View on GitHub

mintBSD

OpenBSD desktop configuration

MintBSD is a configuration script for OpenBSD 6.8 that will configure an OpenBSD install (with X11) into a Xfce desktop workstation. The goal of the project is to create a stable, professional & familiar desktop experience, bundled with commonly used desktop applications. We achieve this using OpenBSD ports software, the Nordic-darker Xfce theme and minimal configuration as required.

MintBSD is not a distro or theme. However, this script will install the Nordic-darker Xfce theme .

mintBSD desktop

Usage instructions

Pre-requisites

  1. OS install of OpenBSD 6.8 with X11. This script is meant to be run on a fresh install of OpenBSD as it may clobber some pre-existing configuration settings.
  2. df -h /usr/local you will need at least 5GB free space on the /usr/local partition. Based on default OpenBSD installer auto-partion rules, you would need to start with an 80GB or greater HDD allocation.

Start

Run the following commands as root:

# pkg_add wget
# wget https://www.mintbsd.com/makeminty.sh
# chmod u+x ./makeminty.sh
# ./makeminty.sh

Summary of results

Install and configure a sensible & professional OpenBSD desktop using Simple Login Manager (SLiM) and the Xfce desktop environment. Install popular applications from the OpenBSD ports repository: Firefox, LibreOffice, Geary, KeePassXC, GIMP, VLC, Tramsmission, Handbrake and many more.

Post-requisites

  1. # cp /etc/skel/.xinitrc /home/jsmith copy template .xinitrc to home directory of each user you want to login graphically.
  2. Per user preference, change personal desktop theme to Nordic-darker, via Settings > Appearance > Style tab.

Screenshots

Login screen

Desktop

Desktop with open applications

New to OpenBSD

See our OpenBSD cheatsheet for common commands & settings.

Motivation

OpenBSD is an powerful operating system but is not often considered for the daily-use desktop. By default comes with a VERY basic desktop when selected during OS installation. Configuring a complete and user-friendly desktop environment can be challenging task for anyone with little experience in this area of Unix-like system administration. This project simplifies the configuration of the commonly used and familiar Xfce desktop under OpenBSD. Enjoy!

Credits

See https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cymric73/mintBSD/master/CREDITS.txt