SLiM

SLiM (Simple Login Manager) is a desktop-independent graphical login manager for X11. Being fast and having only a few dependencies, it is a popular choice amongst users of lightweight window managers.

= Installation = You can install SLiM using the following command:

Additional themes can also be installed:

To make SLiM start automatically after boot, set the DISPLAYMANAGER in /etc/conf.d/xdm to slim:

You will also need to add xdm to the default runlevel:

= Configuration = All configuration is done in /etc/slim.conf

Default configuration - no default session
By default, SLiM is configured to make all sessions in /etc/X11/Sessions/ accessible -- you can cycle through them by pressing the F1 key. This behavior is acquired by setting the options below:

When no other changes are made, users will need to press F1 while logging-in to select the desired session. In following sections there are described several methods of setting one session as the default one.

Setting a global default session
You can set a default session for all users of the computer, by setting the XSESSION variable. To do this, create and edit file /etc/env.d/90xsession

After saving the file run env-update:

Setting a default session for one user
When setting a default session for one user, you will need to decide if you want to use the session scripts from /etc/X11/Sessions/ or to take care of everything by yourself.

The simplest way to set a default session for one user is to make a symbolic link from the session file to ~/.xsession

An alternative is to put session command in the ~/.xsession file:

More tweaks
Theme selection is done by changing the following line:

You can easily find what themes are available on your system:

The NumLock key can be turned on or off by default:

= See Also = SLiM Homepage