Backing Up XFCE Customizations in GhostBSD

GhostBSD offers several community editions, and one of the most popular is the XFCE edition. XFCE is a lightweight and highly customizable desktop environment that allows users to personalize nearly every aspect of their interface.

Why Backup XFCE Settings?

XFCE lets you tweak everything from themes and icons to panel layouts and startup behavior. Backing up these settings ensures you can restore your preferred setup after a reinstall or share it with others.

Key Areas of Customization

Appearance (themes, icons, fonts)
Panel (layout, applets, launchers)
Thunar Preferences (file manager behavior)
Window Manager (keyboard shortcuts, focus behavior)
Window Manager Tweaks (compositor, workspace settings)
Session and Startup (autostart apps like Plank)

How to Backup XFCE Settings

Most XFCE settings are stored in your home directory under ~/.config. To back them up:

Create a backup folder: mkdir ~/xfce-backup
Copy key config folders:
- cp -r ~/.config/xfce4 ~/xfce-backup/
- cp -r ~/.config/Thunar ~/xfce-backup/
- cp -r ~/.config/plank ~/xfce-backup/ (if using Plank)
Optionally, back up themes and icons:
- cp -r ~/.themes ~/xfce-backup/
- cp -r ~/.icons ~/xfce-backup/

How to Restore XFCE Settings

To restore your customizations after a reinstall:

Copy the backup folders back into place:
- cp -r ~/xfce-backup/xfce4 ~/.config/
- cp -r ~/xfce-backup/Thunar ~/.config/
- cp -r ~/xfce-backup/plank ~/.config/
Log out and log back in to apply changes

Example Scenario

You install GhostBSD and customize XFCE (themes, panel, Plank)
You back up your settings using the steps above
You later add more workspaces via Window Manager Tweaks
You decide to restore your original setup by importing the backup

Result

After restoring the backup, your workspace count returns to the original number. All other settings (panel layout, icons, startup apps) are also restored. This is because the backup overwrites the current configuration with the saved one.

Final Tips

Always back up before making major changes
Keep your backup folder in a safe location (external drive or cloud)
Use descriptive names for backup folders (e.g. xfce-tweaks-sept09)

With this approach, you can experiment freely with XFCE while knowing your perfect setup is just a restore away.

Feedback & Suggestions

If you spot any typos, unclear instructions, or areas for improvement, I’d love to hear from you. This project is built for GhostBSD users, by GhostBSD users—and your input helps shape it.