How to install GDM but not Gnome Desktop?

dontreadthis · 2015-06-11 20:35:41

I just decided to switch from LXDM to GDM, and I installed gdm using

yaourt gdm

but I noticed that it wanted to install a bunch of other packages. I assumed (being the newbie that i am) that they were all needed for gdm, but when I rebooted and logged in with the default desktop, it went to Gnome instead of Xfce. (which i installed earlier) Just a few minutes before writing this I tried to uninstall gnome with

sudo pacman -Rscn gnome

but it wanted to uninstall a bunch of stuff from Xfce, of course I said no. So 1) How do I uninstall gnome without damaging Xfce, and 2) How do I install GDM without getting gnome? Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Steef435 · 2015-06-11 21:09:19

As you can see here the package gdm depends on gnome-shell and gnome-session. So you'll have to install those packages. The gnome group, however, contains a lot more packages which gdm doesn't depend on, and you also didn't install while installing gdm.

Have a look at the manual for pacman (man pacman). -Rscn means you want to remove all the packages in gnome and recursively their dependencies, and remove all the packages that depend on them.

To answer your question: gdm depends on some of the packages in gnome, so you can't remove those packages without making gdm unusable (probably).

You'll have to configure gdm to launch your DE of choice, you can probably select it in the graphical interface too. There may be some clues in the wiki.

Head_on_a_Stick · 2015-06-12 07:23:13

dontreadthis wrote:

How do I install GDM without getting gnome?

You can modify GDM using the Arch Build Service to remove the GNOME desktop dependencies.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_Build_System

I don't know if that would actually work (I've never tried it) but it's worth a try.

EDIT: Also, don't use Yaourt...

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2015-06-12 07:23:39)

FlowIt · 2015-06-12 10:06:35

There is nothing wrong with yaourt. Just use it with caution.
You can install gdm-git from AUR and edit the Pkgbuild to remove the dependencies. Could be easier than the whole ABS process. gnome-shell and -session are not necessary for compilation but are listed as runtime dependecies. So I highly doubt that gdm will run in this setup.

runical · 2015-06-12 10:46:36

FlowIt wrote:

You can install gdm-git from AUR and edit the Pkgbuild to remove the dependencies.

A quick question, but how is this easier than just taking the pkgbuild from the ABS and removing the dependencies there? I'd say it will only introduce extra problems because you use the git version.

@dontreadthis: There are plenty of other DMs that don't have GNOME dependencies. Care to elaborate why exactly you want to switch to GDM and not for example to lightdm (assuming you actually care about the dependencies)? Also, have you tried selecting the XFCE4 session in GDM?

Head_on_a_Stick · 2015-06-12 21:42:06

FlowIt wrote:

edit the Pkgbuild to remove the dependencies. Could be easier than the whole ABS process.

That *is* the ABS process...

FlowIt · 2015-06-13 10:33:47

It works the same, still there is a difference: Yaourt or every other AUR frontend provides a wrapper for the tasks which are required in ABS. So, if you know what you are doing you could save a little bit of work/time if you edit an AUR Pkgbuild when installing with, for example, yaourt. This is a matter of personal preference and experience.
But this leads us away from the original question. As I said: Removing dependencies is possible, compiling is possible, but you won't be able to run gdm without gnome-shell and -session.

ayekat · 2015-06-13 10:45:39

FlowIt wrote:

you could save a little bit of work/time if you edit an AUR Pkgbuild when installing with, for example, yaourt

Suggesting an AUR package over an officially supported package just because it's (subjectively) easier to edit its PKGBUILD is a little flawed, I think. And it makes the ABS seem more complicated than it actually is.

runical · 2015-06-13 11:29:04

ayekat wrote:

FlowIt wrote:
you could save a little bit of work/time if you edit an AUR Pkgbuild when installing with, for example, yaourt
Suggesting an AUR package over an officially supported package just because it's (subjectively) easier to edit its PKGBUILD is a little flawed, I think. And it makes the ABS seem more complicated than it actually is.

To be honest, the AUR is no more difficult than the ABS. You just need to get the PKGBUILD somewhere else. Other than that, let's keep on topic and try to help dontreadthis solve the problem. So, dontreadthis, did you try any of the solutions mentioned?

Steef435 · 2015-06-13 13:08:42

If we assume that those dependencies are listed for a reason, the options above aren't solutions but ways to look for trouble.

There could always be a bug in the PKGBUILD of course. But I don't want dontreadthis to get the impression that packages usually don't actually depend on their dependencies. They do.

Last edited by Steef435 (2015-06-13 13:09:42)

PootisBird · 2015-06-13 13:34:09

What's the problem ? Just edit PKGBUILD and try to build and install. You can always roll back, it's not Windows after all.

Arch Linux

#1 2015-06-11 20:35:41

How to install GDM but not Gnome Desktop?

#2 2015-06-11 21:09:19

Re: How to install GDM but not Gnome Desktop?

#3 2015-06-12 07:23:13

Re: How to install GDM but not Gnome Desktop?

#4 2015-06-12 10:06:35

Re: How to install GDM but not Gnome Desktop?

#5 2015-06-12 10:46:36

Re: How to install GDM but not Gnome Desktop?

#6 2015-06-12 21:42:06

Re: How to install GDM but not Gnome Desktop?

#7 2015-06-13 10:33:47

Re: How to install GDM but not Gnome Desktop?

#8 2015-06-13 10:45:39

Re: How to install GDM but not Gnome Desktop?

#9 2015-06-13 11:29:04

Re: How to install GDM but not Gnome Desktop?

#10 2015-06-13 13:08:42

Re: How to install GDM but not Gnome Desktop?

#11 2015-06-13 13:34:09

Re: How to install GDM but not Gnome Desktop?

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