### HOWTO: Minimalist Xbox Chat on Linux (IceWM / Linux Mint) without the Bloat

If you want to use the Xbox Social Chat (friends list, messages, followers) under Linux, you quickly stumble upon unofficial apps like Greenlight. While they work well, they are Electron-based and often bring over 3 Gigabytes of download baggage with them. 

This guide shows you how to use the naked Chromium browser in app mode to build an extremely slim, resource-friendly chat window – including support for running two separate Xbox accounts simultaneously. 

### Prerequisites

* Operating System: Linux Mint (tested on version 22.3)
* Desktop Environment: IceWM (or any other lightweight window manager)
* Core Software: Chromium (as a native package, no Snap!)

### Step 1: Install the Native Chromium Package

Under Linux Mint, the developers block Ubuntu's forced snapd by default. The phantom package chromium-browser will therefore fail. The in-house, native version without Snap is simply called chromium. 

Open a terminal and install it using this command:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install chromium -y 

### Step 2: Create the Launcher for the Main Account (.desktop file)

To make the app appear in your IceWM Internet menu, we create an application launcher file in your local user directory. 

Create the file ~/.local/share/applications/xbox-chat1.desktop and paste the following content: 

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Name=Xbox Chat - Main Account
Comment=Direct access to Xbox friends and messages
Exec=sh -c 'chromium --app="https://xbox.com/de-DE/play/user/masterchief Germany" --user-data-dir=$HOME/.config/chromium 2>/dev/null'
Icon=xbox
Categories=Network;
Terminal=false
StartupNotify=true 

When you launch it for the first time, simply log in with your Microsoft account credentials. Once logged in, click on your followers to view your chat and messages overview. Chromium will save your session cookies automatically. 

### Step 3: Set Up a Second Account Simultaneously (Multi-Account Trick)

If you own a second Xbox account, a standard second launcher would automatically log you into the exact same profile. We force Chromium via the --user-data-dir parameter to use a completely isolated "data drawer" for the second account. 

You do not need any terminal setup for this. Create a second file under ~/.local/share/applications/xbox-chat2.desktop with this content: 

[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Name=Xbox Chat - Second Account
Comment=Direct access to the second Xbox account
Exec=sh -c 'chromium --app="https://xbox.com/de-DE/play/user/masterchief Germany845" --user-data-dir=$HOME/.config/chromium2 2>/dev/null'
Icon=xbox
Categories=Network;
Terminal=false
StartupNotify=true 

Important Notes for the Second Account: 

* Initial Launch: When you click this second desktop icon for the first time, Chromium automatically creates the fresh "chromium2" profile folder. The Xbox page will present a login button where you can quickly authenticate via SMS code.
* Special Characters in the Name: Avoid using the hash symbol (#) inside the URL (e.g., from Microsoft's suffix numbers). Instead, use the cleaned spelling as shown in the example (masterchief UK845) so the web link doesn't break.

### Navigation Inside the Naked Window

Because all browser bars and back-arrows are hidden in --app mode, you navigate the naked window efficiently using keyboard shortcuts: 

* Go back one page: Alt + Left Arrow
* Go forward one page: Alt + Right Arrow
* Close the window: Alt + F4

### Conclusion

With this method, the Xbox chat runs lightning-fast, consumes barely any RAM, and requires 0 Megabytes of extra disk space for heavy streaming clients. Perfect for minimalist desktops!