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I am running automated tests on an app while recording the desktop for future analysis.

I am working from a standard Ubuntu Linux setup.

I would like to be able to switch to another user while these tests are running to continue working on other tasks.

When I switch to another user using a different virtual console logging in and starting a second x11 session using startx the screen recording of the X11 server running on Ctrl+Alt+F7 records nothing but a black screen.

I have discovered that this is because the X11 screen buffer stops rendering on none active run levels .

What configuration setting for X11 keeps will keep it rendering when switched away from that virtual console?

Patching and building X11 is not preferable but acceptable .

Tegra Detra
  • 5,016

1 Answers1

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Don't run your tests on an X server that displays to your hardware. Run them in an X server that “displays” to a virtual framebuffer that's just a chunk of memory, such as Xvfb. Xvfb is commonly used for testing GUI applications such as web browsers.

This won't work if your application needs to work closely with hardware features, e.g. because it needs 3D acceleration. But if this was the case your application wouldn't work when the X server isn't rendering anyway.