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xauth(1X)


X11R6


NAME

  xauth - X authority file utility


SYNOPSIS

  xauth [-f authfile] [-vqib] [commandarg...]


OPTIONS

  The following options may be used with xauth.	 They may be given
  individually (for example, -q -i) or may combined (for example, -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 messages.  This is the default if an xauth
	  command is given on the command line or if the standard output is
	  not directed to a terminal.

  -v	  This option indicates that xauth should operate verbosely and print
	  status messages indicating the results of various operations (for
	  example, 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 standard 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 (usually xdm or
	  another xauth).

  -b	  This option indicates that xauth should attempt to break any
	  authority file locks before proceeding.  Use this option only to
	  clean up stale locks.


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).  Commands (described below) may be entered interactively, on the
  xauth command line, or in scripts.  Note that this program does not contact
  the X server. Normally xauth is not used to create the authority file entry
  in the first place; xdm does that.


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 hexadecimal 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 significant 4 bits.  For example, a 32 character hexkey would
      represent a 128-bit value.  A protocol name consisting of just a single
      period is treated as an abbreviation for MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1.

  [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 format.
      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 consists of
      just a single dash, the standard input will be read if it has not 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 has not 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 -


ENVIRONMENT

  This xauth program uses the following environment variables:

  XAUTHORITY
	  to get the name of the authority file to use if the -f option is
	  not used.

  HOME	  to get the user's home directory if XAUTHORITY is not defined.


FILES

  $HOME/.Xauthority
      default authority file if XAUTHORITY is not 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 useful 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 perverse.


AUTHOR

  Jim Fulton, MIT X Consortium

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