Introduction to Xorg

X.Org Server (officially the X.Org Foundation Open Source Public Implementation of X11) is the reference implementation of the X Window System. It's an open-source project maintained by the X.Org Foundation and hosted on freedesktop.org. The project has evolved through several major releases:

Essential Xorg Packages

While Xorg is an older system, most modern desktop environments still depend on its components. For basic graphical functionality, you only need a few essential packages:

Core Components

• xorg-server: The X server itself
• xorg-xinit: X initialization program

Graphics Drivers

To identify your graphics hardware:

$ lspci | grep -E 'VGA|3D'
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile GM965/GL960 Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 0c)

Based on the output, install the appropriate driver. For Intel hardware, this would be:

$ sudo pacman -S xf86-video-intel

Input Device Drivers

Xorg uses libinput as the default input driver:

$ cd /var/log/
$ grep -e "Using input driver " Xorg.0.log
[ 13.672] (II) Using input driver 'libinput' for 'Power Button'
[ 13.721] (II) Using input driver 'libinput' for 'Video Bus'
[ 13.748] (II) Using input driver 'libinput' for 'Sleep Button'
[ 13.771] (II) Using input driver 'libinput' for 'AT Translated Set 2 keyboard'
[ 13.803] (II) Using input driver 'libinput' for 'SynPS/2 Synaptics TouchPad'

Note: The xf86-input-synapitcs driver is no longer actively maintained. libinput is recommended instead.

Minimal Installation

For a basic Xorg setup, you only need these three packages:

$ sudo pacman -S xorg-server xorg-xinit xf86-video-intel

After installation, test with:

$ startx

Xorg Package Groups

Xorg is organized into several package groups:

• xorg: Core Xorg components (49 packagse)
• xorg-drivers: Graphics and input drivers (16 packages)
• xorg-apps: Xorg utilities (36 packages)
• xorg-fonts: Xorg fonts (2 packages)

However, many packages are duplicated across groups. A minimal installation typically includes only:

Gentoo Configuration

In Gentoo, Xorg sessions are managed through the XSESSION variable:

# Set default session
echo XSESSION="Xfce4" > /etc/env.d/90xsession
env-update
startx

Graphical User Interface Overview

Modern Linux systems offer several display server options:

Display Servers

• Xorg: The traditional X11 display server
• Wayland: A newer display server protocol with Weston reference implementation

Desktop Environments

While Xorg provides the basic framework, desktop environments bundle additional components:

• GNOME
• KDE Plasma
• LXDE
• XFCE

Window Managers

For users preferring minimal setups, standalone window managers include:

• i3
• Openbox
• Fluxbox
• Awesome

Display Managers

Display managers handle user login and session startup:

DM: LightDM, LXDM, GDM, SDDM
DE: LXDE, GNOME, Plasma, LXQt