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XINIT(1)						 XINIT(1)


NAME
       xinit - X Window System initializer

SYNOPSIS
       xinit  [	 [ client ] options ] [ -- [ server ] [ display ]
       options ]

DESCRIPTION
       The xinit program is used to start  the	X  Window  System
       server  and  a first client program on systems that cannot
       start X directly from /etc/init or  in  environments  that
       use  multiple  window  systems.	 When  this  first client
       exits, xinit will kill the X server and then terminate.

       If no specific client program  is  given	 on  the  command
       line, xinit will look for a file in the user's home direc
       tory called .xinitrc to run as a shell script to start  up
       client  programs.   If no such file exists, xinit will use
       the following as a default:

	    xterm  -geometry  +1+1  -n	login  -display	 :0


       If no specific server program  is  given	 on  the  command
       line, xinit will look for a file in the user's home direc
       tory called .xserverrc to run as a shell script	to  start
       up the server.  If no such file exists, xinit will use the
       following as a default:

	    X  :0

       Note that this assumes that there is a program named X  in
       the  current  search  path.   However, servers are usually
       named Xdisplaytype where displaytype is the type of graph
       ics  display  which  is	driven	by this server.	 The site
       administrator should, therefore, make a link to the appro
       priate  type  of	 server on the machine, or create a shell
       script that runs xinit with the appropriate server.

       An important point is  that  programs  which  are  run  by
       .xinitrc	 should	 be  run in the background if they do not
       exit right away, so that they don't prevent other programs
       from  starting  up.   However, the last long-lived program
       started (usually a window manager  or  terminal	emulator)
       should  be left in the foreground so that the script won't
       exit (which indicates that the user is done and that xinit
       should exit).

       An  alternate client and/or server may be specified on the
       command line.  The desired client program  and  its  argu
       ments  should be given as the first command line arguments
       to xinit.  To specify a particular  server  command  line,
       append a double dash (--) to the xinit command line (after
       any client and arguments) followed by the  desired  server



X Version 11		   Release 6.1				1





XINIT(1)						 XINIT(1)


       command.

       Both  the  client program name and the server program name
       must begin with a slash (/) or a period	(.).   Otherwise,
       they  are  treated as an arguments to be appended to their
       respective startup lines.  This makes it possible  to  add
       arguments  (for example, foreground and background colors)
       without having to retype the whole command line.

       If an explicit server name is  not  given  and  the  first
       argument	 following  the	 double dash (--) is a colon fol
       lowed by a digit, xinit will use that number as	the  dis
       play  number instead of zero.  All remaining arguments are
       appended to the server command line.


EXAMPLES
       Below are several examples of how command  line	arguments
       in xinit are used.

       xinit   This  will  start  up a server named X and run the
	       user's .xinitrc, if it exists, or  else	start  an
	       xterm.

       xinit -- /usr/X11R6/bin/Xqdss  :1
	       This  is	 how  one  could start a specific type of
	       server on an alternate display.

       xinit -geometry =80x65+10+10 -fn 8x13 -j -fg white -bg
	       navy
	       This  will  start  up  a	 server named X, and will
	       append the given arguments to  the  default  xterm
	       command.	 It will ignore .xinitrc.

       xinit -e widgets -- ./Xsun -l -c
	       This will use the command .Xsun -l -c to start the
	       server and will append the arguments -e widgets to
	       the default xterm command.

       xinit /usr/ucb/rsh fasthost cpupig -display ws:1 --  :1 -a
	       2 -t 5
	       This will start a server named X on display 1 with
	       the arguments -a 2 -t 5.	 It  will  then	 start	a
	       remote  shell  on the machine fasthost in which it
	       will run the command cpupig, telling it to display
	       back on the local workstation.

       Below  is  a  sample .xinitrc that starts a clock, several
       terminals, and leaves the window manager	 running  as  the
       ``last''	 application.	Assuming  that the window manager
       has been configured properly, the user  then  chooses  the
       ``Exit'' menu item to shut down X.

	       xrdb -load $HOME/.Xresources



X Version 11		   Release 6.1				2





XINIT(1)						 XINIT(1)


	       xsetroot -solid gray &
	       xclock -g 50x50-0+0 -bw 0 &
	       xload -g 50x50-50+0 -bw 0 &
	       xterm -g 80x24+0+0 &
	       xterm -g 80x24+0-0 &
	       twm

       Sites  that  want  to  create a common startup environment
       could simply create a default .xinitrc that  references	a
       site-wide startup file:

	       #!/bin/sh
	       . /usr/local/lib/site.xinitrc

       Another	approach  is  to write a script that starts xinit
       with a specific shell script.  Such  scripts  are  usually
       named  x11,  xstart, or startx and are a convenient way to
       provide a simple interface for novice users:

	       #!/bin/sh
	       xinit /usr/local/lib/site.xinitrc -- /usr/X11R6/bin/X bc


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

       XINITRC	      This  variable  specifies an init file con
		      taining shell commands to start up the ini
		      tial  windows.  By default, .xinitrc in the
		      home directory will be used.

FILES
       .xinitrc	      default client script

       xterm	      client to run if .xinitrc does not exist

       .xserverrc     default server script

       X	      server to run if .xserverrc does not exist

SEE ALSO
       X(1), startx(1), Xserver(1), xterm(1)

AUTHOR
       Bob Scheifler, MIT Laboratory for Computer Science











X Version 11		   Release 6.1				3


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