Autologin changes again for Ubuntu Karmic (Shallow Thoughts)

Autologin changes again for Ubuntu Karmic

The syntax to log in automatically (without gdm or kdm) has changed yet again in Ubuntu Karmic Koala. It's similar to the Hardy autologin, but the file has moved: under Karmic, /etc/event.d is no longer used, as documented in the releasenotes (though, confusingly, it isn't removed when you upgrade, so it may still be there taking up space and looking like it's useful for something). The new location is /etc/init/tty1.conf. So here are the updated instructions:

Create /usr/bin/loginscript if you haven't already, containing something like this:

#! /bin/sh
/bin/login -f yourusername

Then edit /etc/init/tty1.conf and look for the respawn line, and replace the line after it, exec /sbin/getty -8 38400 tty1, with this:

exec /sbin/getty -n -l /usr/bin/loginscript 38400 tty1

As far as I know, it's safe to delete /etc/event.d since it's now unused. I haven't verified that yet. Better rename it first, and see if anything breaks.

Tags: linux, ubuntu, boot
[ 20:46 Nov 02, 2009    More linux/install | permalink to this entry | ]