Switching Desktop Environment

Hi there,

I am super excited to begin using Clear Linux!

I found that someone had created a bundle for desktop-i3 to include a basic collection of packages for using the i3 desktop. However, it appears that DE switching has not yet been integrated into the desktop manager/lock screen of this distro. Does anyone know if there is another way by which one might switch their desktop aside from a graphical manager?

Thanks!

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Not sure what you mean, I use i3. I boot my system and on the login screen I select i3 as my WM/GUI and then away I go. What are you expecting to be able to do? What do you want to do?

Hey Matty,

I am new to this environment, so it’s probably just me, but my previous desktop manager had a menu for selecting your desktop environment on login. What is the process for this in clear Linux?

I will break it down simple here to avoid confusion, I only assume you have a functioning clearlinux base install w/ the i3 bundle installed

  1. Reboot the computer reboot, this is necessary after installing a new X environment most times and is just a good habbit to get into IMHO.
  2. Turn the computer on
  3. At the prompt where it asks for your user name, you type that in and hit <enter>
  4. At the prompt where it asks for your password you should see a little gear icon next to the button
  5. Click on the gear icon and a dropdown menu should open with some choices [ Gnome, i3, … ]
  6. Click on i3
  7. Type in your password and hit <enter>

That should bring you up to the initial i3 screen where you create a sample config if you don’t already have one in place.

I mean no offense for the dumb’d down instructions, I just want to be clear :D, if any of these steps didn’t work then we can take it from there.

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No problem Matt, I really appreciate the thoroughness of your instructions!

This worked out perfectly, and the reason I was having trouble was that I had actually been running a custom DM I wrote for a suckless arch install for the past few years, so I completely blanked using a standard one. Thanks again for all your help, and especially for your responsiveness!

Cheers,
Neekon Saadat