CDM will not launch i3 unless I login as root

whitet22 · 2018-02-07 03:35:35

This is my first post in the Arch Forums, so please bear with me:

I just (successfully) installed Arch, Xorg, and i3. I decided that I would rather have a Display Manager launch after login so I could avoid typing "startx" everytime I wanted to launch i3. Here is where things fell apart:

Installation of CDM went without a hitch, however when I was presented with the tty1 console, I entered my username and password, and CDM displayed a menu showing i3, however when I selected it from the list,
CDM gave me an error (something about eavesdropping).

I then proceeded to try again, but logging in as root. Voila - my beloved i3wm.

My goal is to get CDM to launch i3 as a normal user. Here are the steps I have tried to resolve this issue on my own:

1) Almost two and a half hours of research and tinkering that have left me completely confused. The only issue that I can think of is that CDM does not have the correct permissions to launch i3wm (or maybe start an X session, I have
no clue which). The Arch Wiki article for CDM states that it should work without having to touch the X config files (and it does...but only as root).
2) I uninstalled xorg, and i3 with pacman -Rc xorg i3, and then proceeded to delete the respective config files from both /etc/ and /home/ directories. The removal of X uninstalled CDM, so I figured I was starting with a fresh slate.
Perhaps my problem lied in my X config files (that I had customized a bit before installing CDM). After getting a fresh install of each program, and leaving the config files of X unchanged, I attempted to login as a user. The same issue
presented itself. I logged in as root, and I was greeted with i3 (which I am now typing this post from).

A brief summary of the issue:

CDM only brings me to an i3 session if I log in with the root account.
I am able to obtain an X session as a regular user if I use the startx command.
I would like to login as a regular user, select i3 from the CDM list, and arrive at a UI.

I ask that all responses to this post are constructive. Responses suggesting that I "google it", "give up" or "use the wiki" are not constructive to me, or any other user who has the same issue. As mentioned, I put almost 2.5 hours
of research/tinkering into this problem prior to posting.

circleface · 2018-02-07 03:51:17

Why not just launch X upon login? If you aren't ever going to switch WMs it would be even faster than CDM.

whitet22 · 2018-02-07 04:06:07

That's an interesting thought - I never considered that. I'll give it a go and see if I can get it to work. Looks simple enough to do just quickly glancing at the wiki page.

ewaller · 2018-02-07 15:37:36

A few things. First and foremost, welcome to the Arch Linux forums. Second, I realize this was probably an experiment, but please, don'r run i3 as root; you are asking for trouble; especially if you are logged in as a user and run it with sudo.
Third, as noted in the article linked in my signature, there are ways to avoid the dreaded RTFM and STFW style responses; you seem to have done so through your research and have done a reasonable job of conveying that.

I don't use display managers myself as they tend to cause more issues than they solve. Regardless, If you could come up with more detail on the actual error message you received. Also, please share your /etc/cdmrc.

Arch Linux

#1 2018-02-07 03:35:35

CDM will not launch i3 unless I login as root

#2 2018-02-07 03:51:17

Re: CDM will not launch i3 unless I login as root

#3 2018-02-07 04:06:07

Re: CDM will not launch i3 unless I login as root

#4 2018-02-07 15:37:36

Re: CDM will not launch i3 unless I login as root

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