10.4 Xfce

Xfce is a lightweight desktop environment based on GTK+, providing a simple, efficient, and easy-to-use desktop experience. It is fully configurable, featuring a main panel with menus, applets, and application launchers, and provides a file manager and sound manager with theme support. Due to its fast, lightweight, and efficient nature, it is well-suited for computers with lower specifications or limited memory.

It is worth mentioning that the Xfce logo is a mouse 🐀. A user once shared an anecdote claiming that because the default Xfce wallpaper featured a mouse 🐀, their computer screen was scratched by a cat 🐈 (SanjaytheToilet. [joke] The default desktop startup screen causes damage to monitor![EB/OL]. (2015-08-04)[2026-04-04]. https://bugzilla.xfce.org/show_bug.cgi?id=12117.).

Installing the Xfce Desktop Environment

• Install via pkg

# pkg install xorg lightdm lightdm-gtk-greeter xfce wqy-fonts xdg-user-dirs xfce4-goodies lightdm-gtk-greeter-settings

• Or install via ports:

# cd /usr/ports/x11/xorg/ && make install clean
# cd /usr/ports/x11-wm/xfce4 && make install clean # Note the number 4 in the package name
# cd /usr/ports/x11/xfce4-goodies/ && make install clean
# cd /usr/ports/x11-fonts/wqy/ && make install clean
# cd /usr/ports/x11/lightdm/ && make install clean
# cd /usr/ports/x11/lightdm-gtk-greeter/ && make install clean
# cd /usr/ports/x11/lightdm-gtk-greeter-settings/ && make install clean
# cd /usr/ports/devel/xdg-user-dirs/ && make install clean

Package Description

Package	Description
xorg	X Window System
lightdm	Lightweight Display Manager LightDM
lightdm-gtk-greeter	LightDM GTK+ login screen plugin
xfce	Xfce Desktop Environment
wqy-fonts	WenQuanYi Chinese Fonts
xdg-user-dirs	Manage user home directories
xfce4-goodies	Xfce add-ons and plugins collection
lightdm-gtk-greeter-settings	Graphical tool for configuring the LightDM GTK+ login screen

startx Command

Write the Xfce startup script to the ~/.xinitrc file to start Xfce using the startx command:

$ echo "/usr/local/etc/xdg/xfce4/xinitrc" > ~/.xinitrc

Write the Xfce startup script to the ~/.xsession file to start Xfce via the display manager:

$ echo "/usr/local/etc/xdg/xfce4/xinitrc" > ~/.xsession

Starting Services

Set the D-Bus service to start on boot:

# service dbus enable

Set the LightDM display manager to start on boot:

# service lightdm enable

Setting the Chinese Environment

Edit the /etc/login.conf file: find the default:\ section and change :lang=C.UTF-8 to :lang=zh_CN.UTF-8.

You also need to rebuild the capability database based on the /etc/login.conf file:

# cap_mkdb /etc/login.conf

Screenshots

FreeBSD Install Xfce

FreeBSD Install Xfce

FreeBSD Install Xfce

Global Menu (Optional)

Install using pkg:

# pkg install xfce4-appmenu-plugin appmenu-gtk-module appmenu-registrar

Or install using Ports:

# cd /usr/ports/x11/xfce4-appmenu-plugin/ && make install clean
# cd /usr/ports/x11/gtk-app-menu/ && make install clean
# cd /usr/ports/x11/appmenu-registrar/ && make install clean

Review the post-installation instructions and configure accordingly.

$ xfconf-query -c xsettings -p /Gtk/ShellShowsMenubar -n -t bool -s true  # Enable GTK menubar display
$ xfconf-query -c xsettings -p /Gtk/ShellShowsAppmenu -n -t bool -s true  # Enable GTK application menu display
$ xfconf-query -c xsettings -p /Gtk/Modules -n -t string -s "appmenu-gtk-module"  # Set GTK module to appmenu-gtk-module

XTerm Terminal Dynamic Title

sh

Edit the ~/.shrc file and add:

if [ -t 1 ]; then
  while :; do
    printf '\033]0;%s\007' "$PWD"
    printf '\n$ '
    if ! IFS= read -r cmd; then
      break
    fi
    printf '\033]0;%s\007' "$cmd"
    eval "$cmd"
  done
  exit
fi

Warning

This script uses eval which poses an injection risk! Use with caution.

csh

Edit the ~/.cshrc file and add:

if ( $?TERM && $TERM =~ xterm* ) then
    set host = `hostname`
    alias postcmd 'rehash; printf -- "\033]2;%s\007" "${user}@${host}: ${cwd}"'
endif

tcsh

Edit the ~/.tcshrc file and add:

switch ($TERM)
case xterm*:
    set prompt="%{\033]0;%n@%m: %~\007%}%# "
    breaksw
default:
    set prompt="%# "
    breaksw
endsw

Bash

Edit the ~/.bashrc file and add:

case $TERM in
         xterm*)
             PS1="\[\033]0;\u@\h: \w\007\]bash\\$ "
             ;;
         *)
             PS1="bash\\$ "
             ;;
     esac

Zsh

Edit the ~/.zshrc file and add:

autoload -Uz add-zsh-hook

function xterm_title_precmd () {
	print -Pn -- '\e]2;%n@%m %~\a'
	[[ "$TERM" == 'screen'* ]] && print -Pn -- '\e_\005{2}%n\005{-}@\005{5}%m\005{-} \005{+b 4}%~\005{-}\e\\'
}

function xterm_title_preexec () {
	print -Pn -- '\e]2;%n@%m %~ %# ' && print -n -- "${(q)1}\a"
	[[ "$TERM" == 'screen'* ]] && { print -Pn -- '\e_\005{2}%n\005{-}@\005{5}%m\005{-} \005{+b 4}%~\005{-} %# ' && print -n -- "${(q)1}\e\\"; }
}

if [[ "$TERM" == (Eterm*|alacritty*|aterm*|foot*|gnome*|konsole*|kterm*|putty*|rxvt*|screen*|wezterm*|tmux*|xterm*) ]]; then
	add-zsh-hook -Uz precmd xterm_title_precmd
	add-zsh-hook -Uz preexec xterm_title_preexec
fi

References

• Oracle Corporation. 6.1 Dynamically Setting the Title Does Not Work[EB/OL]. [2026-03-25]. https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19683-01/817-1951/6mhl8aiii/index.html. The bash configuration is from this source.
• Wamphyre. BSD-XFCE[EB/OL]. [2026-03-25]. https://web.archive.org/web/20260121072214/https://github.com/Wamphyre/BSD-XFCE. Configuration reference collection.
• Arch Linux Project. Zsh[EB/OL]. [2026-03-25]. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Zsh. This document provides a detailed tutorial on Zsh configuration; the Zsh configuration in this section is derived from it.

Troubleshooting and Outstanding Issues

To dynamically display the current process, currently only sh supports this functionality.