My Minimalist Termianl Setup (ST and URXVT)

Summary

The video introduces a minimalist terminal setup using ST (Simple Terminal) by the Suckless developers. The creator shares how ST contrasts with more bloated terminals like Xterm and OpenSSL, while discussing his own configuration, which is heavily based on YouTuber Luke Smith's build. He demonstrates useful features like scrollback, X resources compatibility, and a custom copy output command. Additionally, the video explores memory usage comparisons between ST and URxvt, highlighting ST's poor scalability when running multiple instances. The creator aims to further customize his terminal while maintaining a minimalist and efficient system.

Takeaways

• 🖥️ ST (Simple Terminal) was created by the Suckless developers, focusing on minimalism and lightweight design, similar to their other programs like DWM.
• 🔧 ST is meant to be a replacement for XTerm, which is considered bloated and unmaintainable, containing over 65k lines of code for obsolete terminals.
• 💻 The default ST build lacks many features, such as scrollback functionality, which must be manually patched into the system.
• 🛠️ The user primarily uses a custom ST build based on Luke Smith's modifications, including useful patches like scrollback and Xresources compatibility.
• 🖱️ Luke Smith's ST build allows users to copy terminal output without a mouse using a simple command, making it ideal for minimalist setups.
• 🖼️ The user aims to minimize mouse usage in daily tasks, achieving 90% mouse-free operations, with exceptions for tasks like video editing and creating thumbnails.
• 🧹 The user plans to remove certain features from Luke's ST build, such as PI wall and emoji support, to further streamline their terminal.
• 📊 ST uses more RAM than URxvt, especially when running multiple instances, raising concerns about scalability for heavy terminal users.
• ⚙️ Despite ST's minimalist goal, URxvt can be more efficient with memory when running several terminal instances, using about 20 MB less RAM.
• 🔗 The user recommends Luke Smith's ST build, which can be found on his GitHub page, for those interested in trying the same setup.

Q & A

What is ST, and who created it?

ST, or the Suckless Terminal (Simple Terminal), is a minimalist terminal emulator created by the Suckless development team, the same developers responsible for other minimalist software like DWM and SLStatus.

Why was ST created, according to the script?

ST was created as a response to the perceived bloat and unmaintainable nature of Xterm, which has over 65,000 lines of code and emulates many obscure and obsolete terminals that are rarely used.

What are the limitations of the default version of ST?

The default version of ST is very minimal and lacks features like scroll-back functionality. Users need to patch these features into their builds if desired.

What is Luke Smith's contribution to ST, according to the speaker?

Luke Smith, a YouTuber who discusses similar topics, created a customized build of ST that includes useful patches such as scroll-back and compatibility with X resources. The speaker has adopted Luke's build for their own use.

What is the purpose of the 'copy output' feature mentioned in the script?

The 'copy output' feature, created by Jaywalker and Luke Smith, allows users to copy the output of a terminal command without using the mouse. It prompts the user to select which command's output to copy, improving efficiency in a mouse-less workflow.

What is the speaker's goal in using ST and DWM?

The speaker aims to use their system with minimal reliance on the mouse, seeking to perform about 90% of tasks (excluding graphic-intensive activities like creating YouTube thumbnails or video editing) through keyboard-based workflows.

How does ST compare to URXVT in terms of memory usage?

According to the speaker, URXVT uses less memory than ST, especially when running multiple instances. For example, ST uses around 77 MB of RAM with a single instance, while URXVT uses only 55 MB. When scaling to 10 instances, ST uses 150 MB, whereas URXVT uses 111 MB.

What concerns does the speaker have about Luke Smith's build of ST?

The speaker plans to remove certain features from Luke Smith's build, such as emoji support and PI wall compatibility, because they do not use these features. They also want to modify the 'copy output' feature to avoid copying the PS1 prompt.

What difference does the speaker notice when running a 'vanilla' version of ST?

The speaker notes that even with a vanilla (unmodified) version of ST, it uses more RAM than URXVT, while also lacking certain features like scroll-back and X resources compatibility.

Why does the speaker use two different terminal emulators, ST and URXVT?

The speaker uses both terminals because URXVT is more efficient in terms of memory usage, especially when running multiple instances, while Luke Smith's ST build includes useful features like scroll-back and copy output, making it more functional for their specific needs.