Other Noob Post - Preparations for BSPWM

bunkum

bunkum

Historically, on Linux, installing a WM when you already have a DE is as simple as apt or pacman, but what are the steps required for FreeBSD?

Currently, I am having fun but I am starting to see things are a little more involved and I am wondering if there are some guides or wisdom
to be shared before I procede and brick my system? I can almost guarantee there will be some config files I will need to edit and despite
using AI to do the basics I got a variety of different answers from all 3. Brave claims I need to edit .desktop while grok just gave me a list
of packages, however I asked twice and it gave me a different response.

What's your take?
 
bunkum said:
Historically, on Linux, installing a WM when you already have a DE is as simple as apt or pacman, but what are the steps required for FreeBSD?
Click to expand...
Same here, if you have a DE and all graphical part already configured/installed (graphics driver, xorg/wayland, ...) you have just one command pkg in place of pacman/apt/dnf...
You can choose the WM by adding it in your .xinitrc, or with your display manager.

But first, read the FreeBSD handbook.
 
So, you learned AI's answers are useless to anybody not versed in a certain topic.
That's a good start.
And you don't need it.

Instead of asking several chatbots, producing and reading several answers, dealing with discrepancies, then asking questions in a forum, producing even more text...
why not start reading the handbook instead in the first place?

It's all in there on a few pages. understandable. correct. and newbie proof.
How to setup a GUI at all, install packages, like a WM or a DE.
And for configuring the WM/DE you need to read the according documentation. They are not all the same.
Most WMs use config files, while DEs mostly provide config options within their GUI.

Just read it. Just do it.
If you find something you don't understand or miss in the HB (which excludes not reading it), then you come here, ask, and you get answers by people happy to help.

And I recommend to start to skim through the FAQs first. Those are actual worth reading, and they cover the most questions FreeBSD newcomers have, or sometimes even miss, like FreeBSD is not Linux, or why FreeBSD does not come with a GUI by default.

And before I forget:
Welcome to FreeBSD. Once you arrived you will admit: good choice.
 
bunkum said:
Historically, on Linux, installing a WM when you already have a DE is as simple as apt or pacman, but what are the steps required for FreeBSD?

Currently, I am having fun but I am starting to see things are a little more involved and I am wondering if there are some guides or wisdom
to be shared before I procede and brick my system? I can almost guarantee there will be some config files I will need to edit and despite
using AI to do the basics I got a variety of different answers from all 3. Brave claims I need to edit .desktop while grok just gave me a list
of packages, however I asked twice and it gave me a different response.

What's your take?
Click to expand...
If you are a newcomer, I'd suggest making things as simple as possible and take things step by step. Getting a GUI up and running can be done using

pkg install -y xorg lxde-meta

and then start it from the command prompt using startx.
 
What's the objective when installing a new window manager into an existing DE?

Do you want to replace the DE, or do you want to run the same DE with a different WM? The latter is possible only in a few DEs.
 
cracauer@ said:
What's the objective when installing a new window manager into an existing DE?

Do you want to replace the DE, or do you want to run the same DE with a different WM? The latter is possible only in a few DEs.
Click to expand...

Ideally I realized my modern mouse on laptop would not be supported on FreeBSD (modernized Bluetooth). Then it dawned on me, this is actually where a WM shines because every navigation can be done mostly by keystroke. So I thought I would keep KDE and have a secondary option of installing BSPWM along side of it so I can pick and choose.

So, you learned AI's answers are useless to anybody not versed in a certain topic.
That's a good start.
And you don't need it.

Instead of asking several chatbots, producing and reading several answers, dealing with discrepancies, then asking questions in a forum, producing even more text...
why not start reading the handbook instead in the first place?

It's all in there on a few pages. understandable. correct. and newbie proof.
How to setup a GUI at all, install packages, like a WM or a DE.
And for configuring the WM/DE you need to read the according documentation. They are not all the same.
Most WMs use config files, while DEs mostly provide config options within their GUI.

Just read it. Just do it.
If you find something you don't understand or miss in the HB (which excludes not reading it), then you come here, ask, and you get answers by people happy to help.

And I recommend to start to skim through the FAQs first. Those are actual worth reading, and they cover the most questions FreeBSD newcomers have, or sometimes even miss, like FreeBSD is not Linux, or why FreeBSD does not come with a GUI by default.

And before I forget:
Welcome to FreeBSD. Once you arrived you will admit: good choice.
Click to expand...

Thanks as well, I will be diving into that in a bit, as well as perusing the FAQ
 
bunkum said:
Ideally I realized my modern mouse on laptop would not be supported on FreeBSD (modernized Bluetooth). Then it dawned on me, this is actually where a WM shines because every navigation can be done mostly by keystroke. So I thought I would keep KDE and have a secondary option of installing BSPWM along side of it so I can pick and choose.
Click to expand...

Last I tried KDE did not allow a different window manager to run (with KDE).

So you want to use a DE without a mouse?
 
I'm assuming that you're already familiar with BSPWM. If not, dwm is a good window manager that can be used without a mouse, and even some stacking ones, like openbox, can be used without a mouse, just creating keyboard shortcuts.
 
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