☕ SprunglesQT

The ultra-lightweight Qt desktop — stripped of bloat, built for speed.

SprunglesQT is a minimalistic fork of LXQt that removes every non-essential component while keeping the panel and core workflow intact. It's designed for people who want a functional desktop that stays out of their way and sips resources instead of gulping them.

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✨ What's Different

Feature	LXQt	SprunglesQT
Desktop icons (pcmanfm)	✅ Installed	❌ Removed
Notification daemon	✅ Running	❌ Removed
App runner (Alt+F2)	✅ Running	❌ Removed
Power management daemon	✅ Running	❌ Removed
Global keyboard shortcuts daemon	✅ Running	❌ Disabled
Screen saver	✅ Running	❌ Disabled
About dialog	✅ Installed	❌ Removed
Admin tools	✅ Installed	❌ Removed
Archive manager	✅ Installed	❌ Removed
Sudo GUI	✅ Installed	❌ Removed
OpenSSH askpass	✅ Installed	❌ Removed
Portal backend	✅ Installed	❌ Removed
Fancy menu (Panel)	✅ Default	❌ Replaced with simple menu
Quick launch bar (Panel)	✅ Default	❌ Removed
Removable devices (Panel)	✅ Default	❌ Removed
Volume control (Panel)	✅ Default	❌ Removed
Panel	✅	✅ Kept & optimized
Taskbar	✅	✅ Kept
System tray	✅	✅ Kept
Desktop switcher	✅	✅ Kept
World clock	✅	✅ Kept

📦 What You Get

After stripping, these packages are all that remain of LXQt:

• lxqt-session — Session manager
• lxqt-panel — The bar. Minimal widgets: menu, taskbar, desktop switcher, tray, clock
• lxqt-policykit — Privilege escalation (kept for security)
• liblxqt — Core library
• lxqt-menu-data — Menu definitions
• lxqt-qtplugin — Qt platform integration
• lxqt-globalkeys — Library kept (daemon disabled)
• lxqt-config — System configuration tools (kept for convenience)
• lxqt-themes — Visual theme support

🚀 Installation

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/spivanatalie64/SprunglesQT.git
cd SprunglesQT

# Run the setup script
chmod +x scripts/setup.sh
./scripts/setup.sh

Manual installation

# Install the session file
cp session/sprunglesqt.desktop ~/.local/share/xsessions/

# Apply configs
cp config/panel.conf ~/.config/lxqt/
cp config/session.conf ~/.config/lxqt/
cp config/lxqt.conf ~/.config/lxqt/
cp config/env ~/.config/lxqt/

Then log out and select SprunglesQT Desktop from your display manager.

🧹 What Was Removed

Package	Reason
pcmanfm-qt	Desktop icons & file manager — unnecessary background process
lxqt-notificationd	Notification daemon — saves ~50MB RSS
lxqt-runner	Alt+F2 app launcher — saves ~60MB RSS
lxqt-powermanagement	Power management daemon — saves ~40MB RSS
lxqt-globalkeysd	Global keyboard shortcuts daemon — saves ~35MB RSS
lxqt-about	About dialog — never used
lxqt-admin	Admin tools — never used
lxqt-archiver	Archive manager — alternative preferred
lxqt-sudo	Sudo GUI — terminal is lighter
lxqt-openssh-askpass	SSH password prompt — terminal works fine
xdg-desktop-portal-lxqt	Portal backend — unnecessary on X11

⚡ Resource Comparison

Metric	Stock LXQt	SprunglesQT
Running processes	~8 daemons	3 essential (session, panel, policykit)
Memory (RSS)	~400MB+	~150MB
Packages removed	—	10 packages (~8MB disk)
Panel widgets	8 plugins	5 essential

🧰 Included Panel Widgets

• Main Menu — Simple application menu (replaced fancymenu)
• Taskbar — Window management (essential)
• Desktop Switcher — Virtual desktop navigation
• System Tray — Background app indicators
• World Clock — Date and time display

🔧 Extending

SprunglesQT is designed to be a base you build on. Want something back?

# Add back notifications (if you really need them)
sudo pacman -S lxqt-notificationd

# Add back the app runner
sudo pacman -S lxqt-runner

Or install lighter alternatives:

• Notifications: dunst (~15MB vs ~50MB for lxqt-notificationd)
• App launcher: rofi or dmenu (~5MB vs ~60MB for lxqt-runner)
• File manager: pcmanfm-qt only when you need it (don't run in daemon mode)

🫶 Philosophy

"Your coffee-break digital twin"

SprunglesQT doesn't get in your way. It boots fast, idles quiet, and gets out of your way the moment you need to work. The panel is there for window management and a clock — everything else is bloat.

Built for servers with a screen. For terminals with a GUI. For people who make coffee while their desktop loads.

📜 License

SprunglesQT is a fork of LXQt, licensed under GPL-2.0+.