diff --git a/modules/gui/phosh.nix b/modules/gui/phosh.nix
index 9f91c55c..00f01527 100644
--- a/modules/gui/phosh.nix
+++ b/modules/gui/phosh.nix
@@ -10,60 +10,74 @@ in
       default = false;
       type = types.bool;
     };
+    sane.gui.phosh.useGreeter = mkOption {
+      description = ''
+        launch phosh via a greeter (like lightdm-mobile-greeter).
+        phosh is usable without a greeter, but skipping the greeter means no PAM session.
+      '';
+      default = true;
+      type = types.bool;
+    };
   };
 
-  config = mkIf cfg.enable {
-    sane.gui.enable = true;
+  config = mkIf cfg.enable (mkMerge [
+    {
+      sane.gui.enable = true;
 
-    users.users.avahi.uid = config.sane.allocations.avahi-uid;
-    users.users.colord.uid = config.sane.allocations.colord-uid;
-    users.users.geoclue.uid = config.sane.allocations.geoclue-uid;
-    users.users.rtkit.uid = config.sane.allocations.rtkit-uid;
-    users.groups.avahi.gid = config.sane.allocations.avahi-gid;
-    users.groups.colord.gid = config.sane.allocations.colord-gid;
-    users.groups.geoclue.gid = config.sane.allocations.geoclue-gid;
-    users.groups.rtkit.gid = config.sane.allocations.rtkit-gid;
+      users.users.avahi.uid = config.sane.allocations.avahi-uid;
+      users.users.colord.uid = config.sane.allocations.colord-uid;
+      users.users.geoclue.uid = config.sane.allocations.geoclue-uid;
+      users.users.rtkit.uid = config.sane.allocations.rtkit-uid;
+      users.groups.avahi.gid = config.sane.allocations.avahi-gid;
+      users.groups.colord.gid = config.sane.allocations.colord-gid;
+      users.groups.geoclue.gid = config.sane.allocations.geoclue-gid;
+      users.groups.rtkit.gid = config.sane.allocations.rtkit-gid;
 
-    # docs: https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/nixos-22.05/nixos/modules/services/x11/desktop-managers/phosh.nix
-    services.xserver.desktopManager.phosh = {
-      enable = true;
-      user = "colin";
-      group = "users";
-      phocConfig = {
-        # xwayland = "true";
-        # find default outputs by catting /etc/phosh/phoc.ini
-        outputs.DSI-1 = {
-          scale = 1.5;
+      # docs: https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/nixos-22.05/nixos/modules/services/x11/desktop-managers/phosh.nix
+      services.xserver.desktopManager.phosh = {
+        enable = true;
+        user = "colin";
+        group = "users";
+        phocConfig = {
+          # xwayland = "true";
+          # find default outputs by catting /etc/phosh/phoc.ini
+          outputs.DSI-1 = {
+            scale = 1.5;
+          };
         };
       };
-    };
 
-    # XXX: phosh enables networkmanager by default; can probably disable these lines
-    networking.useDHCP = false;
-    networking.networkmanager.enable = true;
-    networking.wireless.enable = lib.mkForce false;
+      # XXX: phosh enables networkmanager by default; can probably disable these lines
+      networking.useDHCP = false;
+      networking.networkmanager.enable = true;
+      networking.wireless.enable = lib.mkForce false;
 
-    # XXX: not clear if these are actually needed?
-    hardware.bluetooth.enable = true;
-    services.blueman.enable = true;
+      # XXX: not clear if these are actually needed?
+      hardware.bluetooth.enable = true;
+      services.blueman.enable = true;
 
-    hardware.opengl.enable = true;
-    hardware.opengl.driSupport = true;
+      hardware.opengl.enable = true;
+      hardware.opengl.driSupport = true;
 
-    environment.variables = {
-      # Qt apps won't always start unless this env var is set
-      QT_QPA_PLATFORM = "wayland";
-      # electron apps (e.g. Element) should use the wayland backend
-      # toggle this to have electron apps (e.g. Element) use the wayland backend.
-      # phocConfig.xwayland should be disabled if you do this
-      NIXOS_OZONE_WL = "1";
-    };
+      environment.variables = {
+        # Qt apps won't always start unless this env var is set
+        QT_QPA_PLATFORM = "wayland";
+        # electron apps (e.g. Element) should use the wayland backend
+        # toggle this to have electron apps (e.g. Element) use the wayland backend.
+        # phocConfig.xwayland should be disabled if you do this
+        NIXOS_OZONE_WL = "1";
+      };
 
-    sane.home-manager.extraPackages = with pkgs; [
-      phosh-mobile-settings
+      sane.home-manager.extraPackages = with pkgs; [
+        phosh-mobile-settings
 
-      # TODO: see about removing this if the in-built gnome-settings bluetooth manager can work
-      gnome.gnome-bluetooth
-    ];
-  };
+        # TODO: see about removing this if the in-built gnome-settings bluetooth manager can work
+        gnome.gnome-bluetooth
+      ];
+    }
+    (mkIf cfg.useGreeter {
+        services.xserver.enable = true;
+        services.xserver.displayManager.lightdm.enable = true;
+    })
+  ]);
 }