x-session-selector
==================


The goal is to provide a simple and lightweight mechanic to start a X session.
x-session-selector can be used as a "better" `startx` replacement, but its main
usage case is to provide a X session selection after a user has logged in on
a TTY.


License
-------

x-session-selector is licensed under GNU GPLv3.


Features
--------

 * Allows to select a session/WM on the command line.
 * Starts X with the selected session/WM.


Usage
-----

Start it after login on a tty.

The parameters it supports:

    USAGE: xsessionselector [OPTION]
    
      --automatic[=TIMEOUT]  Activates the automatic selection system, if no
                             timeout is provided it defaults to 2 seconds.
      --display=DISPAY       The display number to assign. If not provided will
                             default to the next free X display number.
      --help                 Prints this help.
      --no-newline           When --print-only is provided, does not print
                             a new line after the selection.
      --print-only           Only print the selection to stdout (if any).
      --select=SELECTION     Select this item, the provided argument is
                             the executable, f.e. /usr/bin/openbox.
      --shell=SHELL          The executable to start when dropping to shell,
                             defaults to nothing. If this is not provided,
                             the program will simply exit, if a value is
                             provided, it will be executed.
      --timeout=TIMEOUT      When --automatic is provided, sets the timeout,
                             defaults to 2 seconds.
      --tty-only             Only present the prompt when being on a TTY.
                             When not on a TTY the program will exit, except
                             if --shell has been provided, then the shell will
                             be executed.
      --vt=VT                The number of the virtual terminal to use,
                             defaults to the current VT. Provided number must
                             be positive, but can be prefixed with + or - to
                             to change relative from the current VT.
      --wsessions-dir=DIR    The directory from which to read the available
                             Wayland sessions, defaults to
                             /usr/share/wayland-sessions/.
      --xlauncher=XLAUNCHER  The executable to use as launcher for X, defaults
                             to xinit. The selected session together with
                             the display number will be given as arguments to
                             the provided executable.
      --xsessions-dir=DIR    The directory from which to read the available
                             X sessions, defaults to /usr/share/xsessions/.


Examples
--------

The most simple example is to use it as a `startx` replacement:

    $ xsessionselector

However, after a login it might be wanted to automatically select one entry
and automatically starting this entry after a certain amount of time:

    $ xsessionselector --automatic=5 --select=/usr/bin/openbox

For testing purposes, or if you just want to use it as fancy selector,
x-session-selector can also only print the selected entry:

    $ xsessionselector --print-only

In a similar manner if you have trouble with it, you can set the X launcher to
`echo` to see what exactly is being started:

    $ xsessionselector --xlauncher=echo


Dependencies
------------

Dependencies are minimal:

 * ncurses