On Tue, 8 Sep 2026 16:33:35 -0500
ed@groovyexpress.com wrote:

> Just my two cents, but I think autoinstall(8), install.site(5), and
> rc.firsttime(8) would work a lot better for mass auto installs of
> OpenBSD for customized (or 'desktop') installs.
> 
> If a person isn't doing mass installs then I don't see why it would
> be needed to install a tool to install a desktop to save time when
> its easy as:
> $ doas pkg_add mate-desktop chromium
> $ which mate-session >>.xsession

Except that the mate pkg-readme tells you to do much more than that...

I think the main appeal is that it doesn't just "install and set up a
desktop", it also configures sane defaults for you. Such as how
desktop-installer also produces a custom XenoDM config with
shutdown/reboot/suspend menus. Which is very handy IMO.

Another reason one may want this, is that this script has become sort
of the de-facto "desktop installing" automation across other BSDs such
as NetBSD or FreeBSD. So- a user coming from FreeBSD/NetBSD may likely
appreciate the familiar tooling being available.

Also, autoinstall(8), install.site(5), and rc.firsttime(8), IMO are
arguably more involved than simply grabbing a script and running it on
a fresh system. I think the option should still be there, even if
there's a more native way to do it.

For example, why do we have shells in ports if ksh(1) and csh(1) is
enough for most people? Options. Giving people options doesn't hurt.

That's my view on it at least.

I appreciate the feedback, truly.

Thanks,

-- 
iz (she/her)

> I say mundane things
> so the uninteresting
> just might get noticed.

izder456 (dot) neocities (dot) org

• desktop-installer-1.2.0.5.tgz (2K)