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XAUTH(1) XAUTH(1)
NAME
xauth - X authority file utility
SYNOPSIS
xauth [ -f authfile ] [ -vqibn ] [ command arg ... ]
DESCRIPTION
The xauth program is used to edit and display the authorization information used in connecting to the
X server. This program is usually used to extract authorization records from one machine and merge
them in on another (as is the case when using remote logins or granting access to other users). Com-mands Commands
mands (described below) may be entered interactively, on the xauth command line, or in scripts. Note
that this program does not contact the X server except when the generate command is used. Normally
xauth is not used to create the authority file entry in the first place; xdm does that.
OPTIONS
The following options may be used with xauth. They may be given individually (e.g., -q -i) or may
combined (e.g., -qi).
-f authfile
This option specifies the name of the authority file to use. By default, xauth will use the
file specified by the XAUTHORITY environment variable or .Xauthority in the user's home
directory.
-q This option indicates that xauth should operate quietly and not print unsolicited status mes-sages. messages.
sages. This is the default if an xauth command is given on the command line or if the stan-dard standard
dard output is not directed to a terminal.
-v This option indicates that xauth should operate verbosely and print status messages indicat-ing indicating
ing the results of various operations (e.g., how many records have been read in or written
out). This is the default if xauth is reading commands from its standard input and its stan-dard standard
dard output is directed to a terminal.
-i This option indicates that xauth should ignore any authority file locks. Normally, xauth
will refuse to read or edit any authority files that have been locked by other programs (usu-ally (usually
ally xdm or another xauth).
-b This option indicates that xauth should attempt to break any authority file locks before pro-ceeding. proceeding.
ceeding. Use this option only to clean up stale locks.
-n This option indicates that xauth should not attempt to resolve any hostnames, but should sim-ply simply
ply always print the host address as stored in the authority file.
COMMANDS
The following commands may be used to manipulate authority files:
add displayname protocolname hexkey
An authorization entry for the indicated display using the given protocol and key data is
added to the authorization file. The data is specified as an even-lengthed string of hexa-decimal hexadecimal
decimal digits, each pair representing one octet. The first digit of each pair gives the
most significant 4 bits of the octet, and the second digit of the pair gives the least sig-nificant significant
nificant 4 bits. For example, a 32 character hexkey would represent a 128-bit value. A pro-tocol protocol
tocol name consisting of just a single period is treated as an abbreviation for MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1. MIT-MAGICCOOKIE-1.
COOKIE-1.
generate displayname protocolname [trusted|untrusted]
[timeout seconds] [group group-id] [data hexdata]
This command is similar to add. The main difference is that instead of requiring the user to
supply the key data, it connects to the server specified in displayname and uses the SECURITY
extension in order to get the key data to store in the authorization file. If the server
cannot be contacted or if it does not support the SECURITY extension, the command fails.
Otherwise, an authorization entry for the indicated display using the given protocol is added
to the authorization file. A protocol name consisting of just a single period is treated as
an abbreviation for MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1.
If the trusted option is used, clients that connect using this authorization will have full
run of the display, as usual. If untrusted is used, clients that connect using this autho-rization authorization
rization will be considered untrusted and prevented from stealing or tampering with data
belonging to trusted clients. See the SECURITY extension specification for full details on
the restrictions imposed on untrusted clients. The default is untrusted.
The timeout option specifies how long in seconds this authorization will be valid. If the
authorization remains unused (no clients are connected with it) for longer than this time
period, the server purges the authorization, and future attempts to connect using it will
fail. Note that the purging done by the server does not delete the authorization entry from
the authorization file. The default timeout is 60 seconds.
The group option specifies the application group that clients connecting with this authoriza-tion authorization
tion should belong to. See the application group extension specification for more details.
The default is to not belong to an application group.
The data option specifies data that the server should use to generate the authorization.
Note that this is not the same data that gets written to the authorization file. The inter-pretation interpretation
pretation of this data depends on the authorization protocol. The hexdata is in the same
format as the hexkey described in the add command. The default is to send no data.
[n]extract filename displayname...
Authorization entries for each of the specified displays are written to the indicated file.
If the nextract command is used, the entries are written in a numeric format suitable for
non-binary transmission (such as secure electronic mail). The extracted entries can be read
back in using the merge and nmerge commands. If the filename consists of just a single dash,
the entries will be written to the standard output.
[n]list [displayname...]
Authorization entries for each of the specified displays (or all if no displays are named)
are printed on the standard output. If the nlist command is used, entries will be shown in
the numeric format used by the nextract command; otherwise, they are shown in a textual for-mat. format.
mat. Key data is always displayed in the hexadecimal format given in the description of the
add command.
[n]merge [filename...]
Authorization entries are read from the specified files and are merged into the authorization
database, superceding any matching existing entries. If the nmerge command is used, the
numeric format given in the description of the extract command is used. If a filename con-sists consists
sists of just a single dash, the standard input will be read if it hasn't been read before.
remove displayname...
Authorization entries matching the specified displays are removed from the authority file.
source filename
The specified file is treated as a script containing xauth commands to execute. Blank lines
and lines beginning with a sharp sign (#) are ignored. A single dash may be used to indicate
the standard input, if it hasn't already been read.
info Information describing the authorization file, whether or not any changes have been made, and
from where xauth commands are being read is printed on the standard output.
exit If any modifications have been made, the authority file is written out (if allowed), and the
program exits. An end of file is treated as an implicit exit command.
quit The program exits, ignoring any modifications. This may also be accomplished by pressing the
interrupt character.
help [string]
A description of all commands that begin with the given string (or all commands if no string
is given) is printed on the standard output.
? A short list of the valid commands is printed on the standard output.
DISPLAY NAMES
Display names for the add, [n]extract, [n]list, [n]merge, and remove commands use the same format as
the DISPLAY environment variable and the common -display command line argument. Display-specific
information (such as the screen number) is unnecessary and will be ignored. Same-machine connections
(such as local-host sockets, shared memory, and the Internet Protocol hostname localhost) are
referred to as hostname/unix:displaynumber so that local entries for different machines may be stored
in one authority file.
EXAMPLE
The most common use for xauth is to extract the entry for the current display, copy it to another
machine, and merge it into the user's authority file on the remote machine:
% xauth extract - $DISPLAY | rsh otherhost xauth merge -The mergeThe
The following command contacts the server :0 to create an authorization using the MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1
protocol. Clients that connect with this authorization will be untrusted.
% xauth generate :0 .
ENVIRONMENT
This xauth program uses the following environment variables:
XAUTHORITY
to get the name of the authority file to use if the -f option isn't used.
HOME to get the user's home directory if XAUTHORITY isn't defined.
FILES
$HOME/.Xauthority
default authority file if XAUTHORITY isn't defined.
BUGS
Users that have unsecure networks should take care to use encrypted file transfer mechanisms to copy
authorization entries between machines. Similarly, the MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 protocol is not very use-ful useful
ful in unsecure environments. Sites that are interested in additional security may need to use
encrypted authorization mechanisms such as Kerberos.
Spaces are currently not allowed in the protocol name. Quoting could be added for the truly per-verse. perverse.
verse.
AUTHOR
Jim Fulton, MIT X Consortium
X Version 11 xauth 1.0.3 XAUTH(1)
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