Arch Linux

duskrider

Member

Registered: 2020-02-12

Posts: 7

Best way to provide multiple "Kiosk" pages for an HTPC

Hello everyone,

I am trying to set up an Intel NUC to use with a TV to provide Kodi plus several web-based dashboards or services. I have found out how to do this using virtual terminals - this works(*). However, is it the best way? I will have several X displays and thus server instances running, I suppose. Also, I didn't manage to get firefox to full-screen on bare x, so I am running cinnamon in between. The whole thing is absurdly inefficient.

Another way would be to run a full desktop environment (cinnamon, XFCE, etc., I don't care) and using its virtual desktops to run fullscreen kiosk instances on each of them.

But actually I don't need a full environment. A simple window manager, able to run and switch several applications full-screen, would be fully sufficient.

Side notes: The display will be 4K, so scaling support would be nice. Security is not an issue, this does not need to be hardened against OS access. I will run whatever it is on a sufficiently unprivileged account.
Edit: It would not have to be Xorg, Wayland would probably work as well.

Do you have any thoughts for me?

Best Regards,
duskrider

*
xinit app1 -- :3 -quiet -nolisten tcp vt3
xinit app2 -- :4 -quiet -nolisten tcp vt4
...
run as the appropriate users

Last edited by duskrider (2020-11-04 19:05:39)

Awebb

Member

Registered: 2010-05-06

Posts: 6,688

Re: Best way to provide multiple "Kiosk" pages for an HTPC

I've been running such a setup with i3 for years, but there are other window managers that can cycle through a list of full screen applications. See the window manager category in the wiki.

duskrider

Member

Registered: 2020-02-12

Posts: 7

Re: Best way to provide multiple "Kiosk" pages for an HTPC

Thanks a lot! I am still battling i3 (kodi refuses to be switched away from), but you put me on the right track.

Awebb

Member

Registered: 2010-05-06

Posts: 6,688

Re: Best way to provide multiple "Kiosk" pages for an HTPC

Set it to windowed and remove the decoration in i3.