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How to install Beryl/Emerald on Debian

Beryl provides neat 3D desktop features, and Emerald is a beautiful window decorator.

Acknowledgement: this information came from debianadmin.com. I am reproducing it here for two reasons. Firstly, it's nice to have my ultimate personal Debian setup guide all in one place. Secondly, the page i got it from has so-called "smart-quotes" which would confuse the xorg.conf file.

Important: Beryl and Emerald only work for me after i configure the Nvidia drivers for the graphics card. That must be done first.

Add the repositories to /etc/apt/sources.list:

deb http://debian.beryl-project.org/ etch main
deb-src http://debian.beryl-project.org/ etch main

Download the gpg key to stop apt-get from whining:

wget -O - http://debian.beryl-project.org/root@lupine.me.uk.gpg | sudo apt-key add -

Update, then install Beryl and Emerald.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install beryl-manager emerald-themes

Configuring Beryl needs a few manual tweaks in the xorg.conf file. As always, my advice is to make a backup first!

cd /etc/X11
sudo cp -p xorg.conf xorg.conf.backup

Now edit xorg.conf.

The "Device" section needs the following:

  Option  "AllowGLXWithComposite" "true"
  Option  "RenderAccel" "true"

The "Screen" section needs the following:

  Option  "XAANoOffscreenPixmaps"
  Option  "AddARGBGLXVisuals" "true"

The "Server Layout" section needs the following:

  Option  "AIGLX" "on"

There needs a section called "Extensions" which you might not have. Add it if necessary:

Section "Extensions"
  Option  "Composite" "Enable"
EndSection

And that's it! Save xorg.conf, reboot and enjoy! :)