Alright folks, let’s dive into this “matchbox eg nyt” thing. It’s a bit of a scrappy journey, but hopefully, you’ll find something useful in my blundering about.
First off, what even is it? So, “matchbox eg nyt” – sounds cryptic, right? Basically, I was trying to get an embedded system running with a decent GUI. I wanted something lightweight, not bloated like some of the bigger desktop environments. Matchbox seemed like a good starting point, and I kept seeing mentions of it in the context of older embedded projects. The “eg nyt” part? Honestly, that was probably me fat-fingering something in a search query and then just rolling with it. Hey, it stuck!
The initial setup: I started with a Raspberry Pi Zero W. Small, cheap, perfect for messing around. I flashed a fresh copy of Raspbian Lite (the non-GUI version) onto an SD card. Booted it up, got it connected to the Wi-Fi, and ran the usual sudo apt update and sudo apt upgrade. Gotta keep things current, ya know?
Installing Matchbox: This is where the fun began. I figured a simple sudo apt install matchbox would do the trick. Nope. Turns out, Matchbox isn’t quite as readily available as it used to be. I had to dig around a bit and found a few different packages that seemed relevant: matchbox-window-manager, matchbox-panel, matchbox-desktop, and matchbox-keyboard. I installed them all. Figured it couldn’t hurt, right?
The X Server: Matchbox needs an X server to run. So, I installed xorg with sudo apt install xorg. This pulls in a bunch of dependencies, but it’s essential. After that, I needed to configure X to actually start. I created a simple /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc file. Inside, I added these lines:
#!/bin/shmatchbox-session
Make sure the file is executable: sudo chmod +x /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc
Running Matchbox: Time to fire it up! I ran startx. And… nothing. Well, not nothing, but it was just a black screen with an X cursor. Disappointing, but not unexpected. This is embedded development, after all. Expect things to break.
Debugging the black screen: I checked the .xsession-errors file in my home directory. It was filled with cryptic messages about missing fonts and failed connections. Turns out, I needed a few more things.
More Packages: I went back to the command line and installed a few more packages that seemed relevant: xterm (for a terminal), xinit (because I apparently didn’t have it properly installed), and some basic fonts. sudo apt install xterm xinit xfonts-base
Trying Again: I ran startx again. This time, I got a slightly different black screen. Progress! But still not a functional desktop. More digging in .xsession-errors revealed that matchbox-panel was crashing.
Panel Troubles: After some more googling, I discovered that matchbox-panel can be a bit finicky. Some people recommend replacing it with lxpanel, which is lighter weight than the full LXDE desktop environment. I installed it: sudo apt install lxpanel.
Modified xinitrc: I modified my /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc file to use lxpanel instead of matchbox-panel:
#!/bin/shmatchbox-window-manager &lxpanel &xterm &
(The symbols run the commands in the background.)
The Moment of Truth: I ran startx one last time. And… it worked! Sort of. I had a black screen with an lxpanel at the top, an xterm window, and a working mouse cursor. It was ugly, but it was functional!
What I Learned: This whole “matchbox eg nyt” adventure was a bit of a wild goose chase, but I did learn a few things:
- Embedded development is always more complicated than you think.
- Matchbox is a bit outdated, but it can still be made to work.
lxpanelis a decent alternative tomatchbox-panel.- Don’t be afraid to experiment and try different things.
- Always check the error logs!
Next Steps: The next thing I want to do is get a proper GUI application running on this setup. Maybe a simple media player or a web browser. But for now, I’m just happy to have a functional desktop environment on my Raspberry Pi Zero W.
So yeah, that’s my “matchbox eg nyt” story. It’s not pretty, it’s not perfect, but it’s a start. Hope it helps someone else out there!