Unix Installation

Epsilon includes a version for Linux and a separate version for FreeBSD. We describe them (and the macOS version) collectively as the "Unix" version of Epsilon. The Linux version is available in .rpm and .deb formats, while the FreeBSD version is provided in .tar.bz2 format. See the download page for installation instructions.

Some versions of Epsilon use a helper program to access certain shared library files from the glibc 2.1 NSS subsystem. If necessary, the installation script will compile a helper program to provide Epsilon with these services.

Epsilon runs as an X11 program when run under the X11 windowing system, and as a text program outside of X. Epsilon knows to use X when it inherits a DISPLAY environment variable. You can override Epsilon's determination by providing a -vt flag to make Epsilon run as a text program, or an appropriate -display flag to make Epsilon connect to a given X server. On platforms where Epsilon uses shared libraries, you can run the program terminal-epsilon instead of epsilon; it will run as a text program even where X11 shared libraries are not installed.

Epsilon also recognizes these standard X11 flags:

-bw pixels or -borderwidth pixels: This flag sets the width of the window border in pixels. An Epsilon.borderWidth resource may be used instead.
-display disp: This flag makes Epsilon use disp as the display instead of the one indicated by the DISPLAY environment variable. It follows the standard X11 syntax.
-fn font or -font font: This flag specifies the font to use. The Alt-x set-font command can select a different font from within Epsilon. Epsilon will remember any font you select with set-font and use it in future sessions; this flag overrides any remembered font.
-geometry geometry: This flag sets the window size and position, using the standard X11 syntax for geometry flags. It uses the format WIDTHxHEIGHT+XOFF+YOFF. The WIDTH and HEIGHT values are in characters, separated by an "x". The XOFF and YOFF values are in pixels, measured from the top left corner of the screen. You can use - instead of + as the offset separator to positon relative to the right or bottom edge of the screen instead. You may omit trailing values (for instance, just specify width and height) and the offsets (following either a + or - separator) may be negative. Without this flag, Epsilon looks for an Epsilon.geometry resource, and if none, restores the size (and optionally, position: see Epsilon.recordPosition below) from the last time Epsilon exited.
-name resname: This flag tells Epsilon to look for X11 resources using a name other than "Epsilon".
-title title: This flag sets the title Epsilon displays while starting. An Epsilon.title resource may be used instead.
-xrm resourcestring: This flag specifies a specific resource name and value, overriding any defaults.

Epsilon uses various X11 resources. You can set them from the command line with a flag like -xrm Epsilon.cursorstyle:1 or put a line like Epsilon.cursorstyle:1 in your X resources file, which is usually named ~/.Xresources or ~/.Xdefaults:

Epsilon.cursorstyle: 1

You'll need to tell X to reread the file after making such a change, using a command like xrdb -merge ~/.Xresources.

As another option, you can put X resources in a file named ~/.epsilon/Xcustomresources and Epsilon will load it each time it starts. These override any resources previously loaded on the server, and are in turn overridden by font selections you make within Epsilon (which Epsilon automatically saves), and by resources set on the command line.

Epsilon uses these X resources:

Epsilon.borderWidth: This sets the width of the border around Epsilon's window.
Epsilon.cursorstyle: Under X11, Epsilon displays a block cursor whose shape does not change. Define a cursorstyle resource with value 1 and Epsilon will use a line-style cursor, sized to reflect overwrite mode or virtual space mode. Note: This cursor style does not display correctly on some X11 servers.
Epsilon.font: This resource sets Epsilon's font. It must be a fixed-width font. If you set a font from within Epsilon, it remembers your selection in a file ~/.epsilon/Xresources and uses it in future sessions. Epsilon uses this resource if there's no font setting in that file.
Epsilon.geometry: This resource provides a geometry setting for Epsilon. See the -geometry flag above for the format.
Epsilon.recordPosition: Define this resource with a value of 1 and Epsilon will remember and restore its window position on the screen, as well as its window size.
Epsilon.title: This resource sets the title Epsilon displays while starting.

Previous Up Next
Windows Installation Getting Started macOS Installation