What is the best Linux Display Manager?

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22

Options
Considered

1.2K

User
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32 mins

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

The Best 2 of 16 OptionsWhy?

Best Linux Display Manager	Price	License	Written in
91 SLiM	-	GPL 2	PHP
90 LightDM	-	-	-
87 CDM	-	-	-
-- Console TDM	-	-	-
79 XDM	-	-	-

See Full List

LightDM

Top Pro

Beautiful interface

Some greeters such as the Unity Greeter look absolutely beautiful on LightDM. See More

Top Con

Not really lightweight

How lightweight it is depends on the used greeter, but they all require much more dependencies than other lightweight greeters like XDM or SLiM. See More

Capuccino 's Experience

It lives up to its name - It's Light, and it's nice to look at. Birthed from the Unity efforts of Canonical - it's probably the most memorable part of Unity. See More

Top Pro

Theme variety

There are a wide variety of themes available for LightDM, from console-like UIs to ones that utilize webkit2 to create flashy and dynamic login interfaces. See More

Top Con

Poor/missing documentation

igeek's Experience

LightDM is customizable and featureful. See More

Top Pro

Best balance

Best interoperability, best balance between functionality and bloat, simplicity and candy, not distribution or GUI-tied. See More

Top Con

nVidia driver and kernel woes

It's been on the decline lately where it's only stable under a very specific mix of kernel and nVidia drivers. See More

RespectableCalliope's Experience

its better See More

Top Pro

Cross-desktop

LightDM is not tied to any distro or desktop enviornment. You can use it on literally any Linux GUI. See More

Top Con

Hard to configure

Lighted.conf doesn't even work. See More

Reinier Alvarez's Experience

lo mejor See More

Top Pro

Good for DEs without a display manager

If your Linux desktop does not offer a display manager, you should use LightDM. See More

Top Con

Autologin never worked

After 4 years of using LightDM, I never managed to make it autologin my user in the system and there are always problems with the graphics driver. Crashes too often and requires manual restarting which is dull. Not to mention the developers update it once in a leap-year. See More

GenuineVastospati's Experience

Its cool good graphics doesnt need a lot of space (for me) this may be the best See More

Top Con

Feature creep

Most people don't need (or even know) all features of LightDM. See More

RealisticThor's Experience

Best interoperability, best balance between functionality and bloat, simplicity and candy, not distribution or GUI-tied. See More

Top Con

High RAM usage

It uses more RAM than other light (xdm,slim) display managers which results in more overhead. See More

JollyPhylonoe's Experience

It's a lightweight, secure and seamless display manager. See More

PioneeringHegemone's Experience

seems easy enough that a new user should be able to figure out how to use it. See More

JIMz z's Experience

for ubuntu 19.10, works on macbookpro A1286 without any config. the default gdm3 doesn't. See More

GDSkills 168's Experience

Quite good. See More

CommunicativeOrthosie's Experience

Can be a real pain in the ass if went somehow broken etc. One missing or corrupted file and you're sitting ducks. See More

See All

14 Other Options Considered

Console TDM

Top Con

Unmaintained

Console TDM has never been updated since 2015. You should instead use CDM, tbsm, or any other option because such an unmaintained program could lead to potential security issues. Like CTDM, tbsm can run Wayland sessions. See More

Top Pro

Very lightweight

It doesn't require much more than a POSIX shell and dialog/Ncurses. See More

MagicalMarduk's Experience

Very good, like the ability to run multiple graphical sessions, and to put other types of sessions not currently recognized, like twm See More

Top Con

No customization

Apart from changing the console colors there isn't much you can do. See More

Top Con

Very old

The display manager looks ancient and will look ancient due to the lack of customization. See More

See All

XDM

Top Pro

Lightweight and fast

It's a lot more lightweight than the most common GTK or QT based login managers. See More

Top Con

By deault you can't choose desktop environments

by default you can't choose your sessions/desktops, however there are plenty of tutorials on the web to add a selection. See More

UnderstandingSvetovid's Experience

The most portable since X Window, one can tune XDM config files to allow WM selection and provide system buttons such as Reboot, Power off, Rescue, Screen resolutions and lock timeout But also theming and background pictures. xmessage, xclock, xset, xsetroot and shell scripts are the XDM companion software. See More

Top Pro

Matured Software

XDM is not new, it has been in development since the 80s and is a very stable reliable DM. See More

Top Pro

Allows several seats

Top Pro

Flexibility

Very customizable and portable, although with not as advanced effects. See More

See All

GDM

Top Pro

It just works

GDM is dull, but it just works, and it is highly stable. It's easy to switch between environments, and it integrates really well with Fedora or other Gnome Distros. See More

Top Con

Tied to Gnome

You basically have to use Gnome or one of its forks to use it properly. See More

Yang Junhai's Experience

just works See More

Top Pro

Can run Wayland sessions

GDM can start Wayland sessions, which is the default for recent GNOME versions. See More

Top Con

Really hard to customize

You'll have to recompile Gnome's resource files in order just to change the login background. See More

stalliondrift's Experience

After a loooong time of using LightDM, GDM proved to be the best. As others said it just works. The interface of GDM is completely dull but it works! And most importantly - automatic login works flawlessly! See More

Top Pro

Always signs the GNOME keyring

Works with any desktop. SOome display managers such as SDDM don't open the GNOME keyring at login. See More

Top Con

Depends on GTK and its dependencies

ToughIusaaset's Experience

niiiiiiiiceeeeeee See More

Top Pro

Not so difficult to customize

You just have to know which files to edit, and you can do quite a lot. See More

Top Con

Ugly UI

It is very simple, and you can't change the layout. See More

DaringAmaethon's Experience

NIce See More

Top Con

Bloated

As with anything Gnome, there's a level of inelegance to be expected when it comes to absolute performance. It's supposed to be a login manager, not something bespoke. See More

RealisticThor's Experience

It's Gnome specific, and as always, Gnome or Gnome-tied developers see this as a pro. See More

See All

ly

Top Pro

Minimal

Top Con

Not very customizable

XDream8's Experience

I tried almost all display manager but its the best. See More

Top Pro

Simple in use

Top Con

Doesn't pickup special characters

For example ß or æ. See More

AmbitiousSilenus's Experience

Previously was using sddm, but tried this and noticed that the screen suddenly felt a lot snappier. It has been updated more recently which may help! See More

Top Pro

Very quick and responsive

Top Con

Unmaintained

Last release Feb 2020. See More

KnowledgeableNiamh's Experience

its a really cool project, it auto-saves your username so you don't have to worry about putting in your username each time you login, its also very minimal which means it goes hand in hand with arch and i3 See More

Top Pro

CLI Based

It's so much lightweight because CLI Based. See More

Top Con

CLI-based

Very simple and minimalistic graphical interface. See More

Top Pro

Supports both X11 and Wayland

Top Pro

Easy to use

Includes a shell login and Basic Wayland support See More

See All

SDDM

Top Pro

Supports both X11 and Wayland

Top Con

It does not support some essential funtionality, like XDMCP

PositiveAglaea's Experience

Basically forces you to use KDE for customization. See More

Top Pro

SDDM can start each DE

Unlike GDM which is stubborn in many ways, SDDM can start both Wayland and X11 sessions and any matter of valid session type, even if it's something obscure like Windowmaker. See More

Top Con

Buggy and..

Missing suspend/hibernate/sleep shutdown buttons Needs to much clicks to switch user Missing proper keyboard control See More

TallErsa's Experience

switched to this because was having issue with lightdm on login. It fixed the issue but also found it slow and would prevent certain programs from launching See More

Top Pro

SDDM can provide full eyecandy

SDDM themes can include animated videos/gifs, background music/sounds, and any combination of the various QML animations. See More

Top Con

Slow

CredibleCirce's Experience

Nice design See More

Top Pro

Recommended for Plasma 5 and LXQT

QML-based display manager. Successor to KDE4's KDM. See More

Top Con

Difficult to customize without KDE

SDDM-KCM only works for KDE. See More

RealisticThor's Experience

It works, but is wholly QML and this KDE specific See More

Top Pro

Security

It doesn't support XDMCP. See More

Top Con

Does not support expired passwords

You can not force users to change passwords on login. See More

Top Con

No Bluetooth support on the Loginscreen

Top Con

Heavy

It's not very lightweight. See More

Top Con

Customizing is hard

Customizing this login manager is hard since you need to know QML very well. See More

Top Con

A bit bloated

It requires Qt which is a huge dependency compared to other login managers. See More

See All

LXDM

Top Pro

Works with Nvidia

Works well with Nvidia. See More

Top Con

Requires Xorg-server

Currently LXDM does not support wayland. See More

PositiveAglaea's Experience

Very small package, works just light lightdm just uses xorg-server so it works with nvidia. See More

Top Pro

Only two dependencies

Only needs GTK and Xorg-Server. See More

Top Con

Depends on GTK and its dependencies

ResoluteOccopirmus's Experience

the best no con See More

Top Pro

GTK2 and GTK3 versions

VivaciousTemazcalteci's Experience

super fast and fluent See More

Top Pro

Fast and fluent

Top Pro

Works well on USB

A full install of arch on live USB works well on many computers with no text issues with LXDM. See More

See All

mlogind

Top Pro

Improved SLiM

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score 168 · Accepted Answer

SLiM

Top Pro

Very lightweight

SLiM doesn't have much dependencies. It just needs an X-Server and libpng(for png image support) or libjpeg(for jpg image support). See More

Top Con

Abandonded

SLiM is currently abandoned, however there are many active forks some even added systemd support. See More

InfluentialAura's Experience

Abandoned See More

Specs

License:GPL 2

Written in:PHP

Top Pro

Includes a Lockscreen

SLiM also includes a graphical Lockscreen that uses the theme from the login manager. See More

Top Con

No restart or shutdown buttons

There are no buttons since it is keyboard-based, hover you can still type commands into to login field to open a terminal or to rebbot/shutdown/suspend the system. See More

's Experience

Extremely lightweight and only use configurations and images (simple). Here's my themes: https://www.deviantart.com/owl4ce/art/Floflo-Batik-SLiM-Themes-861519439 See More

Top Pro

No Systemd

It does not need systemd or logind. See More

Top Con

SLIMLOCK doesn't stop switching between VTs

But there's a solution! It works! https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/SLiM#Screen_Lock See More

HappyNanaya's Experience

low memory, Simple Design. This Desktop Manager is very light that than lightdm. See More

Top Pro

Keyboard controlled

This display manager doesn't need a mouse. See More

Top Con

Insecure Autologin

Any root user, including via a usb live distro, can enable autologin from any users listed in the home folder but that is an issue that have all display managers that that can use autologin. See More

OrganizedXantico's Experience

On Ubuntu 18.10. kernel 4.18.0-12-generic, GNOME Shell 3.30.1 - X11, since a Dec 9 update, login kept hanging on "Started bpfilter" -- I think a possible conflict between systemd and bpfilter (I think managed by the kernel.) The following suggested fixes had no effect on my system: (1) Removing nVidia drivers (my laptop uses Intel graphics, no nVida drivers installed, so this recommendation didn't apply,) (2) reverting to previous kernel 4.18.0-11-generic, (3) disabling Wayland in gdm3, (4) switching to LightDM display manager (identical hang.) I tried SLiM because it claimed not to require systemd, and it now enables normal login for me. Debian-branded, but allows changing the login background to something generic. Thanks, SLiM. This is probably a temporary recourse only, with Ubuntu's continuing development, so I've kept GDM3 and LightDM installed, in case a future system update fixes this issue. See More

Top Pro

SLiM is fully themable

SLiM is fully themeable with PNG and JPEG images, Configuration is done in a simple text file. See More

Top Con

Not fully compataible with systemd

Issues arise with logind and systemd when you have SLiM installed. See More

PoliteTamKung's Experience

Amazing Display manager that follows standards. Configuration is done in plain text files. See More

Top Pro

Well organized and thorough documentation

Slim's documentation is well organized and detailed, every concept is thoroughly explained and it is very helpful for both advanced users and beginners. See More

Top Con

Only basic features

Since it is made to be as light as possible. See More

Daniel Gallegos's Experience

SLiM is unmaintained and, according to the Arch Wiki, " is not fully compatible with systemd, including logind sessions", making people who use systemd (like me!) wary of using it. Not to mention the user themes look like garbage compared to modern design standards. See More

Top Pro

Extremely lightweight

It's even lighter than startx from xorg-xinit. See More

Top Con

Text issues

With both Noueau and proprietary NVidia drivers have text displaying issues with Quadro M2000 and other Quadro series cards at 1900x1600 resolution - text is not visible. See More

PrivateOmoikane's Experience

Last release was in 2013!! And its not compatible with systemd. See More

Top Pro

Open source

The Slim Display manager is released under the GNU General Public License v2.0. See More

Top Pro

Maintained Forks

There are plenty of maintained forks available, some dropped even consolekit for systemd/logind. https://github.com/iwamatsu/slim/network https://github.com/data-modul/slim/network See More

Top Pro

Flexible configuration

Some message configurations can be defined within the theme. See More

Top Pro

Auto login

SLiM can auto login by defining default user. See More

Top Pro

A good starting point

Slim is minimal and that is a good thing if you want to start from there. See More

See All

The Best 2 of 16 OptionsWhy?

My Recommendation for SLiM

My Recommendation for SLiM

Very lightweight

Abandonded

Includes a Lockscreen

No restart or shutdown buttons

No Systemd

SLIMLOCK doesn't stop switching between VTs

Keyboard controlled

Insecure Autologin

SLiM is fully themable

Not fully compataible with systemd

Well organized and thorough documentation

Only basic features

Extremely lightweight

Text issues

Open source

Maintained Forks

Flexible configuration

Auto login

A good starting point

My Recommendation for LightDM

My Recommendation for LightDM

Beautiful interface

Not really lightweight

Theme variety

Poor/missing documentation

Best balance

nVidia driver and kernel woes

Cross-desktop

Hard to configure

Good for DEs without a display manager

Autologin never worked

Feature creep

High RAM usage

14 Other Options Considered

My Recommendation for CDM

My Recommendation for CDM

Has almost no dependencies

Bad availability in distros

Supports virtually any DE/WM

Curses-like interface

Very lightweight

My Recommendation for Console TDM

My Recommendation for Console TDM

Unmaintained

Very lightweight

No customization

Very old

My Recommendation for XDM

My Recommendation for XDM

Lightweight and fast

By deault you can't choose desktop environments

Matured Software

Allows several seats

Flexibility

My Recommendation for GDM

My Recommendation for GDM

It just works

Tied to Gnome

Can run Wayland sessions

Really hard to customize

Always signs the GNOME keyring

Depends on GTK and its dependencies

Not so difficult to customize

Ugly UI

Bloated

My Recommendation for ly

My Recommendation for ly

Minimal

Not very customizable

Simple in use

Doesn't pickup special characters

Very quick and responsive

Unmaintained

CLI Based

CLI-based

Supports both X11 and Wayland

Easy to use