Auto-login with GUI disabled in Raspbian

Question

How can I make the RPi auto-login when booted, when the GUI is disabled?

You don't have to type a password, when logging in when GUI enabled, so there is probably an easy way of disabling the password prompt in the console.

Answer 1

You should be able to edit the /etc/inittab file to enable autologin.

Find a line like this in /etc/inittab

1:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty --noclear 38400 tty1

This starts the getty process on tty1. You can add the getty --autologin option to that line:

1:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty --autologin {USERNAME} --noclear 38400 tty1

Replace {USERNAME} with the user you want to login.

Note I have not tested this, check the manpage for getty for more details.

Answer 2

there is an easier way to do this using raspi-config this article explains it http://www.opentechguides.com/how-to/article/raspberry-pi/5/raspberry-pi-auto-start.html

showing :

1. how to auto login to the shell prompt (using a method similar to above)
2. Run scripts at startup
3. Auto start the desktop using raspi-config