1mkxauth(1x)                   Linux User's Manual                  mkxauth(1x)
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NAME

6       mkxauth - create and merge .Xauthority files
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SYNOPSIS

9       (1) mkxauth [ -q ] [ -u login ] -c [ host [ host ... ] ]
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11       (2) mkxauth [ -q ] [ -u login ] -m login
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13       (3) mkxauth [ -q ] [ -u login ] -f host
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15       (4) mkxauth [ -q ] [ -u login ] -r host [ -l login ]
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17       (5) mkxauth [ -q ] [ -u login ] -z host [ -l login ]
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DESCRIPTION

20       mkxauth  aids in the creation and maintenance of X authentication data‐
21       bases (.Xauthority files).  Use it to create a  ~/.Xauthority  file  or
22       merge keys from another local or remote .Xauthority file.  Remote .Xau‐
23       thority files can be retrieved via FTP (using ncftp(1)) or via  rsh(1).
24       For a slight measure of security, mkxauth does not create any temporary
25       files containing authentication keys (although anyone spying on network
26       packets  can  see  the authentication key data as they pass through the
27       network; for secure network communications, use ssh(1)).
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29   Creating and Adding to a .Xauthority File
30       To create a .Xauthority file, use mkxauth -c (see (1) above).   mkxauth
31       creates  a .Xauthority file in the user's home directory (~/), contain‐
32       ing a `key' or `magic cookie' for the host  it  was  run  on  (the  one
33       returned  by  hostname(1)).   If a .Xauthority file already exists, the
34       keys are added to it.  If keys for that host already  exist,  they  are
35       replaced.
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37       To create or add to a .Xauthority file for another user, use mkxauth -u
38       login -c.  mkxauth adds keys to ~login/.Xauthority (only the root  user
39       is allowed to do this).
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41       To  add  a key for more than one host, specify all hosts on the command
42       line: mkxauth -c daffy porky bugs.  All hosts  specified  on  the  same
43       command line receive the same key.  To create different keys for multi‐
44       ple hosts, run mkxauth for each host in succession:
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46              mkxauth -c daffy
47              mkxauth -c porky
48              mkxauth -c bugs
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50   Merging Keys from Local .Xauthority Files
51       To merge keys from another local user's .Xauthority file,  use  mkxauth
52       -m  login (see (2) above).  mkxauth adds the keys in ~login/.Xauthority
53       to ~/.Xauthority, replacing any keys which already exist.  ~login/.Xau‐
54       thority must be readable by the user running mkxauth (normally only the
55       root user can read other people's .Xauthority files).
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57   Merging Keys via FTP
58       To merge keys from a remote .Xauthority file via FTP,  use  mkxauth  -f
59       host  (see  (3)  above).  mkxauth retrieves the remote .Xauthority from
60       host using ncftp(1) and adds those keys to ~/.Xauthority, replacing any
61       keys  which already exist.  [NOTE: you must have a ~/.netrc file set up
62       to automatically log you into host, otherwise  the  FTP  login  attempt
63       will fail.]
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65   Merging Keys via rsh(1)
66       To  merge  keys from remote .Xauthority file via rsh(1), use mkxauth -r
67       host (see (4) above).  mkxauth retrieves the  remote  .Xauthority  from
68       host  using  rsh(1) and adds those keys to ~/.Xauthority, replacing any
69       keys which already exist.  To login as a different user, use -l  login.
70       [NOTE:  you  must have a .rhosts file set up properly for this to work,
71       otherwise the remote login attempt will fail].
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73   Merging Keys via rsh(1) and gzip(1)
74       If your remote .Xauthority file is large, or to make it  slightly  less
75       obvious  that you're transferring authentication keys over the network,
76       mkxauth can gzip(1) your .Xauthority  file  before  retrieving  it  via
77       rsh(1).   To  do  this,  use  mkxauth -z host (see (5) above).  mkxauth
78       retrieves the remote .Xauthority from host using rsh(1) and adds  those
79       keys  to  ~/.Xauthority,  replacing  any  keys which already exist.  To
80       login as a different user, use  -l  login.   [NOTE:  you  must  have  a
81       .rhosts  file  set  up  properly for this to work, otherwise the remote
82       login attempt will fail].
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84   Options
85       To make mkxauth operate quietly, use the -q option.
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87       To add to ~login/.Xauthority, use the -u login option.
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89       To use login for the remote login in mkxauth -f, mkxauth -r,  and  mkx‐
90       auth -z, use the -l login option.
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92   Getting Help
93       To get quick help about mkxauth, use mkxauth --help.
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FILES

96       ~/.Xauthority
97       ~/.netrc
98       ~/.rhosts
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COMMENTS

101       mkxauth  is mostly useful for maintaining .Xauthority files in an envi‐
102       ronment which uses startx(1x).  xdm(1x) uses its own method of generat‐
103       ing  .Xauthority files.  However, mkxauth is still useful for transfer‐
104       ring .Xauthority information to remote login sessions so that the  user
105       can  display  remote X clients on the local host without too much trou‐
106       ble.
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108       Note, however, that using rsh(1) is inherently insecure, and sites con‐
109       cerned    about    security    should    use    ssh(1)   instead   (see
110       http://www.cs.hut.fi/ssh/ for more information).
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SEE ALSO

113       X(1x), Xsecurity(1x), gzip(1), mcookie(1), md5sum(1), ncftp(1), rsh(1),
114       startx(1x), xauth(1x), xdm(1x)
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BUGS

117       Does not respect the XAUTHORITY environment variable.
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AUTHOR

120       Conceived  and  written by Jim Knoble <jmknoble@redhat.com>.  Copyright
121       1996 by Jim Knoble and Red Hat Software.  Distributed under the GNU GPL
122       (General Public License); see ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/COPYING for
123       more information.
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127Red Hat Software                  12-Dec-1996                      mkxauth(1x)
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