Minimal xorg install

This document describes how to perform a minimal xorg installation and some optional good defaults.

First log in at a console as root using the password you setup during install.

We will now install the minimal set of packages needed for xorg.

root@devuan:~# apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-dummy xserver-xorg-input-void xserver-xorg-core xinit x11-xserver-utils

It should be noted that the void input driver is installed as well as the dummy video driver. These packages do not function as drivers but allow xorg to be installed without drivers. This is done to avoid installing all drivers including the ones you don't need. Instead we will install the individual drivers that you do need afterwards.

You should now install the display driver for your hardware.

Display drivers for common hardware include:

  xserver-xorg-video-intel (intel)
  xserver-xorg-video-nouveau (nvidia)
  xserver-xorg-video-openchrome (via)
  xserver-xorg-video-radeon (amd)
  xserver-xorg-video-vesa (generic display driver)

For example if you have an amd graphics chip you should install the radeon driver.

root@devuan:~# apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-radeon

If you are unsure of your driver you can use the vesa driver for now until you learn more about xorg drivers. It will work with all VESA compliant displays and is also useful to fall back on in the case of a misconfigured driver.

root@devuan:~# apt-get install xserver-xorg-video-vesa

For graphics chips not mentioned above you can search the repository to find the correct display driver for your hardware.

root@devuan:~# apt-cache search xserver-xorg-video-.* | pager

Since it is a dependency of xserver-xorg we cannot remove the evdev driver, fortunately evdev is a unified driver and is suitable for most input devices. This means you don't need to follow this step unless you have specific requirements.

If you have a mouse and keyboard setup you can install those drivers separately if you prefer this behaviour.

root@devuan:~# apt-get install xserver-xorg-input-mouse xserver-xorg-input-kbd

For a synaptics touchpad you will often need to install the synaptics driver alongside your keyboard driver.

root@devuan:~# apt-get install xserver-xorg-input-synaptics

If you need other input drivers you can search the repository to find them.

root@devuan:~# apt-cache search xserver-xorg-input-.* | pager

I recommend installing the basic set of fonts for xorg.

root@devuan:~# apt-get install xfonts-100dpi xfonts-75dpi xfonts-base xfonts-scalable

You will often want to include mesa opengl support when using the free software display drivers, particularly if you play opengl games.

root@devuan:~# apt-get install libgl1-mesa-dri mesa-utils

Ascii may need the xserver-xorg-legacy package to manage permissions for xserver. Note that this is a setuid wrapper.

root@devuan:~# apt-get install xserver-xorg-legacy

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