4.5 KiB
Ly - a TUI display manager
Ly is a lightweight TUI (ncurses-like) display manager for Linux and BSD.
Dependencies
- zig
- a C standard library
- pam
- xcb
- xorg
- xorg-xauth
- mcookie
- tput
- shutdown
On Debian-based distros running apt install build-essential libpam0g-dev libxcb-xkb-dev as root should install all the dependencies for you.
For Fedora try running dnf install kernel-devel pam-devel libxcb-devel
You can download Zig here.
Support
The following desktop environments were tested with success
- awesome
- bspwm
- budgie
- cinnamon
- deepin
- dwm
- enlightenment
- gnome
- i3
- kde
- labwc
- lxde
- lxqt
- mate
- maxx
- pantheon
- qtile
- spectrwm
- sway
- windowmaker
- xfce
- xmonad
Ly should work with any X desktop environment, and provides basic wayland support (sway works very well, for example).
systemd?
Unlike what you may have heard, Ly does not require systemd,
and was even specifically designed not to depend on logind.
You should be able to make it work easily with a better init,
changing the source code won't be necessary :)
Cloning and Compiling
Clone the repository
$ git clone https://github.com/fairyglade/ly
Change the directory to ly
$ cd ly
Compile
$ zig build
Test in the configured tty (tty2 by default) or a terminal emulator (but desktop environments won't start)
# zig build run
Install Ly and the provided systemd service file
# zig build installsystemd
Enable the service
# systemctl enable ly.service
If you need to switch between ttys after Ly's start you also have to disable getty on Ly's tty to prevent "login" from spawning on top of it
# systemctl disable getty@tty2.service
OpenRC
Clone, compile and test.
Install Ly and the provided OpenRC service
# zig build installopenrc
Enable the service
# rc-update add ly
You can edit which tty Ly will start on by editing the tty option in the configuration file.
If you choose a tty that already has a login/getty running (has a basic login prompt), then you have to disable the getty so it doesn't respawn on top of ly
# rc-update del agetty.tty2
runit
# zig build installrunit
# ln -s /etc/sv/ly /var/service/
By default, ly will run on tty2. To change the tty it must be set in /etc/ly/config.ini
You should as well disable your existing display manager service if needed, e.g.:
# rm /var/service/lxdm
The agetty service for the tty console where you are running ly should be disabled. For instance, if you are running ly on tty2 (that's the default, check your /etc/ly/config.ini) you should disable the agetty-tty2 service like this:
# rm /var/service/agetty-tty2
Arch Linux Installation
You can install ly from the [extra] repos:
$ sudo pacman -S ly
Configuration
You can find all the configuration in /etc/ly/config.ini.
The file is commented, and includes the default values.
Controls
Use the up and down arrow keys to change the current field, and the left and right arrow keys to change the target desktop environment while on the desktop field (above the login field).
.xinitrc
If your .xinitrc doesn't work make sure it is executable and includes a shebang. This file is supposed to be a shell script! Quoting from xinit's man page:
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.
On Arch Linux, the example .xinitrc (/etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc) starts like this:
#!/bin/sh
Tips
The numlock and capslock state is printed in the top-right corner. Use the F1 and F2 keys to respectively shutdown and reboot. Take a look at your .xsession if X doesn't start, as it can interfere (this file is launched with X to configure the display properly).
PSX DOOM fire animation
To enable the famous PSX DOOM fire described by Fabien Sanglard,
just uncomment animate = true in /etc/ly/config.ini. You may also
disable the main box borders with hide_borders = true.
Additional Information
The name "Ly" is a tribute to the fairy from the game Rayman. Ly was tested by oxodao, who is some seriously awesome dude.