XINIT(1)		    General Commands Manual		      XINIT(1)



NAME
       xinit - X Window System initializer

SYNOPSIS
       xinit  [	 [  client ] options ... ] [ -- [ server ] [ display ] options
       ... ]

DESCRIPTION
       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 termi-
       nate.

       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.

       Note,  when  using  a  .xserverrc script be sure to ``exec'' the real X
       server.	Failing to do this can make the X server  slow	to  start  and
       exit.  For example:

	    exec Xdisplaytype

       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 client and arguments) followed by the	 desired  server  com-
       mand.

       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 follow-
       ing the double dash (--) is a colon followed by a digit, xinit will use
       that number as the display number instead of zero.  All remaining argu-
       ments are appended to the server command line.

EXAMPLES
       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 .xini-
	       trc, if it exists, or else start an xterm.

       xinit -- /usr/local/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	.xini-
	       trc.

       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  com-
	       mand.

       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 argu-
	       ments -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.	Assum-
       ing that the window manager has been configured properly, the user then
       chooses the ``Exit'' menu item to shut down X.

	       xrdb -load $HOME/.Xresources
	       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/bin/X -br


ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
       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
       .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
       X(7), startx(1), Xserver(1), xterm(1)

AUTHOR
       Bob Scheifler, MIT Laboratory for Computer Science



X Version 11			  xinit 1.0.9			      XINIT(1)