I wanted a minimal install of xfce4 on an old NUC so I could run Kodi on it. This is an alternative to using the excellent LibreElec (a “just enough OS for Kodi” appliance), as I also wanted a web browser for YouTube and PBS.

To do this, I did a XFCE4 Minimal Install and added Firefox and Chrome. I also wanted remote control of the desktop via VNC, so I installed x11vnc, and also set the slim login manager to auto-login my user.

I don't need the latest and greatest of Kodi, so I'll use the package maintainers version on my distribution (Devuan in this case).

apt install -y kodi x11vnc

Now, edit /etc/slim.conf. Change auto_login to yes and default_user to the username you want automatically logged in (in this case, username acme). The focus_password stanza was left in for context; you do not change it.

# default user, leave blank to not pre-load the username.
default_user        acme
 
# Focus the password field on start when default_user is set
# Set to "yes" to enable this feature
#focus_password      no
 
# Automatically login the default user (without entering
# the password. Set to "yes" to enable this feature
auto_login          yes