starting xmonad

Question

I'm completely new to xmonad but I'd like to start using it to boost my productivity.

This is the guide I've been using (I'm using Apple OS X Snow Leopard) http://xmonad.org/tour.html#start

So far I've managed to install Haskell-Platform, Cabal, dMenu, and xmonad (using cabal install).

When I attempt to run xmonad from the terminal I run into this error:

SDGL0990Z464C:~ cflynn$ echo $PATH
/Users/cflynn/.cabal/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/git/bin:/usr/X11/bin
SDGL0990Z464C:~ cflynn$ xmonad
/Users/cflynn/.xmonad/xmonad-i386-darwin: executeFile: does not exist (No such file or directory)
X Error of failed request:  BadAccess (attempt to access private resource denied)
  Major opcode of failed request:  2 (X_ChangeWindowAttributes)
  Serial number of failed request:  7
  Current serial number in output stream:  8

Can anyone explain what this means? Thanks!

Pyrrolidine

I don't know about Mac. On Linux you're supposed to place a file xmonad.hs under ~/.xmonad/. You can try to compile it on command line to make sure it's syntactically correct. – Morn

@Longpoke Whats so funny about X11? – Allin

Here is a basic tutorial on how to set up Xmonad with VMware or VirtualBox: github.com/simlu/xmonad I would try it out with a virtual machine and see if you like it before getting into heavy debugging :) – Subtile

Answer 1

Does the file /Users/cflynn/.xmonad/xmonad-i386-darwin exist? It sounds like it does not. You will need to compile your xmonad config and put the resulting executable at that location.

Epimenides

Answer 2

Skip to the bottom of this page - http://www.haskell.org/haskellwiki/Xmonad/Using_xmonad_on_Apple_OSX

Add the contents to .xinitrc rather than starting it at the terminal.

Obed

Answer 3

http://www.google.com/search?q=X11+macintosh - you need X11 to be installed and running, in order to use a windowmanager that relies on it .) -> is that the case, or am I mistaken for the problems cause?

Chukker

I have the latest version of X11 installed on my mac, it actually launches when this error comes up inside my console (I can see the X11 icon in my dock) – Pyrrolidine