Xscreensaver no longer starts its daemon when I log in

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1

I had two problems;
xscreensaver no longer starts its daemon when I log in. Always has done previously.
Xfce4 is not respecting my preferred file manager, and just loads Thunar.

2

Are you using Wayland? Xscreensaver doesn’t work at all well with that. And I get the impression it probably never will - the developer gives the impression of hoping Wayland will go away if he ignores it long enough.

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A post was merged into an existing topic: XScreensaver and wayland

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I suggest install XFCE default screensaver and remove xscreensaver

pamac install xfce4-screensaver; pamac remove xscreensaver

xfce4-screensaver:start [Xfce Docs]

Check Settings → Default Applications (xfce4-mime-settings) → Utilities tab
xfce4-settings:preferred-apps - Utilities [Xfce Docs]

Please post more information to confirm system is using X.org

inxi -G

Xfce 4.20 tour – Xfce

Important Notice: Please be aware that the Wayland support in Xfce 4.20 is experimental. It is recommended for advanced users only, as you may encounter bugs and experience incomplete functionality. Proceed with caution!

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2 posts were split to a new topic: XScreensaver and wayland

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I am using X with Xfce4.
I don’t want to use xfce4-screensaver, there are other posts that are saying how it is broken too. In my experience, xscreensaver is the ‘least buggy’ screen locker (not saying it doesn’t have bugs…but at least it actually locks the screen, and unlocks it). I’ve never had any trouble starting the xscreensaver daemon, and keeping it running through logons, until Manjaro with Xfce4 4.20.
I am aware of the ‘Default Applications’. Setting nemo here does not change the default file manager, opened from ‘Home’ on the desktop, from Thunar. Thunar still opens despite ‘nemo’ being in the Default Applications. This is a change from the recent update, with Xfce4 4.20, and is clearly a bug. Oddly ‘File Manager’ from the Whisker Menu correctly starts nemo.

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It is noted in the release notes of xfce 4.20 that power management had changed and more or less support for xscreensaver and light-locker dropped.

https://www-new.xfce.org/about/news/?post=1734220800

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I also prefer xscreensaver and I simply had to make a startup task to load the daemon upon login. Open session and startup → autostart application → add a new entry and call it something like “xscreensaver daemon” and the command will be “xscreensaver --no-splash” and trigger “on login”. Make sure that light-locker is removed too.

Jwz mentions using a “user-level” systemd entry – I don’t recommend that since user lingering would need to be enabled to ensure that user-level systemd units are automatically run upon login (and after the DE fully loads per After=graphical-session-pre.target.) From what I’m reading, this is hit-or-miss on xfce.

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Check the inode/directory MIME type in Default Applications > Others tab is set to use nemo as default application to open a directory

xfce4-settings:preferred-apps - others [Xfce Docs]