to find sources and additional help yourself. If you have problems, please join the #lunar channel on IRC:

irssi -c irc.freenode.net    # /join lunar

Maybe someone will be available in your timezone who can help you.

First Install X Explicitly

Even though Lunar Linux isn't aimed at new Linux users and assumes that you have some idea what you are doing, many people installing for the first time forget to install X first.

Wait! Isn't X installed automatically? No? Why not?

The reason is simple:

Adding the dependency tracking to all modules that might need to use X would be an awful lot of work
Would lead to a very dense dependency tree that would be hard to manage
Would affect all users, even if they wanted to run a lean, mean, headless server
As Lunar users are supposed to know what they are doing, you should also know that if you want to run graphical applications, you should first install the graphical environment

Installing X

You don't need to install all of the X components one by one, although you are free to do so if you really want. Lunar Linux provides a profile module called XOrg7 that is a sort of dummy module that doesn't do anything itself, but it depends on a lot of other modules. Installing a profile module therefore installs all of the modules that it depends on.

To install a "standard" X environment:

lin XOrg7
lin additional_drivers...

You can find the additional drivers under /var/lib/lunar/moonbase/xorg7/drivers, or run:

lvu section xorg7/drivers

However, this doesn't install all possible X applications. There are some, like xterm, xhost, and the desktop environments that you will need to install separately.

Testing X

At this point you can run startx to have a very basic session in the 'twm' window manager. You might now want to install an X-based web browser and IRC client before going further.

XFCE

Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment for various *NIX systems.

In the past, many of the Lunar developers were also Xfce developers, so Xfce has traditionally been the best integrated into Lunar Linux. You can install all of the components one by one, or you can install the "standard" environment in one go using the xfce4 profile module:

lin xfce4

Why Choose XFCE?

Lightweight and fast
Traditional desktop paradigm
Highly configurable
Good hardware support
Well-maintained in Lunar
Modular architecture

Starting XFCE

After installation, you can start XFCE by adding to your ~/.xinitrc:

exec startxfce4

Then run:

startx

KDE

KDE has one Lunar developer who is actively following the official releases, and therefore updates to the KDE modules in Lunar usually occur within a few days of the official release.

You can install the "standard" environment using the kde4 profile module:

lin kde4

Why Choose KDE?

Full-featured desktop environment
Integrated applications
Modern interface
Extensive configuration options
Active development
Well-supported in Lunar

Starting KDE

After installation, you can start KDE by adding to your ~/.xinitrc:

exec startkde

Then run:

startx

GNOME

GNOME is not so popular with the Lunar developers and as a result it is not as up-to-date as Xfce and KDE. In fact, we could really use some help!

You can install the "standard" environment using the gnome2 profile module but be prepared to give it a helping hand:

lin gnome2

Why Choose GNOME?

Modern interface design
Good accessibility features
Integrated with many Linux applications
Simple and clean design philosophy

Note: GNOME support in Lunar could use community contributions. If you're interested in helping maintain GNOME modules, please reach out to the development team.

Starting GNOME

After installation, you can start GNOME by adding to your ~/.xinitrc:

exec gnome-session

Then run:

startx

Lightweight Window Managers

As well as the "big three" above, Lunar Linux also provides modules for several lightweight window managers, although these are not guaranteed to be up-to-date.

You can find many of them under /var/lib/lunar/moonbase/x11-wm or by using:

lvu section x11-wm

Popular Lightweight Window Managers

Some popular choices include:

fluxbox - Lightweight and highly configurable
openbox - Minimalist and standards-compliant
i3 - Tiling window manager
awesome - Dynamic tiling window manager
dwm - Dynamic window manager from suckless.org
windowmaker - NeXTSTEP-like window manager

Why Choose a Lightweight Window Manager?

Performance - Minimal resource usage
Simplicity - No bloat, just window management
Customization - Complete control over behavior
Learning - Better understanding of X11
Older hardware - Works great on limited resources

Community Contributions

Some of these come from module submissions by Lunar users. If you have a favorite window manager that's not in the moonbase, consider contributing it!

Cutting-Edge Developments

Note that some cutting-edge developments can also be found in the zbeta section of the Moonbase but are not guaranteed to be stable.

Display Managers

You may also want to install a display manager (login screen):

GDM (GNOME Display Manager)

lin gdm

KDM (KDE Display Manager)

lin kdm

LightDM

lin lightdm

lin firefox    # Mozilla Firefox
lin chromium   # Chromium browser
lin opera      # Opera browser

Office Applications

lin libreoffice    # Full office suite

Media Players

lin vlc            # VLC media player
lin mplayer        # MPlayer

Image Editors

lin gimp           # GNU Image Manipulation Program
lin inkscape       # Vector graphics editor

Configuration Tips

.xinitrc File

Create a ~/.xinitrc file to customize your X session:

#!/bin/sh

# Start some common applications
xterm &
xclock &

# Start your window manager or desktop environment
exec startxfce4

Make it executable:

chmod +x ~/.xinitrc

Session Management

For more complex session management, consider using:

~/.xsession for display manager sessions
~/.config/autostart/ for XDG-compliant autostart

Check /var/log/Xorg.0.log for errors
Verify video drivers are installed: lin xorg-video-<your-card>
Try running X -configure to generate a basic config

Missing Fonts

lin dejavu-fonts-ttf
lin liberation-fonts-ttf

No Sound

lin alsa-utils
alsaconf    # Configure ALSA
alsamixer   # Adjust volumes

Hardware Acceleration Not Working

Install appropriate drivers for your GPU:

# For NVIDIA
lin nvidia

# For AMD
lin xorg-video-ati

# For Intel
lin xorg-video-intel

Next Steps

Once you have your desktop environment up and running:

Configure your system preferences
Install your favorite applications
Customize themes and appearance
Set up your development environment
Explore the moonbase for more software

Getting Help

If you run into problems:

Check the FAQ
Join #lunar on irc.freenode.net
Search the mailing list archives
Read the documentation for your specific desktop environment

Have Phun!!