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About Lilidog:

Lilidog is a lightweight Linux distro based on Debian. Lilidog uses the
Openbox window manager with tint2, Thunar, and xfce4-terminal.

Other window managers are also available through the Lilidog installers.
These are Awesome, dwm, i3, jwm, and sowm.

Available Versions:

There are currently 3 builds available: Lilidog, Beardog, and Waydog.

• Lilidog - Comes with most everything necessary to get started. This
  includes Firefox, LibreOffice, Geany, Thunar, xfce4-terminal, Pragha,
  Gpicview, Fastfetch, Jgmenu, and inxi among others.

• Beardog - The 'bare' version of Lilidog. Beardog starts without a
  display manager on login, though two different LightDM versions can
  be installed from the initial welcome script.

• Waydog - A version based on Wayland instead of X11. This version has
  Labwc and Sway compositors installed, with Waybar for the panel and
  Waypaper to provide wallpapers. Fully customized Niri and Wayfire
  WMs are also available from the Waydog installers.

Please scroll further down for more information about Waydog.

NOTE - The DOWNLOAD button defaults to the full Openbox version.

Click on FILES, and then RELEASES to access the other builds.

Current Releases:

The version number is the date of the release beginning with the year,
followed by the month, and then the day. So as an example, release
26.03.14 stands for the 14th of Mar, 2026. One way to see this after
a Lilidog installation is to look at the Install Date Conky for the
installation and build date. Another way is to open a terminal and:

cat /usr/share/lilidog/GPL/current-build

Lilidog uses the 'stable' version of Debian, which is currently Trixie,
and updates to most of the packages can be had with a quick:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

to bring everything up to date.

Directions For Installation:

Probably the easiest way to use Lilidog is to put it on a USB stick.

One easy way is to grab the live-usb-maker app: https://github.com/MX-Linux/lum-qt-appimage/releases/tag/19.11.02
Download the AppImage.tar.gz and open a terminal:

tar -xaf live-usb-maker-qt-19.11.02.x86_64.AppImage.tar.gz
Then:
sudo ./live-usb-maker-qt-19.11.02.x86_64.AppImage

Use "image mode" in the live-usb maker when burning the image.

The boot screen for Lilidog gives a choice of using as a Live session
or installing if you like what you see.

Navigating Lilidog:

After boot you have the option to install, or try out Lilidog live.
The Live username is 'user' and the Live password is 'live'.
Once in a session, there are a few items that can shape your experience.
Look in the "paw" icon in the tint2 panel for theming options.

Look in the "Toggles" section of the menu for some other useful options,
and look in the "Install Extras" portion of the menu for extra programs
you may want. Look around. There's more to see as well.

Some of the Basic Features:

• Based on Debian with contrib and non-free sources enabled by default.

• The welcome script after installation also allows for the addition of
  backports and other useful options.

• These are 'no --recommends' builds. This means only the required
  dependencies are included during package installation. This allows for
  better control over package installation.

• LightDM is the display login manager, with an option to install the
  LightDM Slick Greeter from either the Lilidog 'System' installers, or
  through the initial welcome screen on first login. The settings for both
  can be found in the Configuration menu.

• Tint2 is the panel by default. See the wrench and screwdriver icon in
  the tint2 panel for some other nifty tint2 options, including toggles
  for the position (top or bottom), autohide, Tint2 time format (12/24H),
  and on/off, and different theming options.

• Jgmenu is the main menu for Lilidog and Beardog. Many customizations
  are available. Go to Menu → Configuration → jgmenu.conf to change or
  add items.

• Wallpapers are handled by Feh. Place any image you would like to use
  as a wallpaper in ~/Pictures/wallpapers. Go to Menu → Configuration →
  Wallpaper Chooser to change wallpapers. You can also right-click on any
  image from the file manager to set as the background wallpaper. Other
  right-click options for images include rotation and copying to
  ~/Pictures/wallpapers. A random wallpaper toggle is included. Use
  'Super + v' to toggle through the existing images.

• Icons - Currently, the Obsidian icon theme is default. Papirus, GNOME,
  and other icon sets are readily available.

• Grub background changer opens a window to choose your own images.
  Lilidog ships with six to give you an initial choice before finding
  your own to add to the collection.

• There are shortcuts for the MATE Power Manager in the battery icon.
  Hover over the icons to see what they are.

• Rofi and Dmenu for alternate menu sources. - ALT + F5 pulls the full
  Dmenu up, while ALT + F3 pulls up a customized dmenu.

• Thunar is the default file manager. Custom right-click options are
  already added as well. These include everything from "Open as Root", to
  different rotations and sizing of pics, to comparisons of files using
  Meld. And more.

• Custom Lilidog Openbox and GTK themes, and matching themes for Geany
  and Xfce4-terminal.

• The fonts are Noto Sans for the windows and JetBrains Mono for the
  xfce4-terminal. The exceptions are urxvt and Conky where DejaVu is used.

• Xfce4-terminal is default terminal, with urxvt included.

• The Conky Chooser in the toggles section of the menu contains toggles
  for ten different Conkys and the time format shown. All of the Conkys
  contain relevant info. These include a Clock, Full Info, Fortunes,
  Shortcuts, Worldclock, and Tao quotes. Everything Conky is located in
  ~/.config/conky, including the Conky Chooser script.

• Custom colors can be chosen for nine of the different GTK themes. This
  allows the user to design their desktop much easier. Open Auto Themes
  to access the custom highlight theme changers.

• Picom Composite Manager for transparency. Look in ~/.config/picom.conf
  to change transparency, shadows, and more.

• Satty screenshot annotation tool provides a way to edit screenshots or
  other pictures with everything from arrows to words.

• Gammy screen color and lightness control located in Toggles, and from
  the keybind "Super + g". This will allow you to change and set the gamma
  and brightness of your screen for different times of your choice, or
  simply as a toggle when desired.

• Newsboat RSS reader with a custom configuration already in place and
  ready for new RSS feeds.

• System notifications through Dunst with options for sound effects.

• Lilidog Installers - Install menu with options for Liquorix kernel,
  Ghostty, VirtualBox, radiotray-ng, and more.

• ld-hotcorners - Each corner of the screen responds to a command.
  Turn it on with the button in the lower left corner or under Toggles in
  the menu. Change the corners in ~/.config/ld-hotcorners. Clockwise from
  top left: file manager, toggle Picom, exit menu, and terminal.

Theme changes:

The easiest way to change themes is with the 'Quick Theme Changer'
located in the menu under Configuration. This changes the GTK theme,
Openbox theme, Geany theme, LightDM, wallpaper, menu, and terminal
theme all on the fly.

About Waydog:

Waydog is a lightweight Linux distro based on Debian Trixie. Waydog
uses the new Wayland protocol for its display server.

Labwc and Sway are installed by default, with separate installation
options for Niri and Wayfire compositors in the Waydog installers.

Both Niri and Wayfire are also customized for Waydog use. These can be
installed from the Waydog installers.

On live login, either Labwc or Sway can be selected initially, though
both Niri and Wayfire can be installed to test during a live
session. Just log out and back in to change WMs.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/lilidog/files/Releases/

Current Release:

The version number shown is the date of the release beginning with the
year, followed by the month, and then the day. So as an example,
release 26.03.14 stands for the 14th of Mar, 2026.
To identify a Waydog build date after installation, in a terminal, try:

cat /usr/share/lilidog/GPL/current-build

Updating:

Waydog uses the 'stable' version of Debian, which is currently Trixie.
Updates to Debian packages are obtained by using apt:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Directions for Installation:

One easy way to install Waydog is to grab the live-usb-maker app:
https://github.com/MX-Linux/lum-qt-appimage/releases/tag/19.11.02
Download the AppImage.tar.gz and open a terminal:

tar -xaf live-usb-maker-qt-19.11.02.x86_64.AppImage.tar.gz
Then:
sudo ./live-usb-maker-qt-19.11.02.x86_64.AppImage

Use "image mode" in the live-usb maker when burning the image.

The boot screen for Waydog gives a choice of using as a live session or
installing if you like what you see.

Navigating Waydog:

For live login use: Live Username = 'user', and Live Password = 'live'.
The live session starts in the SDDM display manager after boot.

Waydog can be run in a VM, but not very well due to apparent Wayland
requirements. Ample video memory is a must.

Features:

• Keybinds. All window managers use 'Super + F1' to show the list.
• Labwc and Sway window managers installed by default. Choose at login.
• Niri and Wayfire WMs also install options. Try in a live session.
• SDDM display manager for initial login.
• Ly login manager is included as a separate install option.
• Waybar provides the panel top bar.
• Waybar Options provides a dialog to adjust waybar settings on the fly.
• NWG Look provides the interface for GTK settings.
• Labwc Tweaks provides for common Labwc adjustments.
• Gamma Control provides gamma and contrast control, with custom presets.
• Usbimager to create USB images.
• Waypicker color picker for Wayland use. Copies selection to clipboard.
• Kernel remover for those that build their own, or just to clean up.
• Waypaper wallpaper setter for both wallpaper and SDDM login screen.
• Random BG changer using 'Super + v'.
• Ld-hotcorners providing four hotcorners for program use. 'Super + z'
• Random BG Daemon from the Toggles menu, or using 'Super + Shift + r'.
• Grimshot screenshot. Adds screenshots directly to ~/Pictures.
• Fuzzel menu. (dmenu equivalent) (Super + F5)
• Mako provides the system notifications.
• Sway has gaps!
• Optional Waydog installers for a few different items. VirtualBox,
  kernels, extra themes, Conky, Dropbox, and more.

There are only a few basic programs to get you started. Firefox, Geany,
Thunar, and Xfce4-terminal are standard for the main programs. It is
up to the user to select others.

Notes:

Logging out of the different compositors requires different commands.
If you have issues logging out to either SDDM or Ly, you may need to
change the command used in /usr/local/bin/ld-logout. Best practice
here is to copy ld-logout to ~/bin and make your changes there.

Building Lilidog (Any):

No need to wait for a new release if wanting to keep up with the latest.
In fact, this is a great way to make personal changes, and to help with
testing new features.

How to build Lilidog, Beardog, or Waydog on your system.

Go to https://github.com/sleekmason to select the Trixie version you
would like to build. Here, I am using the Waydog-Trixie release:

1. sudo apt install -y git live-build
2. git clone https://github.com/sleekmason/Waydog-Trixie.git
3. cd Waydog-Trixie
4. sudo lb build

Wait for the build to finish and look for the ISO in the top folder.

To make it your own:
Change stuff!

Then:
lb clean (cleans the configuration for the next build)
lb build

Items to possibly change:
Waydog-Trixie/config/package-lists/my.list.chroot (package list)
Waydog-Trixie/config/includes.chroot_after_packages/ (main files)

Of course there are other files that can also be changed in the build,
but maybe keep it simple for a run or two.

Note * Change 'waydog-trixie' to whichever build you selected.

To follow the current development of Waydog:
Github Site

Lilidog

[José Santos]

Would be possible a version with only one WM??

[sleekmason]

Howdy,

Each of the window managers can be removed with 'apt purge'. (sudo apt purge fluxbox) for example.

Then also remove the configuration file matching the Window manager you want to remove in your $HOME directory (~/fluxbox).

If you are needing a version with just one window manager for a group of people, (school or something) I would be happy to do so. Which window manager do you like?

[sleekmason]

Been a while, but saw this and thought to answer again! Changed to just Openbox a month or so ago, with numerous other changes. Would love for you to check Lilidog out again:)

[José Santos]

@sleekmason
Thanks for the quick answer!!
I know that I can remove it. Most of the times is what I do. The thing is that depending on which WM you choose, one file manager can fit or no. I remember having such kind of problems with Antix.
In my Youtube channel there a several subscribers that would rather prefer only one WM.
I was only asking, but you have follow your wishes.

Regards!!

[Random Scumbag]

Hi I am super new to the openbox atmosphere, however I tried a few, and this is by far the nicest one I have came across. Someone mentioned it in a reddit post. I was wondering one of the first things I am trying to do is, is when I right click and the menu pops up, I would like to add the text editor in this case mousepad, to the list of the apps on the top where firefox, thunar terminal and thunderbird are? How would I go about adding this? Thanks again for the WME really looking forward to getting through basic knowledge of this layout.

And also I see that there is 4 virtual desktops on the bottom panel by default. I would like to change that to 6 when I go into open box config and add 2 more desktops they don't show up on the panel,but I can scroll on the wheel with the mouse to get to it. Not sure how to make this show on the panel. I apologize if these are noo b questions... just trying to figure it out.

[sleekmason]

No worries:) Everything in Lilidog is designed to be customizable.
For the menu items, there is no gui editor for jgmenu, but the menu is easily edited!
Look in ~/.config/jgmenu for the README on adjusting the menu.

For the number of desktops; there are only numbers 1-4 of the square icons available,
but in /usr/share/icons/ld-icons/letters-44, you will find the new groovy round icons for creating your own tint2 buttons if you want.
So, you will want to point the existing tint2 buttons 7,8,9,10 to the round icons, and add 2 more buttons to the tint2 config for numbers 5, and 6.

You other option visually is to simply remove buttons 7-10, and just use the scroll through without the buttons. However, pointing the existing buttons to use the new icons, and creating a couple of more should be relatively painless.

If you have trouble, please open a thread here:https://sourceforge.net/p/lilidog/discussion/

[Random Scumbag]

Thanks for your response. Going to look at it later on today. Its done very very well. I am just too familiar with the environment. Its something I am trying to learn when i can spend time on it. I was looking for the forum page to Not to familiar with sourceforge but Thank you so much for the information and the link. Very Much Appreciated

[opensource harvey]

G'day, thanks for this amazing OS.

"Sweet!" is the only word I've got to describe Lilidog.

I've been testing this OS on virtualbox, to get a feel for it.

Would is be possible to save the desktop session?

Would it be possible to have start up apps going when I log in? Like gammy, gufw firewall, a weather app like Meteo, sticky notes and Onboard keyboard?

Please consider releasing a Devuan version .
Peppermint OS offers a Devuan version.

I'm not comparing, both distros are great, I like both!

I love this Distro and would like to have it on my PC for good.

Thanks heaps.

Cheers

[sleekmason]

Thank you for your kind words! Super glad you are enjoying Lilidog.
Transferring settings directly from a VM probably wouldn't be realistic, as there are a lot of different toggles and such that would revert back on installation. However, once setup after install, you should be able to keep all your settings on reboot without much trouble.

Please note that there will be a new release on or about 2-10-2024, and it may be worthwhile to wait a few days from now to have any upgraded or changed items. This release will coincide with the next debian point release, and the Lilidog and Beardog releases will follow immediately afterwards. See here for the full list of changes that will occur:
https://forum.lilidog.org/d/724-upcoming-release-expectations

Please see here for how to save items for autostart use:
https://forum.lilidog.org/d/751-saving-desktop-settings

And here for most other questions about Lilidog and Beardog:
https://forum.lilidog.org/t/system-setup

Consider joining the Lilidog Forum to make asking and answering questions a bit easier. We would love to have you!
https://forum.lilidog.org/

[opensource harvey]

Thanks for the prompt reply.
I'm in the process of learning how to set it up before moving onto Live Install on the PC.
Thanks, I joined the forum.

This probably is the best Debian Distro and I love it!

It reminds me of how LMDE used to be, polished and refined . I loved LMDE even though Cinnamon has always been memory hog. The LMDE 6 upgrade hasn't been smooth transition for me. So glad I found Lilidog.

Regards