On 06/05/2017 01:50 PM, Niels Thykier wrote: > Hi, > > CC'ing debian-x, who I hope can help us with some clarification. > > Justin B Rye: >> Niels Thykier wrote: >>>> <note> >>>> <para> >>>> This change only applies if your X Display Manager supports >>>> - running X as rootless (or if you start X manually via >>>> + running X without root privileges (or if you start X manually via >>>> <command>startx</command>). Currently the only known display >>>> - manager supporting this is gdm. Other display managers simply >>>> + manager supporting this is <systemitem >>>> role="package">gdm</systemitem>. >>>> + Other display managers simply >>>> start X as root regardless of this change. >>>> </para> >>>> </note>
This looks wrong, I believe the package name is gdm3, not gdm. >>>> >>>> [...] >>>> >>>> This way of phrasing it makes it really difficult to work out that >>>> using startx *does* require the installation of xserver-xorg-legacy. >>>> >>> >>> Sadly, then I have confused you. Assuming the system meets the >>> requirements, then the following will *not* require root: >>> >>> * startx (from a virtual terminal "owned" by the current user) >>> * gdm (which knows how to start X without using root) >> >> I was assuming otherwise because the first symptom I ran into was that >> running startx in the absence of xserver-xorg-legacy gave me an X >> session with non-functional mouse and keyboard. >> >> But when I check now, installing every available xserver-xorg-* >> package in main including -legacy as well as -input-libinput makes no >> difference to that. On a testbed stretch machine with functional >> logind and so on but with an old KMS-incapable graphics card, I >> haven't found any way of making startx usable. >> > > Not sure what is going there. But I haven't used startx for years until > I learned of this feature, so I am probably not the right person to ask > what is going on/why it doesn't work. > >> Switching over to lightdm I can get a usable session without -legacy >> as long as I have -input-libinput. So I'm afraid I have no idea >> what's going on, or even how many problems there are. >> > > As I understand it, lightdm will start X as root unconditionally, so > that will work with or without -legacy. You want -legacy when using gdm > (or startx) plus have "old drivers". > > * @debian-x: Is the above correct? > Yes, any reasonable (read: KMS) setup will work fine without -legacy. In the absence of KMS (e.g. virtualbox, or new hardware not supported by the drivers we ship), you'll need either -legacy or a DM that hasn't been updated to starting X as non-root yet. Cheers, Julien