CachyOS XFCE Guide - ryzendew/Linux-Tips-and-Tricks GitHub Wiki

CachyOS XFCE Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to XFCE on CachyOS, including installation, configuration, customization, and XFCE-specific features.

Table of Contents

  1. Understanding XFCE
  2. Installing XFCE
  3. Basic Configuration
  4. Customization
  5. XFCE Applications
  6. Advanced Features
  7. Troubleshooting

Understanding XFCE

What is XFCE?

XFCE is a lightweight, traditional desktop environment.

Key features:

  • Lightweight: Low resource usage
  • Fast: Fast and responsive
  • Traditional: Classic desktop layout
  • Customizable: Highly customizable

Why choose XFCE:

  • Performance: Fast on older hardware
  • Lightweight: Low resource usage
  • Familiar: Traditional desktop
  • Stable: Reliable and stable

Installing XFCE

Installation

Install XFCE:

sudo pacman -S xfce4 xfce4-goodies

What this does:

  • Installs XFCE desktop
  • Includes core components
  • xfce4-goodies: Additional applications
  • Makes XFCE available

Install with CachyOS settings:

sudo pacman -S xfce4 cachyos-xfce-settings

What this does:

  • Installs XFCE
  • Installs CachyOS XFCE settings
  • Pre-configured for CachyOS

Starting XFCE

Select at login:

  1. At login screen
  2. Select "XFCE Session"
  3. Log in

Note: XFCE uses X11 (no Wayland support yet)

Basic Configuration

Settings Manager

Open Settings:

  • Click application menu
  • Go to "Settings"
  • Or: xfce4-settings-manager

Main categories:

  • Appearance: Themes, fonts, icons
  • Window Manager: Window behavior
  • Desktop: Desktop settings
  • Panel: Panel configuration
  • Display: Display settings
  • Keyboard: Keyboard settings
  • Mouse and Touchpad: Input devices
  • Power Manager: Power settings
  • Session and Startup: Startup apps

Initial Setup

Recommended settings:

  1. Appearance: Choose theme
  2. Display: Set resolution
  3. Panel: Configure panel
  4. Desktop: Desktop settings
  5. Keyboard: Keyboard layout
  6. Mouse: Mouse settings
  7. Power Manager: Power settings (laptops)

Customization

Themes

Install themes:

sudo pacman -S arc-gtk-theme papirus-icon-theme

Apply themes:

  1. Settings → Appearance
  2. Select theme
  3. Select icon theme
  4. Apply changes

Or download themes:

  • Download theme files
  • Extract to ~/.themes/ or ~/.local/share/themes/
  • Apply in Appearance settings

Panels

Configure panels:

  • Right-click panel
  • Select "Panel" → "Panel Preferences"
  • Customize panel

Panel options:

  • Add items: Add panel items
  • Remove items: Remove items
  • Resize: Change panel size
  • Position: Move panel
  • Auto-hide: Auto-hide panel

Desktop

Configure desktop:

  • Right-click desktop
  • Select "Desktop Settings"
  • Configure desktop

Desktop options:

  • Wallpaper: Set wallpaper
  • Icons: Show/hide icons
  • Menu: Desktop menu
  • Icons: Desktop icons

XFCE Applications

Core Applications

Thunar (File Manager):

  • Lightweight file manager
  • Tabs, split view
  • Customizable

Mousepad (Text Editor):

  • Simple text editor
  • Lightweight
  • Basic editing

XFCE Terminal:

  • Terminal emulator
  • Tabs, profiles
  • Customizable

XFCE Settings:

  • Settings manager
  • All configuration
  • Easy to use

Install XFCE Applications

Install application group:

sudo pacman -S xfce4-goodies

Or individual apps:

sudo pacman -S thunar thunar-volman

Advanced Features

Window Manager

Configure window manager:

  1. Settings → Window Manager
  2. Configure window behavior
  3. Set keyboard shortcuts
  4. Configure window decorations

Window Manager Tweaks:

  1. Settings → Window Manager Tweaks
  2. Advanced window settings
  3. Compositor settings
  4. Workspace settings

Workspaces

XFCE workspaces:

  • Multiple workspaces
  • Organize windows
  • Switch between workspaces

Configure workspaces:

  1. Settings → Workspaces
  2. Set number of workspaces
  3. Configure workspace names
  4. Set workspace behavior

Compositor

XFCE Compositor:

  • Visual effects
  • Window animations
  • Transparency

Configure compositor:

  1. Settings → Window Manager Tweaks
  2. Go to "Compositor" tab
  3. Enable/disable effects
  4. Adjust settings

Troubleshooting

XFCE Not Starting

Check logs:

journalctl -b | grep -i xfce

What this does:

  • Shows XFCE logs
  • Helps identify issues
  • Troubleshooting information

Reset XFCE config:

mv ~/.config/xfce4 ~/.config/xfce4.backup

What this does:

  • Backs up config
  • Resets to defaults
  • May fix issues

Performance Issues

Disable compositor:

  1. Settings → Window Manager Tweaks
  2. Compositor tab
  3. Uncheck "Enable display compositing"
  4. Improves performance

Reduce effects:

  • Disable animations
  • Reduce transparency
  • Better performance

Additional Resources

Summary

This guide covered:

  1. Understanding XFCE - What XFCE is
  2. Installing XFCE - Installation process
  3. Basic configuration - Initial setup
  4. Customization - Themes, panels, desktop
  5. XFCE applications - Core applications
  6. Advanced features - Window manager, workspaces
  7. Troubleshooting - Common XFCE issues

Key Takeaways:

  • XFCE is lightweight and fast
  • Use CachyOS XFCE settings for pre-configuration
  • Settings Manager for all configuration
  • Highly customizable
  • Good for older hardware
  • Uses X11 (no Wayland yet)
  • Disable compositor for better performance

This guide is based on the CachyOS Wiki and XFCE documentation, expanded with detailed explanations for beginners. For the most up-to-date XFCE information, always refer to the official XFCE documentation.