auto login and startx without a display manager - lenny

[Nili]

I feel so stupid for not reading the topic because in addition mixing lenny code for jessie brought me a lot of troubles that i hardly fixed them today with boot resque. I removed all the mistakes made. I am ready to post from start on the appropriate topic.

Sorry for the stupidity, great heat here: sun in head occasionally lol.

[milomak]

i suppose what i wanted to see was how these prepackaged solutions load straight into a kodi without a de loading.

Create a file at ~/.xsession with the following content:

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash
if [ -z "${DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS-}" ] && type dbus-launch >/dev/null; then
  eval $(dbus-launch --sh-syntax --exit-with-session)
fi
source /etc/profile
exec kodi

one thing i noticed is that i am unable to get to a console via alt-Fx. how can i add this?

[Head_on_a_Stick]

i am unable to get to a console via alt-Fx.

Try <Ctrl>+<Alt>+Fx

[milomak]

i am unable to get to a console via alt-Fx.

Try <Ctrl>+<Alt>+Fx

that's what i actually meant

[Head_on_a_Stick]

It could be that Kodi is grabbing the keybind or something.

I'm not sure really.

[seamusdemora]

So glad to find this thread! I've searched long & hard, but at last I've found the fount of knowledge for autologin.
Based on the date of the original post by MeanDean, this topic is 16 years old. Here's to another 16!

Anyway, here's my problem & some specifics that might help:

I am using a Raspberry Pi, and it has the current (bookworm) OS installed - I think they call it "raspbian" (?) - or maybe "Raspberry Pi OS" (?) - but it's based on Debian. I use the "Lite" version of the distro, which means there is no GUI/X/Wayland - all access is via SSH (or serial console).

I've a friend suffering from insomnia, and I'm trying to get the RPi to play a "rain soundtrack" through a Bluetooth speaker. I imagined this would take about 15 minutes, but failed to anticipate that the RPi "Lite" system has no real functional support for Bluetooth. Long story made short, I found "success" after installing pipewire. Afterwards, things worked well - at least for a while...

I discovered that pipewire refuses to run once the user (me/pi) logs out, and this of course causes the sound to stop. I'm not experienced with these things, but my thought was to set up an "auto login" - which is how I came to find this thread. My thinking is that, "As long as I'm logged in, pipewire will run". And finally to get to my questions:

1. There is no '/etc/inittab' any longer - so I can't use MeanDean's original approach. Does that mean I am stuck fiddling with systemd? Or is there a simpler approach e.g. perhaps using the serial console?

2. I found Head-on-a-stick's prescription for systemd auto-login here: (viewtopic.php?p=585569#p585569). It's "only" 9 years old - does anyone know if it still works?

3. Finally, any thoughts on whether or not this "auto login" will cure the problem with pipewire?

Many Thanks,
~S