XINIT(1)		X Version 11 (Release 6.4)	      XINIT(1)



     NAME    [Toc]    [Back]
	  xinit	- X Window System initializer

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

     DESCRIPTION    [Toc]    [Back]
	  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	directory
	  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	directory
	  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	graphics
	  display which	is driven by this server.  The site
	  administrator	should,	therefore, make	a link to the
	  appropriate 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 arguments
	  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



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	  client and arguments)	followed by the	desired	server
	  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 followed
	  by a digit, xinit will use that number as the	display	number
	  instead of zero.  All	remaining arguments are	appended to
	  the server command line.

     EXAMPLES    [Toc]    [Back]
	  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



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		  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    [Toc]    [Back]
	  DISPLAY	 This variable gets set	to the name of the
			 display to which clients should connect.

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

     FILES    [Toc]    [Back]
	  .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    [Toc]    [Back]
	  X(1),	startx(1), Xserver(1), xterm(1)

     AUTHOR    [Toc]    [Back]
	  Bob Scheifler, MIT Laboratory	for Computer Science









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