XAUTH(1)                       X Version 11                        XAUTH(1)
                                 Release 6.1



 NAME    [Toc]    [Back]
      xauth - X authority file utility

 SYNOPSIS    [Toc]    [Back]
      xauth [ -f authfile ] [ -vqib ] [ command arg ... ]

 DESCRIPTION    [Toc]    [Back]
      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.

 OPTIONS    [Toc]    [Back]
      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 messages.  This is the default if
              an xauth command is 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 (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 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.

 COMMANDS    [Toc]    [Back]
      The following commands may be used to manipulate authority files:




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      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 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.



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      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    [Toc]    [Back]
      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/1:displaynumber so that local entries for different
      machines may be stored in one authority file.

 EXAMPLE    [Toc]    [Back]
      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    [Toc]    [Back]
      This xauth program uses the following environment variables:

      XAUTHORITY    [Toc]    [Back]
              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    [Toc]    [Back]
      $HOME/.Xauthority
              default authority file if XAUTHORITY isn't defined.

 BUGS    [Toc]    [Back]
      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



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      such as Kerberos.

      Spaces are currently not allowed in the protocol name.  Quoting could
      be added for the truly perverse.

 AUTHOR    [Toc]    [Back]
      Jim Fulton, MIT X Consortium


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