STARTX(n) MachTen Programmer’s Manual STARTX(n)

NAME
startX - Start the X server

SYNOPSIS
startX

DESCRIPTION
The startX shell script is used to start the X Window Sys-
tem under MachTen and XTen. startX uses environment vari-
ables from the $HOME/.startXrc file to control the X
server start up appearance and environment.

STARTUP UNDER MACHTEN
In MachTen, the X server runs under wind(8), the MachTen
window daemon. Pressing the <apple-T> keys simultaneously
or running xtmenu(n) with the ’-s’ flag while in the
MachTen wind environment will initiate the startX script
and run the X server. Launch of the X server by any other
means is not currently supported under MachTen.

STARTUP UNDER XTEN
In XTen, startX is launched by init(8), the system startup
daemon.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
DISPLAY This variable gets set to the name of the
display to which clients should connect.

USE_XINIT This variable indicates the X server will
start via xinit(n). Using xinit allows the
server to be started with a default set of
client programs as defined in the .xinitrc
shell script file in the user’s home direc-
tory. By default, USE_XINIT is defined.

XSERVER_ONLY Indicates the X Server will start without
first running xinit. This variable is typ-
ically set along with XDM_SERVER to contact
a remote X display manager upon start up.
The remote manager then handles user
authentication and the default user ses-
sion. By default, XSERVER_ONLY is unde-
fined.

If both USE_XINIT and XSERVER_ONLY are
defined, xinit allows the user’s .xinitrc
file to run to completion without killing
the X server. Using xinit in this manner
ensures that the X Server is configured
with local X Server resources (like the
keyboard map).

XDM_SERVER Specifies the host name of a remote system
running xdm. This allows the X server to
be controlled by a remote display manager.
Requires definition of the XDM_METHOD vari-
able.

XDM_METHOD Specifies the method by which to contact
the remote display manager. Valid methods
are ’query’, ’indirect’, or ’broadcast’.

Specification of an XDM_METHOD variable
implies XSERVER_ONLY is true and USE_XINIT
is false and overrides these variables.

XSERVER_PRIO This variable is the default server process
priority when run via xinit or by xdm. If
not defined the default priority is -11.

LOCAL DISPLAY MANAGER CONTROL
When none of the variables USE_XINIT, XSERVER_ONLY, nor
XDM_METHOD are defined, startX will launch xdm(n) with
instructions to control a local X server.

X SERVER LAUNCH OPTIONS
Under all startX launch modes, the X server will start up
with default options from the .Xparams file in the user’s
home directory or, if not found, from the file
/usr/lib/X11/xinit/Xparams. Start up options (see
Xserver(n) and XMachTen(n)) allow a user to further cus-
tomize the X server enviroment.

FILES
$HOME/.startXrc
default environment variables read by the
startX script.

/usr/lib/X11/startX/startXrc
system fallback environment variables when
a local $HOME/.startXrc file is not found.

$HOME/.Xparams default X server parameters (options).

/usr/lib/X11/xinit/Xparams
system fallback X server parameters when a
local $HOME/.Xparams file is not found.

SEE ALSO
XMachTen(n), Xserver(n), xinit(n), xdm(n), xtmenu(n)

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