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The following article nicely explains the differences between a display manager, a window manager, and a desktop environment:

What is the relationship between Unity, Gnome, Gnome 3, Compiz, Metacity, and LightDM?

Over time, I have grown very fond of using Openbox. Here is typically how I use Openbox:

  1. Install Ubuntu server (no desktop)

  2. Install openbox and a system tray application.

  3. Add "startx" to my .profile script. After I login, it automatically brings up Openbox window manager.

In this case, is it fair to say that I don't have any display manager installed?

I am just trying to understand what is it I am missing by not having a display manager. I am quite happy with the way my setup works.

Also, is it correct to say that I don't have any desktop environment either? Regards.

3 Answers 3

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The display manager takes care of automatically starting the display server ( X11 ), and then prompts you to log in instead of starting your desktop environment as the user the display manager is running as ( root ). startx starts the display server and your desktop environment as you, when you are already logged in. What you are missing by not having a display manager is the ability to log in within the gui instead of having to log in at the command line.

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    Appreciate your help. Looks like the display manager does not add much value for my purpose. I wonder why there are so many display managers when all they do is present a login screen:-).
    – Peter
    Jul 21, 2015 at 4:23
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Yes, you can have a desktop environment without a display manager.


With your setup, it is fair to say that you don't have a display manager. It is also fair to say that you don't have a desktop environment


With your setup, you are not missing out anything from not having a display manager

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For sure you can. Display manager is almost useless piece of software, really. It exists just to bring some user-friendly-ness and pretty background image on system boot. There is already a command line tool called getty, which is designed specifically to prompt for the user password and a wrapper around xinit called startx. However typing startx every time you want to run Xserver is a bit exhausting, so you may want to use some kind of a prompt menu wrapper around startx.

And the same way you can say that you don't have a Desktop environment. However, if you didn't install a Desktop environment, it doesn`t mean you do not a have a Desktop environment. According to Wikipedia page about the meaning of DE, if you have a GUI access to your system then you have a Desktop environment! There is really no strict rules about what is DE and what is not DE... The names are given just in order to simplify the general user experience. So if you wish, you can say that you have a DE, your custom probably...

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