GDM-43.0

Introduction to GDM

GDM is a system service that is responsible for providing graphical logins and managing local and remote displays.

This package is known to build and work properly using an LFS 11.3 platform.

Package Information

GDM Dependencies

Required

AccountsService-22.08.8, GTK+-3.24.36, ISO Codes-4.12.0, itstool-2.0.7, libcanberra-0.30, libdaemon-0.14, and Linux-PAM-1.5.2

Optional

keyutils-1.6.1

Runtime Dependencies

gnome-session-43.0, gnome-shell-43.3, and Systemd-252

User Notes: https://wiki.linuxfromscratch.org/blfs/wiki/gdm

Installation of GDM

It is recommended to have a dedicated user and group to take control of the gdm daemon after it is started. Issue the following commands as the root user:

groupadd -g 21 gdm &&
useradd -c "GDM Daemon Owner" -d /var/lib/gdm -u 21 \
        -g gdm -s /bin/false gdm &&
passwd -ql gdm

Install GDM by running the following commands:

mkdir build &&
cd    build &&

meson --prefix=/usr               \
      --buildtype=release         \
      -Dgdm-xsession=true         \
      -Drun-dir=/run/gdm ..
ninja

This package does not come with a usable test suite.

Now, as the root user:

ninja install

Command Explanations

--buildtype=release: Specify a buildtype suitable for stable releases of the package, as the default may produce unoptimized binaries.

-Dinitial-vt=7: Use this switch to make GDM start on VT7 instead of the first free VT.

-Ddefault-pam-config=lfs: Use this switch if you did not create the /etc/lfs-release file or distribution auto detection will fail and you will be unable to use GDM.

-Dgdm-xsession=true: This enables the installation of the GDM Xsession file.

Configuring GDM

Config Files

/etc/gdm/custom.conf

Configuration Information

The GDM daemon is configured using the /etc/gdm/custom.conf file. Default values are stored in GSettings in the gdm.schemas file. It is recommended that end-users modify the /etc/gdm/custom.conf file because the schemas file may be overwritten when the user updates their system to have a newer version of GDM.

Systemd Unit

To start the gdm daemon at boot, enable the previously installed systemd unit by running the following command as the root user:

systemctl enable gdm

Contents

Installed Programs: gdm, gdmflexiserver, and gdm-screenshot
Installed Libraries: libgdm.so and pam_gdm.so (PAM Module)
Installed Directories: /etc/gdm, /usr/include/gdm, /usr/share/gdm, and /usr/share/help/*/gdm

Short Descriptions

gdm

is a login prompt for GNOME

gdm-screenshot

is a screenshot tool for GDM