gdmsetup

Run the GNOME Display Manager GUI configuration application

$ gdmsetup

gdmsetup [OPTIONS]

--help
    Displays a brief help message explaining command usage and available options.

--version
    Shows the version information for the gdmsetup utility.

gdmsetup was a graphical utility primarily used in older versions of the GNOME Display Manager (GDM) to configure its various settings. It provided an intuitive user interface for administrators to manage aspects like the login screen appearance (themes, backgrounds), security options (automatic login, timed login), remote login capabilities via XDMCP, and session management.

Users could enable or disable specific features, change default sessions, and customize the overall login experience without directly editing complex configuration files. While convenient for its time, gdmsetup has largely been superseded in modern Linux distributions. Current GDM configurations are typically managed through direct modifications to configuration files in directories such as /etc/gdm3/ or /etc/gdm/ (e.g., custom.conf), or via graphical interfaces within the gnome-control-center. As a result, gdmsetup is often no longer available or functional in contemporary systems, reflecting the evolution of GDM's architecture.

gdmsetup is largely deprecated and no longer included or functional in many modern Linux distributions and GDM versions. Its functionality has been replaced by direct configuration file editing (e.g., /etc/gdm3/custom.conf) and graphical tools like gnome-control-center. It requires a graphical environment to run. Attempting to run it on a modern system may result in a 'command not found' error or unexpected behavior.

In contemporary Linux environments running GDM (e.g., GDM3), configuration is primarily performed by editing files like /etc/gdm3/custom.conf for various settings, including themes, automatic login, and default sessions. Additionally, user-specific login settings can often be managed through the 'Users' or 'Login Screen' sections within the gnome-control-center application.

The gdmsetup utility was an integral part of the GNOME Display Manager's configuration suite during earlier versions of GNOME. It was designed to provide a user-friendly graphical interface for system administrators and users to customize the GDM login screen and session behavior without requiring manual editing of configuration files.

As the Linux ecosystem evolved, particularly with the adoption of systemd and dconf for system-wide configuration, GDM's architecture also changed. The direct configuration file approach became more prominent, and graphical configuration capabilities were integrated into broader system settings panels like gnome-control-center. Consequently, gdmsetup became obsolete and was gradually removed or replaced in most distributions, reflecting a shift towards more standardized and centralized configuration management paradigms.

gdm(8), gdmflexiserver(1), gnome-control-center(1), systemd-logind(8)