Basic desktop environment

Question

I have installed a new operating system with no GUI desktop environment at all because 99% of my programs don't use a graphical interface, but I would like something basic for the remaining 1% of my programs that use a graphical interface. No menu, no top bar, just the bare minimum to have a graphical program running in it.

I was hoping for something like LXDE but without all the bloatware.

I was hoping for something like LXDE but without all the bloatware. — Olof, Oct 11 '16 at 10:29
Maybe this is useful: Start ubuntu without a desktop environment but start an X application ? — Jonas Czech, Oct 11 '16 at 10:34

karel · Answer 1 · 2018-06-04T05:09:46.150

4

You can get more lightweight than LXDE by using just a window manager like fluxbox, openbox, i3-wm or awesome from the default Ubuntu repositories instead of a desktop environment.

To install Fluxbox and a few additional packages like in the below screenshot, open the terminal and type:

sudo apt install lightdm xorg fluxbox catfish eterm hsetroot xloadimage fbautostart fbpager wm-icons
sudo reboot

edited Jun 04 '18 at 05:09

answered Oct 11 '16 at 10:51

karel

114,770

Openbox is great, doesn't have that steep of a learning curve too. I've used for quite some time on my old Toshiba L455D. There's also Blackbox, from which i believe Openbox was derived. Also quite a lovely choice – Sergiy Kolodyazhnyy Nov 13 '16 at 12:38

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 11 '16 at 10:50

1

I would recommend that you check out the i3wm (i3 window manager). Apps fill the screen by default, and it is highly customizable. Here is a good tutorial.

answered Oct 11 '16 at 10:50

CennBuie

21

1

Note: i3 is a tiling wm. So windows are "tiled" on screen – jiwopene Oct 11 '16 at 10:57
This is probably the best option to this user. A pity this answer is so minimalistic. – Luís de Sousa Oct 12 '16 at 08:43
@LuísdeSousa well it answered the question.But i would be happy to provide further details if you like. – CennBuie Oct 12 '16 at 08:46
Check out How to Answer. – Luís de Sousa Oct 12 '16 at 08:55

Basic desktop environment

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