GNOME Display Manager (GDM) is a display manager (a graphical login manager) for the windowing systems X11 and Wayland.
Developer(s) | The GNOME Project (William Jon McCann, Brian Cameron, Ray Strode) |
---|---|
Stable release | 46.0[1]
/ 18 March 2024 |
Preview release | 41.alpha[2]
/ 28 July 2021 |
Repository |
|
Written in | C |
Operating system | Unix and Unix-like (Linux, BSD, Solaris) |
Type | Login manager for Wayland, X display manager |
License | GPL-2.0-or-later |
Website | wiki |
The X Window System by default uses the XDM display manager. However, resolving XDM configuration issues typically involves editing a configuration file. GDM allows users to customize or troubleshoot settings without having to resort to a command line. Users can pick their session type on a per-login basis. GDM 2.38.0 is the last version that features customization with themes; subsequent releases do not support themes.
GDM is a display manager that implements all significant features required for managing attached and remote displays. GDM was written from scratch and does not contain any XDM or X Consortium code.[3]
GDM comprises the following components:
Until version 2.22,[4] GDM had a few Easter eggs, in the form of strings to be entered in the username box. These can be found in the source file "gui/guilogin.c", in a function named "evil".[5]
Some of the copyright notices of GDM refer to the "Queen of England", whom release announcements from version 2.2.1 also named as a maintainer.[7] Subsequently, developers realised that the title "Queen of England" has not existed since the Acts of Union of 1707.[8]
Gdm2 was originally written by Martin K. Petersen <mkp mkp net>, and is now maintained by the Queen of England.