Run a GUI program at startup on top of X with no window manager

Question

I want to start a program on top of X after startup. I want no desktop manager, nor window manager, but I just want to start a single program like Firefox after startup.

Is there a standard way to do it?

Answer 1

I remember way back I had to set up my own X stuff by writing a .xinitrc file and running startx. I suspect that won't work well with modern xorg/distros.

Alternatively, I notice that there's a file named /etc/X11/xinit that just launches the X session manager. I expect you could just edit that to do something else.

BTW, I think you probably do want a window manager or you might have trouble with Firefox. The default one is named x-window-manager.

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Ok, here's a better answer ....

Create a new file, ~/.xsessionrc:

STARTUP=

Create a new file, ~/.xsession:

x-window-manager &
firefox

Logout, and login again.