NAME

       gnome-session - Start the GNOME desktop environment

SYNOPSIS

       gnome-session [-a|--autostart=DIR] [--session=SESSION] [--failsafe|-f] [--debug] [--whale]

DESCRIPTION

       The  gnome-session program starts up the GNOME desktop environment. This command is typically executed by
       your login manager (either gdm, xdm, or from your X startup scripts). It  will  load  either  your  saved
       session, or it will provide a default session for the user as defined by the system administrator (or the
       default GNOME installation on your system).

       The  default  session  is  defined  in  gnome.session,  a  .desktop-like  file  that  is  looked  for  in
       $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gnome-session/sessions,            $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/gnome-session/sessions           and
       $XDG_DATA_DIRS/gnome-session/sessions.

       When  saving   a   session,   gnome-session   saves   the   currently   running   applications   in   the
       $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gnome-session/saved-session directory.

       gnome-session  is  an  X11R6  session  manager.  It can manage GNOME applications as well as any X11R6 SM
       compliant application.

OPTIONS

       The following options are supported:

       --autostart=DIR
              Start  all  applications  defined  in  DIR,  instead  of  starting  the  applications  defined  in
              gnome.session, or via the --session option. Multiple --autostart options can be passed.

       --session=SESSION
              Use the applications defined in SESSION.session. If not specified, gnome.session will be used.

       --failsafe
              Run in fail-safe mode. User-specified applications will not be started.

       --debug
              Enable debugging code.

       --whale
              Show the fail whale in a dialog for debugging it.

SESSION DEFINITION

       Sessions are defined in .session files, that are using a .desktop-like format, with the following keys in
       the GNOME Session group:

       Name   Name of the session. This can be localized.

       RequiredComponents
              List of component identifiers (desktop files) that are  required  by  the  session.  The  required
              components will always run in the session.

       Here is an example of a session definition:

           [GNOME Session]
           Name=GNOME
           RequiredComponents=gnome-shell;gnome-settings-daemon;

       The  .session  files  are  looked for in $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gnome-session/sessions, $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/gnome-
       session/sessions and $XDG_DATA_DIRS/gnome-session/sessions.

ENVIRONMENT

       gnome-session sets several environment variables for the use of its child processes:

       SESSION_MANAGER

              This variable is used by session-manager aware clients to contact gnome-session.

       DISPLAY

              This variable is set to the X display being used by gnome-session.  Note  that  if  the  --display
              option  is  used  this might be different from the setting of the environment variable when gnome-
              session is invoked.

FILES

       $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/config/autostart $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/config/autostart /usr/share/gnome/autostart

              The  applications  defined  in  those  directories  will  be  started  on  login.   gnome-session-
              properties(1) can be used to easily configure them.

       $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gnome-session/sessions   $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/gnome-session/sessions   $XDG_DATA_DIRS/gnome-
       session/sessions

              These directories contain the .session files that can be used with the --session option.

       $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gnome-session/saved-session

              This directory contains the list of applications of the saved session.

BUGS

       If you find bugs in the gnome-session program, please report these on https://bugzilla.gnome.org.

SEE ALSO

       gnome-session-properties(1) gnome-session-quit(1)

                                                      GNOME                                     GNOME-SESSION(1)