Overview

With the exception of the NET-edition, Manjaro 0.8.1 onwards uses a lightweight display / login manager called LXDM by default. LXDM is responsible for providing the login screen, where your preferred language, keyboard layout, and desktop environment may be selected for your personal user account(s). It also functions as a protective security barrier to prevent unauthorised access to your system. However, some users may prefer to bypass the login screen to boot straight into their desktop environment without entering a password.

Edit the LXDM Configuration File

To enable this, you must first open up your terminal in order to manually edit the LXDM configuration file. The syntax of the command to edit the LXDM configuration file is:

sudo [text editor] /etc/lxdm/lxdm.conf

To use nano (the default text-based terminal editor) enter the command:

sudo nano /etc/lxdm/lxdm.conf

Otherwise, you may find it easier to read and edit the file by using gedit, which will open the configuration file as if it were a document. To use gedit instead, enter the command:

sudo gedit /etc/lxdm/lxdm.conf

Set the User

Having opened the configuration file, the first step is to set your personal account to be automatically logged in. To do this, under the heading ## uncomment and set autologin username to enable autologin:

1. remove the hash ('#') from the beginning of autologin=

2. remove any text after autologin= (e.g. dgod)

3. add the name of your personal account at the end of it:

[base]
## uncomment and set autologin username to enable autologin
autologin=[name of your personal user account]

As an example, LXDM has been configured below to enable a personal user account named 'carl' to be logged in automatically:

[base]
## uncomment and set autologin username to enable autologin
autologin=carl

Ensure that there are no spaces between the autologin= command and the name of your personal user account. Once complete, the second and final step of setting the default desktop environment to be automatically started must be undertaken.

Set the Desktop Environment

It is necessary to explicitly state which desktop environment is to be booted into, even if only one is installed on your system. To do this, under the heading ## default session or desktop used when no systemwide config,

1. remove the hash ('#') from the beginning of session=

2. remove 'lxdm' from session=/usr/bin/lxdm, and

3. add the command to start your chosen / installed desktop envrionment at the end of it:

## default session or desktop used when no systemwide config
session=/usr/bin/[start command of your chosen/installed desktop]

Examples to start each of the available desktops have been provided below.

To start XFCE:

## default session or desktop used when no systemwide config
session=/usr/bin/startxfce4

To start KDE:

## default session or desktop used when no systemwide config
session=/usr/bin/startkde

To start Gnome:

## default session or desktop used when no systemwide config
session=/usr/bin/gnome-session

To start Cinnamon:

## default session or desktop used when no systemwide config
session=/usr/bin/gnome-session-cinnamon

To start Razor-QT:

## default session or desktop used when no systemwide config
session=/usr/bin/razor-session

To start Openbox:

## default session or desktop used when no systemwide config
session=/usr/bin/openbox

Once your amendments have been completed save your changes and close the configuration by:

nano: Press CTRL and 'x' to exit, 'y' to save, and <enter> to finish, or
gedit: Select the 'save' option and then close the window.

Reboot your system for the changes to take effect.

Restore the Login Screen

To restore the login screen, edit the LXDM configuration file once again and comment out the lines beginning autologin= and session=. An example has provided below.

[base]
## uncomment and set autologin username to enable autologin
#session=/usr/bin/startxfce4 

...

## default session or desktop used when no systemwide config
#session=/usr/bin/openbox

Once your amendments have been completed save your changes and close the configuration file by:

nano: Press CTRL and 'x' to exit, 'y' to save, and <enter> to finish, or
gedit: Select the 'save' option and then close the window.

Reboot your system for the changes to take effect.