---
aliases: [/en/sys/openbsd/gnome/]
categories: ['OpenBSD','System','X11']
date: 2021-07-24T20:00:00+02:00
description: "How to install, set and use Gnome on OpenBSD!"
draft: false
tags: ['OpenBSD','Gnome']
title: "OpenBSD: Gnome"
translationKey: "openbsd-gnome"
---

## Description

**Gnome** is one Desktop Environment, available on OpenBSD. 

⇒ Environnement: 

* OpenBSD: <del>6.9</del> → 7.1

----

In this tutorial, I assume that OpenBSD has just been freshly installed, 
and that everything has to be done. 

## Installation

Usual: `# pkg_add gnome gnome-extras` 

Some dependancies are installed, like **avahi**, **consolekit2**, **dbus**, 
**samba**, **sane-backend**, and many more.

## Configuration

The Gnome3 environment works differently from other desktop environments. 

Don't try to set up personal files **profile**, **.kshrc**, or even **.xsession**;
they will not be taken into your account when starting and using Gnome.

### Daemons

If during the OpenBSD installation you have activated **xenodm** — *the 
default X Display Manager* ­— disable it!

```sh
# rcctl disable xenodm
# rcctl stop xenodm
```

After, active **gdm**, the session manager, and all needed daemons.

```sh
# rcctl enable multicast messagebus avahi_daemon gdm
# rcctl start multicast messagebus avahi_daemon gdm
```

### Limits

As wrote on the pkg-readme file, limits are not enough to execute correctly
Gnome. 

Let's do it right:

- create a "gnome" login class, and add your user to this class

Modify the `/etc/login.conf` file to add: 

```cfg
gnome:\
	:datasize-cur=1024M:\
	:tc=default:
```

---

⇒ OpenBSD ≤ 7.0 : gdm will be missing file descriptors.

* create a "gdm" login class, and expand it to the xenodm. 

```cfg
gdm:\
	:tc=xenodm:
```	


And, modify your user: 

```sh
# usermod -L gnome user
```
*(where 'user' is your userid…)*

----

Voila!

It's enough to run correctly Gnome. 
Think to restart your session or the machine. 

Now, let's go a little further in the configuration, like setting the French 
language, *or yours*, and others useful tips.

### Language

To manage your language — *mine is FR* — you need to modify the `/etc/gdm/locale.conf`
file, as:

```cfg
# $OpenBSD: locale.conf,v 1.4 2014/01/08 14:07:48 ajacoutot Exp $
#
# Mimics Linux's /etc/locale.conf.
# See locale(1) for a list of supported locales (`locale -a`).

# OpenBSD setlocale(3) does not handle LANG
#LANG="en_US.UTF-8"
LC_CTYPE="fr_FR.UTF-8"
LC_MESSAGES="fr_FR.UTF-8"
```

*If you do not make this change, and if you have a password with accented 
characters in your language, according to the keyboard settings during the 
OpenBSD installation, you will not be able to log in, because gdm uses 
English by default*.

----

Think to restart gdm. 

### Power Management

To use the suspend and hibernate features, you need to active the **apmd** 
daemon: 

```sh
# rcctl enable apmd
# rcctl set apmd flags -A
# rcctl start apmd
```

### Printing

To print, install Cups:

```sh
# pkg_add cups cups-filters cups-libs foomatic-db gutenprint 
```

Start both services **cupsd**, and **cups_browsed** — *this second is useful
to detect printers on network using Bonjour broadcast messages, as Avahi*.

```sh
# rcctl enable cupsd cups_browsed
# rcctl start cups cups_browsed
```

L'administration peut se faire au-travers des paramètres **Imprimantes**, 
voire de l'interface web de Cups, disponible depuis l'URL http://localhost:631, 
ou des outils **cupsctl**, **lpadmin**.


You can administrate by the Printing Parameters, the webui of Cups, 
*available on http://localhost:631*, or by tools as **cupsctl**, **lpadmin**.

### LibreOffice

The **gnome-documents** manager does not support Office types documents.
Install the **unoconv** package!

## Tips

### Keyboard

#### Display Desktop 

⇒ Don't try to hide all windows to show just the desktop, the option is 
not activated by default!

Open Parameters > Keyboard. Into the **Navigate windows** section, search
"Minimize all windows". Click on and set the desired key combination, like
the <kbd>Super + D</kbd> keys.

### Random Wallpaper

This feature does not exist by default!

I provide two scripts to implement this feature, on my Gitlab: 
[WallpaperManager](https://framagit.org/hucste/tools/tree/master/OpenBSD/Gnome3/WallpaperManager)

Read the instructions to install and use it.

### PF

I've not discuted about firewall rules, but here is an example:

⇒ Cups : 
```cfg
pass in on egress proto tcp from egress:network to egress port 631 flags S/SA modulate state
```

⇒ Avahi : 
```cfg
pass proto udp from any to 224.0.0.251 port mdns allow-opts
pass inet6 proto udp from any to ff02::fb port mdns allow-opts 

pass proto udp from any to 239.255.255.250 port ssdp allow-opts
pass inet6 proto udp from any to { ff02::c, ff05::c, ff08::c } port ssdp allow-opts 
```

Of course, it's up to you! 

## Troubleshooting

**GDM** refuse to start!

Directly, read the daemon log file, or even that of the messages log:

```sh
# grep gdm /var/log/daemon
```

### Gdm: Couldn't connect to system bus:

Into both files, **daemons**, **messages**, you have the equivalent of this
message:

```log
Jul 23 09:38:14 og3 gdm[56941]: Gdm: Couldn't connect to system bus: Could not connect: No such file or directory
```

Probably, this is because the **messagebus** service is not activated and started. 

Have you activated all the services as written at the beginning of this article‽

## Documentations 

  * the differents pkg-readme files:
    - /usr/local/share/doc/pkg-readmes/gnome
    - /usr/local/share/doc/pkg-readmes/gnupg
    - /usr/local/share/doc/pkg-readmes/samba
    - /usr/local/share/doc/pkg-readmes/sane-backends
    - and others…

----

Voila! 

----