1Xorg(1) General Commands Manual Xorg(1)
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6 Xorg - X11R7 X server
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9 Xorg [:display] [option ...]
10
12 Xorg is a full featured X server that was originally designed for UNIX
13 and UNIX-like operating systems running on Intel x86 hardware. It now
14 runs on a wider range of hardware and OS platforms.
15 This work was derived by the X.Org Foundation from the XFree86
17 Project's XFree86 4.4rc2 release. The XFree86 release was originally
18 derived from X386 1.2 by Thomas Roell which was contributed to X11R5 by
19 Snitily Graphics Consulting Service.
20
22 Xorg operates under a wide range of operating systems and hardware
23 platforms. The Intel x86 (IA32) architecture is the most widely sup‐
24 ported hardware platform. Other hardware platforms include Compaq
25 Alpha, Intel IA64, AMD64, SPARC and PowerPC. The most widely supported
26 operating systems are the free/OpenSource UNIX-like systems such as
27 Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and Solaris. Commercial UNIX operat‐
28 ing systems such as UnixWare are also supported. Other supported oper‐
29 ating systems include GNU Hurd. Mac OS X is supported with the
30 Xquartz(1) X server. Win32/Cygwin is supported with the XWin(1) X
31 server.
32
34 Xorg supports connections made using the following reliable byte-
35 streams:
36 Local
38 On most platforms, the "Local" connection type is a UNIX-domain
39 socket. On some System V platforms, the "local" connection types
40 also include STREAMS pipes, named pipes, and some other mechanisms.
41 TCP/IP
43 Xorg listens on port 6000+n, where n is the display number. This
44 connection type can be disabled with the -nolisten option (see the
45 Xserver(1) man page for details).
46
48 For operating systems that support local connections other than Unix
49 Domain sockets (SVR3 and SVR4), there is a compiled-in list specifying
50 the order in which local connections should be attempted. This list
51 can be overridden by the XLOCAL environment variable described below.
52 If the display name indicates a best-choice connection should be made
53 (e.g. :0.0), each connection mechanism is tried until a connection
54 succeeds or no more mechanisms are available. Note: for these OSs, the
55 Unix Domain socket connection is treated differently from the other
56 local connection types. To use it the connection must be made to
57 unix:0.0.
58 The XLOCAL environment variable should contain a list of one more more
60 of the following:
61 NAMED
63 PTS
64 SCO
65 ISC
66 which represent SVR4 Named Streams pipe, Old-style USL Streams pipe,
68 SCO XSight Streams pipe, and ISC Streams pipe, respectively. You can
69 select a single mechanism (e.g. XLOCAL=NAMED), or an ordered list
70 (e.g. XLOCAL="NAMED:PTS:SCO"). his variable overrides the compiled-in
71 defaults. For SVR4 it is recommended that NAMED be the first prefer‐
72 ence connection. The default setting is PTS:NAMED:ISC:SCO.
73 To globally override the compiled-in defaults, you should define (and
75 export if using sh or ksh) XLOCAL globally. If you use startx(1) or
76 xinit(1), the definition should be at the top of your .xinitrc file.
77 If you use xdm(1), the definitions should be early on in the
78 /usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xsession script.
79
81 Xorg supports several mechanisms for supplying/obtaining configuration
82 and run-time parameters: command line options, environment variables,
83 the xorg.conf(5) configuration files, auto-detection, and fallback
84 defaults. When the same information is supplied in more than one way,
85 the highest precedence mechanism is used. The list of mechanisms is
86 ordered from highest precedence to lowest. Note that not all parame‐
87 ters can be supplied via all methods. The available command line
88 options and environment variables (and some defaults) are described
89 here and in the Xserver(1) manual page. Most configuration file param‐
90 eters, with their defaults, are described in the xorg.conf(5) manual
91 page. Driver and module specific configuration parameters are
92 described in the relevant driver or module manual page.
93 In addition to the normal server options described in the Xserver(1)
95 manual page, Xorg accepts the following command line switches:
96 vtXX XX specifies the Virtual Terminal device number which Xorg will
98 use. Without this option, Xorg will pick the first available
99 Virtual Terminal that it can locate. This option applies only
100 to platforms that have virtual terminal support, such as Linux,
101 BSD, OpenSolaris, SVR3, and SVR4.
102 -allowMouseOpenFail
104 Allow the server to start up even if the mouse device can't be
105 opened or initialised. This is equivalent to the Allow‐
106 MouseOpenFail [22mxorg.conf(5) file option.
107 -allowNonLocalXvidtune
109 Make the VidMode extension available to remote clients. This
110 allows the xvidtune client to connect from another host. This
111 is equivalent to the AllowNonLocalXvidtune [22mxorg.conf(5) file
112 option. By default non-local connections are not allowed.
113 -bgamma value
115 Set the blue gamma correction. value must be between 0.1 and
116 10. The default is 1.0. Not all drivers support this. See
117 also the -gamma, -rgamma, and -ggamma options.
118 -bpp n No longer supported. Use -depth to set the color depth, and
120 use -fbbpp if you really need to force a non-default frame‐
121 buffer (hardware) pixel format.
122 -config file
124 Read the server configuration from file. This option will work
125 for any file when the server is run as root (i.e, with real-uid
126 0), or for files relative to a directory in the config search
127 path for all other users.
128 -configdir directory
130 Read the server configuration files from directory. This
131 option will work for any directory when the server is run as
132 root (i.e, with real-uid 0), or for directories relative to a
133 directory in the config directory search path for all other
134 users.
135 -configure
137 When this option is specified, the Xorg server loads all video
138 driver modules, probes for available hardware, and writes out
139 an initial xorg.conf(5) file based on what was detected. This
140 option currently has some problems on some platforms, but in
141 most cases it is a good way to bootstrap the configuration
142 process. This option is only available when the server is run
143 as root (i.e, with real-uid 0).
144 -crt /dev/ttyXX
146 SCO only. This is the same as the vt option, and is provided
147 for compatibility with the native SCO X server.
148 -depth n
150 Sets the default color depth. Legal values are 1, 4, 8, 15,
151 16, and 24. Not all drivers support all values.
152 -disableVidMode
154 Disable the parts of the VidMode extension (used by the xvid‐
155 tune client) that can be used to change the video modes. This
156 is equivalent to the DisableVidModeExtension [22mxorg.conf(5) file
157 option.
158 -fbbpp n
160 Sets the number of framebuffer bits per pixel. You should only
161 set this if you're sure it's necessary; normally the server can
162 deduce the correct value from -depth above. Useful if you want
163 to run a depth 24 configuration with a 24 bpp framebuffer
164 rather than the (possibly default) 32 bpp framebuffer (or vice
165 versa). Legal values are 1, 8, 16, 24, 32. Not all drivers
166 support all values.
167 -flipPixels
169 Swap the default values for the black and white pixels.
170 -gamma value
172 Set the gamma correction. value must be between 0.1 and 10.
173 The default is 1.0. This value is applied equally to the R, G
174 and B values. Those values can be set independently with the
175 -rgamma, -bgamma, and -ggamma options. Not all drivers support
176 this.
177 -ggamma value
179 Set the green gamma correction. value must be between 0.1 and
180 10. The default is 1.0. Not all drivers support this. See
181 also the -gamma, -rgamma, and -bgamma options.
182 -ignoreABI
184 The Xorg server checks the ABI revision levels of each module
185 that it loads. It will normally refuse to load modules with
186 ABI revisions that are newer than the server's. This is
187 because such modules might use interfaces that the server does
188 not have. When this option is specified, mismatches like this
189 are downgraded from fatal errors to warnings. This option
190 should be used with care.
191 -isolateDevice bus-id
193 Restrict device resets to the device at bus-id. The bus-id
194 string has the form bustype:bus:device:function (e.g.,
195 ‘PCI:1:0:0’). At present, only isolation of PCI devices is
196 supported; i.e., this option is ignored if bustype is anything
197 other than ‘PCI’.
198 -keeptty
200 Prevent the server from detaching its initial controlling ter‐
201 minal. This option is only useful when debugging the server.
202 Not all platforms support (or can use) this option.
203 -keyboard keyboard-name
205 Use the xorg.conf(5) file InputDevice section called keyboard-
206 name as the core keyboard. This option is ignored when the
207 Layout section specifies a core keyboard. In the absence of
208 both a Layout section and this option, the first relevant
209 InputDevice section is used for the core keyboard.
210 -layout layout-name
212 Use the xorg.conf(5) file Layout section called layout-name.
213 By default the first Layout section is used.
214 -logfile filename
216 Use the file called filename as the Xorg server log file. The
217 default log file when running as root is /var/log/Xorg.n.log
218 and for non root it is $XDG_DATA_HOME/xorg/Xorg.n.log where n
219 is the display number of the Xorg server. The default may be
220 in a different directory on some platforms. This option is
221 only available when the server is run as root (i.e, with real-
222 uid 0).
223 -logverbose [n]
225 Sets the verbosity level for information printed to the Xorg
226 server log file. If the n value isn't supplied, each occur‐
227 rence of this option increments the log file verbosity level.
228 When the n value is supplied, the log file verbosity level is
229 set to that value. The default log file verbosity level is 3.
230 -modulepath searchpath
232 Set the module search path to searchpath. searchpath is a
233 comma separated list of directories to search for Xorg server
234 modules. This option is only available when the server is run
235 as root (i.e, with real-uid 0).
236 -nosilk Disable Silken Mouse support.
238 -novtswitch
240 Disable the automatic switching on X server reset and shutdown
241 to the VT that was active when the server started, if supported
242 by the OS.
243 -pixmap24
245 Set the internal pixmap format for depth 24 pixmaps to 24 bits
246 per pixel. The default is usually 32 bits per pixel. There is
247 normally little reason to use this option. Some client appli‐
248 cations don't like this pixmap format, even though it is a per‐
249 fectly legal format. This is equivalent to the Pixmap
250 xorg.conf(5) file option.
251 -pixmap32
253 Set the internal pixmap format for depth 24 pixmaps to 32 bits
254 per pixel. This is usually the default. This is equivalent to
255 the Pixmap [22mxorg.conf(5) file option.
256 -pointer pointer-name
258 Use the xorg.conf(5) file InputDevice section called pointer-
259 name as the core pointer. This option is ignored when the Lay‐
260 out section specifies a core pointer. In the absence of both a
261 Layout section and this option, the first relevant InputDevice
262 section is used for the core pointer.
263 -quiet Suppress most informational messages at startup. The verbosity
265 level is set to zero.
266 -rgamma value
268 Set the red gamma correction. value must be between 0.1 and
269 10. The default is 1.0. Not all drivers support this. See
270 also the -gamma, -bgamma, and -ggamma options.
271 -sharevts
273 Share virtual terminals with another X server, if supported by
274 the OS.
275 -screen screen-name
277 Use the xorg.conf(5) file Screen section called screen-name.
278 By default the screens referenced by the default Layout section
279 are used, or the first Screen section when there are no Layout
280 sections.
281 -showconfig
283 This is the same as the -version option, and is included for
284 compatibility reasons. It may be removed in a future release,
285 so the -version option should be used instead.
286 -showDefaultModulePath
288 Print out the default module path the server was compiled with.
289 -showDefaultLibPath
291 Print out the path libraries should be installed to.
292 -showopts
294 For each driver module installed, print out the list of options
295 and their argument types.
296 -weight nnn
298 Set RGB weighting at 16 bpp. The default is 565. This applies
299 only to those drivers which support 16 bpp.
300 -verbose [n]
302 Sets the verbosity level for information printed on stderr. If
303 the n value isn't supplied, each occurrence of this option
304 increments the verbosity level. When the n value is supplied,
305 the verbosity level is set to that value. The default ver‐
306 bosity level is 0.
307 -version
309 Print out the server version, patchlevel, release date, the
310 operating system/platform it was built on, and whether it
311 includes module loader support.
312
314 The Xorg server is normally configured to recognize various special
315 combinations of key presses that instruct the server to perform some
316 action, rather than just sending the key press event to a client appli‐
317 cation. These actions depend on the XKB keymap loaded by a particular
318 keyboard device and may or may not be available on a given configura‐
319 tion.
320 The following key combinations are commonly part of the default XKEY‐
322 BOARD keymap.
323 Ctrl+Alt+Backspace
325 Immediately kills the server -- no questions asked. It can be
326 disabled by setting the DontZap [22mxorg.conf(5) file option to a
327 TRUE value.
328 It should be noted that zapping is triggered by the Termi‐
330 nate_Server action in the keyboard map. This action is not part
331 of the default keymaps but can be enabled with the XKB option
332 "terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp".
333 Ctrl+Alt+Keypad-Plus
335 Change video mode to next one specified in the configuration
336 file. This can be disabled with the DontZoom [22mxorg.conf(5) file
337 option.
338 Ctrl+Alt+Keypad-Minus
340 Change video mode to previous one specified in the configura‐
341 tion file. This can be disabled with the DontZoom [22mxorg.conf(5)
342 file option.
343 Ctrl+Alt+F1...F12
345 For systems with virtual terminal support, these keystroke com‐
346 binations are used to switch to virtual terminals 1 through 12,
347 respectively. This can be disabled with the DontVTSwitch
348 xorg.conf(5) file option.
349
351 Xorg typically uses a configuration file called xorg.conf and configu‐
352 ration files with the suffix .conf in a directory called xorg.conf.d
353 for its initial setup. Refer to the xorg.conf(5) manual page for
354 information about the format of this file.
355 Xorg has a mechanism for automatically generating a built-in configura‐
357 tion at run-time when no xorg.conf file or xorg.conf.d files are
358 present. The current version of this automatic configuration mechanism
359 works in two ways.
360 The first is via enhancements that have made many components of the
362 xorg.conf file optional. This means that information that can be
363 probed or reasonably deduced doesn't need to be specified explicitly,
364 greatly reducing the amount of built-in configuration information that
365 needs to be generated at run-time.
366 The second is to have "safe" fallbacks for most configuration informa‐
368 tion. This maximises the likelihood that the Xorg server will start up
369 in some usable configuration even when information about the specific
370 hardware is not available.
371 The automatic configuration support for Xorg is work in progress. It
373 is currently aimed at the most popular hardware and software platforms
374 supported by Xorg. Enhancements are planned for future releases.
375
377 The Xorg server config files can be found in a range of locations.
378 These are documented fully in the xorg.conf(5) manual page. The most
379 commonly used locations are shown here.
380 /etc/X11/xorg.conf Server configuration file.
382 /etc/X11/xorg.conf-4 Server configuration file.
384 /etc/xorg.conf Server configuration file.
386 /usr/etc/xorg.conf Server configuration file.
388 /usr/lib/X11/xorg.conf Server configuration file.
390 /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d Server configuration directory.
392 /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d-4 Server configuration directory.
394 /etc/xorg.conf.d Server configuration directory.
396 /usr/etc/xorg.conf.d Server configuration directory.
398 /usr/lib/X11/xorg.conf.d Server configuration directory.
400 /var/log/Xorg.n.log Server log file for display n.
402 /usr/bin/∗ Client binaries.
404 /usr/include/∗ Header files.
406 /usr/lib/∗ Libraries.
408 /usr/share/fonts/X11/∗ Fonts.
410 /usr/share/X11/XErrorDB Client error message database.
412 /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/∗ Client resource specifications.
414 /usr/share/man/man?/∗ Manual pages.
416 /etc/Xn.hosts Initial access control list for display
418 n.
419
421 X(7), Xserver(1), xdm(1), xinit(1), xorg.conf(5), xvidtune(1), xkey‐
422 board-config (7), apm(4), ati(4), chips(4), cirrus(4), cyrix(4),
423 fbdev(4), glide(4), glint(4), i128(4), i740(4), imstt(4), intel(4),
424 mga(4), neomagic(4), nsc(4), nv(4), openchrome (4), r128(4), rendi‐
425 tion(4), s3virge(4), siliconmotion(4), sis(4), sunbw2(4), suncg14(4),
426 suncg3(4), suncg6(4), sunffb(4), sunleo(4), suntcx(4), tdfx(4), tga(4),
427 trident(4), tseng(4), v4l(4), vesa(4), vmware(4),
428 Web site <http://www.x.org>.
429
432 Xorg has many contributors world wide. The names of most of them can
433 be found in the documentation, ChangeLog files in the source tree, and
434 in the actual source code.
435 Xorg was originally based on XFree86 4.4rc2. That was originally based
437 on X386 1.2 by Thomas Roell, which was contributed to the then X Con‐
438 sortium's X11R5 distribution by SGCS.
439 Xorg is released by the X.Org Foundation.
441 The project that became XFree86 was originally founded in 1992 by David
443 Dawes, Glenn Lai, Jim Tsillas and David Wexelblat.
444 XFree86 was later integrated in the then X Consortium's X11R6 release
446 by a group of dedicated XFree86 developers, including the following:
447 Stuart Anderson anderson@metrolink.com
449 Doug Anson danson@lgc.com
450 Gertjan Akkerman akkerman@dutiba.twi.tudelft.nl
451 Mike Bernson mike@mbsun.mlb.org
452 Robin Cutshaw robin@XFree86.org
453 David Dawes dawes@XFree86.org
454 Marc Evans marc@XFree86.org
455 Pascal Haible haible@izfm.uni-stuttgart.de
456 Matthieu Herrb Matthieu.Herrb@laas.fr
457 Dirk Hohndel hohndel@XFree86.org
458 David Holland davidh@use.com
459 Alan Hourihane alanh@fairlite.demon.co.uk
460 Jeffrey Hsu hsu@soda.berkeley.edu
461 Glenn Lai glenn@cs.utexas.edu
462 Ted Lemon mellon@ncd.com
463 Rich Murphey rich@XFree86.org
464 Hans Nasten nasten@everyware.se
465 Mark Snitily mark@sgcs.com
466 Randy Terbush randyt@cse.unl.edu
467 Jon Tombs tombs@XFree86.org
468 Kees Verstoep versto@cs.vu.nl
469 Paul Vixie paul@vix.com
470 Mark Weaver Mark_Weaver@brown.edu
471 David Wexelblat dwex@XFree86.org
472 Philip Wheatley Philip.Wheatley@ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM
473 Thomas Wolfram wolf@prz.tu-berlin.de
474 Orest Zborowski orestz@eskimo.com
475 Xorg source is available from the FTP server <ftp://ftp.x.org/>, and
477 from the X.Org server <http://gitweb.freedesktop.org/>. Documentation
478 and other information can be found from the X.Org web site
479 <http://www.x.org/>.
480
483 Xorg is copyright software, provided under licenses that permit modifi‐
484 cation and redistribution in source and binary form without fee. Xorg
485 is copyright by numerous authors and contributors from around the
486 world. Licensing information can be found at <http://www.x.org>.
487 Refer to the source code for specific copyright notices.
488 XFree86(TM) is a trademark of The XFree86 Project, Inc.
490 X11(TM) and X Window System(TM) are trademarks of The Open Group.
492X Version 11 xorg-server 1.17.4 Xorg(1)