On Mon, Feb 20, 2017 at 04:02:50PM +0100, Vincent Lefevre wrote: > More precisely, if I understand correctly, > > 1. The DM can request some window manager (for instance, the user has > the choice between several ones, and he may also choose the default > session file, or whatever has been used last). If a choice has been > done, then /etc/X11/Xsession.d/20x11-common_process-args will define > $STARTUP based on this choice. > > 2. If there wasn't a specific request, then when > /etc/X11/Xsession.d/50x11-common_determine-startup is sourced, > $STARTUP is still empty. In this case, $STARTUP is defined there > in the following way. > > 2a. If /etc/X11/Xsession.options contains allow-user-xsession (which > isn't the default, AFAIK), then $STARTUP is set to the user > session file, normally "$HOME/.xsession", as /etc/X11/Xsession > contains: USERXSESSION=$HOME/.xsession > The window manager should be started from this script. > > 2b. Otherwise, the following executables are tried in succession: > /usr/bin/x-session-manager > /usr/bin/x-window-manager > /usr/bin/x-terminal-emulator
I believe this is what I documented on https://wiki.debian.org/Xsession If the wiki doesn't reflect your understanding of the scripts, then it's possible that one of misread them, and we can work on getting the wiki into a more accurate (or more clear) state. I also used the Debian reference manual, linked from that page, and "man Xsession", while trying to figure out how this stuff works. I did not go through the extra steps of installing and removing various display managers and desktop environments in order to reverse engineer them. My dedication to this cause has limitations. > Note: since window managers can also start X clients on start up, > a .xsession file may not be useful for everyone. It's a crazy mixed-up world.
