# How to install LXDE on FreeBSD



## asifnaz (Jan 2, 2013)

I have posted similar question before and I was answered like

Use PCBSD or GhostBSD

or consult Handbook 

Please don't answer as above .

do I need to install X.org..?

or just after installation 
	
	



```
pkg_add -r lxde
```
 should do everything I need 

Thank you


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## SirDice (Jan 2, 2013)

asifnaz said:
			
		

> or consult Handbook
> 
> Please don't answer as above .


I'm going to do it anyway as the answer is in there.

Chapter 5 Installing Applications: Packages and Ports



> do I need to install X.org..?


Yes.



> or just after installation
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You need x11/xorg and x11/lxde-meta.


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## asifnaz (Jan 2, 2013)

how do i do that ?
I assume 4 or 5 lines in command line would require me to install x11 and LXDE . I need to know those commands .
And how much disk space is required for it


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## jnbek (Jan 2, 2013)

```
pkg_add -r xorg lxde-meta
```
However you should consult the handbook, since every possible piece of information about FreeBSD is found there.


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## fonz (Jan 2, 2013)

asifnaz said:
			
		

> I have posted [red]a[/red] similar question before and I was answered like: "Use PC[red]-[/red]BSD or GhostBSD" or: "consult Handbook." Please don't answer as above. [red](unnecessary newlines removed)[/red]


Granted, simply answering with: "Use PC-BSD" is kinda lame, but if the answer is: "Consult the handbook", it's pretty damn likely (hopefully nobody will file a report about my language being vulgar) that the answer is in there. Courtesy suggests that in such a case one refers to a specific section of the Handbook though.



			
				asifnaz said:
			
		

> do I need to install X.org..?


Directly or indirectly, yes of course. LXDE is a desktop environment that runs on the X-Windows system. Without X.org (or XFree86 on some systems, or some other incarnation of X-Windows) there's hardly any point, now is there?



> or just after installation
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Chances are that installing LXDE will install X.org as a dependency, so the above _might_ be sufficient provided that lxde is a valid package name. Do keep in mind that *packages* for 9.1-RELEASE are still being built, so the package for LXDE might not be there yet. As an alternative, you might want to use the 9-STABLE packages instead.

Fonz


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## asifnaz (Jan 3, 2013)

Thank you everybody specially jnbek. I really appreciate that FreeBSD has such great documentation but as a new user I was not sure what specific part I should read for above said task.

I have some experience with Linux so I wonder why LXDE is considered a Port or Package (I thought it was a desktop environment )

Anyways thank you for help and I will ask here again I need some further assistance.


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## SirDice (Jan 3, 2013)

asifnaz said:
			
		

> I have some experience with Linux so I wonder why LXDE is considered a Port or Package (I thought it was a desktop environment )


Everything that's not part of the base OS is considered a port (a package is nothing more than a pre-compiled port). Contrary to Linux we have a complete OS and there's a big distinction between what's part of FreeBSD (the base OS) and what's not (the ports).


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## jnbek (Jan 3, 2013)

One of the things I've notice when installing X dependent ports and packages is that ports/pkg_add will install all the X libs, and such but not the X server.. for cases where perhaps the system is headless to be connected via VNC or perhaps to run the Xvfb environment, which is for intents and purposes an X server, minus the monitor and fancy graphics drivers. So it is typically up to the end user to explicitly specify which of the 3 options they wish to run, be it, Xorg, Xvfb, or VNC. This is what helps FreeBSD remain the best choice for everyone, no matter the desired solution to whatever need is present.  I should note, I use Xvfb to run an automated web site snapshot utility using cutycap. A cron fires and starts the Xvfb server, loads cutycap and takes snapshots of a number of sites, and flash even works. This is run from inside a jail on a headless system, so it would be extremely impractical to have the entire Xorg system installed, when I don't need it. Thanks to the Ports developers for keeping things such as that in mind </rant>


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## kpa (Jan 4, 2013)

X11 applications do not need an X server on the machine they are run on, that's one of the key design points of X. That's why it doesn't make any sense to force an install of the X server when installing X applications, even with a complete desktop enviroment like KDE.


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## jnbek (Jan 4, 2013)

@kpa: Yes, thank you for getting that added in, I totally failed to mention that.


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