Boot Configuration – How to Disable X at Boot Time for Text Mode

bootdisplay-managertext-mode

Is it possible to disable X at boot time? I'm setting up a server so it would be nice if it wouldn't load the graphical interface every time I boot.

Best Answer

Edit /etc/default/grub with your favourite editor, e.g. nano:

sudo nano /etc/default/grub

Find this line:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"

Change it to:

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="text"

Update GRUB:

sudo update-grub

For systems that use systemd

This is an additional step for systemd releases, e.g. Ubuntu 15.04, the steps above for grub are still necessary.

You need to tell systemd to not load the graphical login manager:

sudo systemctl enable multi-user.target --force
sudo systemctl set-default multi-user.target

You will still be able to use X by typing startx after you logged in.

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