Embracing Simplicity in Linux: Lessons from Openbox on the Art of Streamlining

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the renowned French author, once remarked that “perfection is reached not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” This inspired me to explore the idea of achieving a near-perfect minimal Linux desktop, specifically using the Openbox window manager.

Why Choose a Window Manager?

Is It Possible to Ditch My Desktop Environment?

Having grown up surrounded by desktop environments, I have fond memories of using an Apple Macintosh, where I first played Tetris. My first personal computer was equipped with Windows 3.1. Upon transitioning into Unix-like systems years later, I found my desktop habits were hard to shake off. While I’ve never been fully comfortable in a minimalist window manager, I felt compelled to give it a try. My work primarily involves the command line on Linux, whether through WSL or a full desktop setup. I mainly utilize graphical elements for moving windows and running applications like web browsers.

Why Openbox?

Evaluating Its Standalone Performance

I’ve had my share of experiences with window managers in the past, having explored others like FluxBox. For this project, I chose Openbox somewhat arbitrarily. Given my time constraints, I desired a straightforward window manager that offered solid support across various distributions, and Openbox met that criterion. It’s commonly found in lightweight desktop environments such as LXDE, and my default desktop—Xfce—is already relatively lightweight.

Installing Openbox

Effortless APT Installation on Debian

Setting up Openbox on my Debian system was a breeze. All I needed to do was execute the following command using APT:

sudo apt install openbox

Once Openbox was installed, it simply needed to be selected from the available session options at the login screen.

Customizing the Wallpaper

Using xsetroot for Background Settings

Upon logging into the Openbox session, I noticed that the desktop background remained unchanged from the Debian login screen. A right-click brought up the menu, confirming my entry into a very minimalist environment that lacks a Control Panel equivalent. Configuration is traditionally handled through text files.

To change the desktop wallpaper, I used the xsetroot command, which adjusts the root window in an X11 environment—not to be confused with the root account in Linux. The root window is essentially the foundational window, and this command applies also when running without a desktop environment, as in some macOS setups or WSL environments where graphical Unix/Linux applications can operate.

I can set the desktop background directly from the terminal. There’s a terminal emulator available via the right-click menu, and I decided to use a color I found online. The xsetroot command accepts hex codes typically used in HTML or CSS as color values:

xsetroot -solid "#6e7e9c"

This command will set the background, but I needed to run it each time I started Openbox. Thankfully, there’s a configuration file for autostart commands in Openbox.

This file, located at .config/openbox/autostart in the home directory, is read at startup. I could add the command using my preferred editor, Vim:

vim ~/.config/openbox/autostart

To ensure the background command runs continuously, I appended an ampersand at the end:

xsetroot -solid "#6e7e9c" &

This allows the command to execute in the background.

Launching Applications

Typical Functionality on Openbox

Having set up my wallpaper, I was ready to use Openbox more comfortably. The right-click menu provides access to common apps like web browsers. Debian also includes a utility that automatically updates this menu when new applications are installed.

I decided every system should have a solitaire game, so I installed PySolFC, a popular Python-based solitaire suite:

sudo apt install pysolfc

It was promptly available for use.

Other desktop applications shipped with Debian, including Firefox and LibreOffice, could be easily launched as well.

I could also run applications via command-line commands. For instance, launching Firefox was as easy as:

firefox &

The ampersand ensures the terminal remains available for further commands, instead of halting until Firefox is closed.

What Is the Openbox Experience Like?

A Refreshingly Streamlined Interface

As someone who is well-versed in command-line usage, I believe I could incorporate a minimal setup like Openbox into my regular workflow. One immediate addition I recognized as essential was a panel for managing minimized applications and locking the screen, so I opted for the tint2 panel.

Delving into a Minimal Desktop Environment

I’ve come to appreciate the efficiency of a minimal environment, particularly in virtual machines, and I’m keen on further exploring a bare-bones desktop setup.