# can i run GUI application without any dekstop enviroment



## alie (Dec 18, 2008)

hi,

i have odd question, sorry i am newbie.. i am in learning mode and try to understand BSD/UNIX since i am falling in love with it.

is it possible to run an GUI application like pidgin without dekstop enviroment like KDE or Gnome ?

-Alie
http://www.alietan.com


----------



## DutchDaemon (Dec 18, 2008)

All you need is X and any lightweight window manager. I don't use KDE/Gnome, just WindowMaker, and I can run anything just fine.


----------



## alie (Dec 18, 2008)

DutchDaemon said:
			
		

> All you need is X and any lightweight window manager. I don't use KDE/Gnome, just WindowMaker, and I can run anything just fine.



thanks for ur reply
i dont like to use KDE/Gnome also.


----------



## tangram (Dec 18, 2008)

Take a look at FreeBSD's Handbook section on X.

XFCE is also a nice desktop environment and is GTK+ based so Pidgin would fall in just great. Also consider LXDE or Enlightenment as alternative DEs. 

If window manager are more you thing then you have tons of choice: Fluxbox, Openbox, Pekk, dwm, windowmaker, xmonad, awesome, wmii, etc...


----------



## gullit (Dec 18, 2008)

Sometimes a piece of software is a text based application with a GUI interface. For example pidgin, you can install it without GUI ( gtk ? ) support and use finch - the text mode client - instead.


----------



## rambetter (Dec 18, 2008)

The default "desktop environment" or "windows manager" that comes with xorg is twm, I believe.  If you don't install something like Gnome, KDE, or Xfce, you will find yourself in the twm environment.  I actually like twm, but it has very little features.  So yes you can launch your standard desktop applications like pidgin or firefox using just twm.


----------



## caesius (Dec 18, 2008)

If you want to be technical, you don't even need a window manager, just put (for example)
	
	



```
firefox
```
 in your ~/.xinitrc and when X starts it will just be one big firefox window, can't do anything other than use firefox obviously, since you have no window manager.


----------



## MG (Dec 20, 2008)

start empty X.org screen:
#X

go back to system console (F1 - F8) :
ctrl-alt-F1

#xterm

go back to X.org screen:
Alt-F9

and you must see Xterm running without any window manager.
It quite sucks because you can't move,resize or iconify anything.


----------



## Dara (Dec 22, 2008)

you can also try using ratpoison ..


----------

