Openbox tweaks and tricks – no {dbus,ck2,elogind,dm} no user services needed

Although this was created with Obarun/Arch based distros in mind it works pretty universally for nearly all distro that have openbox available (nearly all except for Adelie that is).  About building and installing obmenu-generator there is an older article here.

Originally published in the Obarun Forum, so here is a copy:

Openbox tweaks and tricks – no dbus – no ck2 – no user services

Minimalist tricks and treats

To start you need xorg-xinit and openbox installed:

From AUR download, build, and install obmenu-generator

You can use pacopts or cower if you don’t have something else as an AUR helper, ask for help if you want details, especially if you want to install yaourt, the best AUR helper ever created which was taken off AUR for a second time in less than a year.  I wish they would make their minds up!

Mabox – Manjaro + OpenBOX – new distribution

Since dealing with non-systemd distributions, apart from Obarun and Antix, has become a bit disappointing lately, or boring, either or both, to take a change of environment I picked something NEW.  It is called Mabox Linux and it is based on Manjaro, it uses Openbox and LightDM, as gui base, and displays many tricks in converting a minimal window manager (WM) into a full desktop of your own.  Mabox is not just an alternative setup for a standard Manjaro system, it has its own repository, packages, and includes a harmonious wide variety of software and software environments (flatpak, snap,..).  Its website is pretty nice and is available in English and Polish.

ArchLabs without systemd – Obarun s6 on top

You may ask what we are doing with ArchLabs when there is a tremendous amount of original non-systemd based distros on the list (our own lists for example).   “Originally a minimalist, Arch-based live distribution with Openbox, the latest release of ArchLabs Linux is a radical departure from the original concept as the distribution is now designed for users who like to customise their system during installation. ”  It may be coincidental but the installer is following a bit on the Obarun fashion where you install what you need and like and not what the distribution has chosen. 

Review: Nutyx GNU-Linux, if you play your “cards” right

Note1 (Nov-05-2020):  We have been informed that Nutyx has converted to full use of systemd.  There will be no more coverage of this distribution on this site.  Unless this is an unofficial fork of Nutyx which replaces its init with systemd.  If you know whether this is true or false please comment below and we would be happy to correct the record.

Note2 (Dec-17-2020):  Unfortunately this is true and our final story on Nutyx is published in a new article.

A few days ago, while I was scanning through the site’s statistics I noticed that a search in google had lead here and the search term was Nutyx.  I remember seeing the name on the long list of Linux without systemd and the more recent one based on distrowatch but I never had a chance to take a closer look.  So the search had caught the name on the list and I decided I should give it a spin.

Alpine linux hardened openbox and xfce4 tested

Apline linux is all about small and KISS, simple and small.  Unbelievably small for its functionality.  Its ease of installing and running is like no other we have ever tried.  It is aimed for people needing to build secure servers in virtual machines, clouds, etc. but it can serve as a desktop installation as well.  OpenRC is there to start everything you need up and supervise services.  Musl is a library replacing the huge usual glibc, and this alone is responsible for the small size and quickness.

The image selection for installing or using live is a little confusing.  It is confusing as there is standard. extended, vanilla, virtual, xen, and mini-root filesystem.  I used extended and that was a little more than 342MB, the rest are about 100MB or less.  By current trends that is confusingly small.

AntiX 32bit gets Miyo-Linux attention

nonico aka miyolinux here…

This is where I stand, and this is where I now place my roots. After revisiting antiX, I completely see the superiority of it. Though I built MiyoLinux on Devuan, though I’ve used and loved Void Linux, though I’ve used and loved Obarun…I am now proclaiming that antiX Testing (with Openbox) is my preferred system of choice.

Brief review of AntiX – a pleasant surprise

“antiX Magic” in an environment suitable for old and new computers

We had tried in the past to install and run Antix and due to hardware issues we have to admit we did not try that hard. Now that we have access to a greater variety of hw we decided to give it an new try, and with a fresh Antix-17 iso code named Heather Heyer after the anti-fascist activist who was run over by a white supremacist in Charlottsville Virginia this past year.

Obmenu-Generator, how to get it running on any linux

Basically I am reproducing a very good article of instructions before it vanishes.

03262019  revised for debian/mint/ubuntu/devuan/antix/mx users see below:

[edit] Today Feb 15rh I am reposting this article and made some additions and corrections as the instructions may not work in all installations as I have found out.  With this correction it works in all installations we have covered.  Today we are adding Antix-linux to the list.

Hopefully the author will not mind for this no-profit reproduction.  The original, today, can be found on lxlinux.com/obmenu-generator.  Obmenu-generator works so well and can be edited to the maximum possible way that an Openbox Menu system can deliver.

Shrugging at Vector Linux

I have been interested in trying something based on slackware so I picked out vector linux.   It says on its description that it contains LXDE, therefore openbox, which is what I use most often.  The installation was a little unusual but simple and worked out of the box.  I tried an iso for the VLocity edition. I initially tried installing openbox and a few LXDE native packages I am comfortable with (lxterminal, pcmanfm, lxappearance etc.).  Not much of what I installed really worked on openbox and the editions seemed older than I can remember.  So I went back to xfce.

Miyo-Extra 2018 edition

Here is an audio visual presentation of the new release of Miyo.  This is a “minimalist’s” desktop.  Miyo’s openbox is competing with Plasma in functionality, minimal in resources nevertheless.

Refracta 9 and Obarun excellence + Artix

The Refracta team is throwing out a glimpse of the nearly ready Devuan 2.0 (ascii) with a new iso release that can be found here:

Check out my kernel version 4.15 Can you tell it is running on OpenRC? All those green and and blue OKs while it is booting up it is proof that it is!

https://sourceforge.net/projects/refracta/files/testing/

I made several installations of the same system in various machines, some being 10yrs old.  Not a problem.  I also installed OpenRC on them and replaced the sysv-rc and it  runs fine.  I can’t really say there is a difference while running it with OpenRC but Ram use is low while coming to an idle on the desktop.  (I only use Openbox).  Experts say that when you upgrade from

Refracta Devuan 2 Openbox Eudev OpenRC ready!

It all started with curiosity and we all know what this may get for a cat.  But we are not cats, and discoveries were always made by the curious.  Neither the labels unstable, testing, experimental, nor the initial experience was enough to keep this bear away from the honey.