1Xorg(1)                     General Commands Manual                    Xorg(1)
2
3
4

NAME

6       Xorg - X11R7 X server
7

SYNOPSIS

9       Xorg [:display] [option ...]
10

DESCRIPTION

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
16       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

PLATFORMS

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

NETWORK CONNECTIONS

34       Xorg  supports  connections  made  using  the  following reliable byte-
35       streams:
36
37       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           See the "LOCAL CONNECTIONS" section of X(7) for details.
42
43       TCP/IP
44           Xorg  listens  on port 6000+n, where n is the display number.  This
45           connection type is usually disabled by default, but may be  enabled
46           with the -listen option (see the Xserver(1) man page for details).
47

OPTIONS

49       Xorg  supports several mechanisms for supplying/obtaining configuration
50       and run-time parameters: command line options,  environment  variables,
51       the  xorg.conf(5)  configuration  files,  auto-detection,  and fallback
52       defaults.  When the same information is supplied in more than one  way,
53       the  highest  precedence  mechanism is used.  The list of mechanisms is
54       ordered from highest precedence to lowest.  Note that not  all  parame‐
55       ters  can  be  supplied  via  all  methods.  The available command line
56       options and environment variables (and  some  defaults)  are  described
57       here and in the Xserver(1) manual page.  Most configuration file param‐
58       eters, with their defaults, are described in  the  xorg.conf(5)  manual
59       page.    Driver   and  module  specific  configuration  parameters  are
60       described in the relevant driver or module manual page.
61
62       In addition to the normal server options described  in  the  Xserver(1)
63       manual page, Xorg accepts the following command line switches:
64
65       vtXX    XX specifies the Virtual Terminal device number which Xorg will
66               use.  Without this option, Xorg will pick the  first  available
67               Virtual  Terminal that it can locate.  This option applies only
68               to platforms that have virtual terminal support, such as Linux,
69               BSD, OpenSolaris, SVR3, and SVR4.
70
71       -allowMouseOpenFail
72               Allow  the server to start up even if the mouse device can't be
73               opened or  initialised.   This  is  equivalent  to  the  Allow‐
74               MouseOpenFail xorg.conf(5) file option.
75
76       -allowNonLocalXvidtune
77               Make  the  VidMode extension available to remote clients.  This
78               allows the xvidtune client to connect from another host.   This
79               is  equivalent  to  the AllowNonLocalXvidtune xorg.conf(5) file
80               option.  By default non-local connections are not allowed.
81
82       -bgamma value
83               Set the blue gamma correction.  value must be between  0.1  and
84               10.   The  default  is 1.0.  Not all drivers support this.  See
85               also the -gamma, -rgamma, and -ggamma options.
86
87       -bpp n  No longer supported.  Use -depth to set the  color  depth,  and
88               use  -fbbpp  if  you  really need to force a non-default frame‐
89               buffer (hardware) pixel format.
90
91       -config file
92               Read the server configuration from file.  This option will work
93               for any file when the server is run as root (i.e, with real-uid
94               0), or for files relative to a directory in the  config  search
95               path for all other users.
96
97       -configdir directory
98               Read  the  server  configuration  files  from  directory.  This
99               option will work for any directory when the server  is  run  as
100               root  (i.e,  with real-uid 0), or for directories relative to a
101               directory in the config directory search  path  for  all  other
102               users.
103
104       -configure
105               When  this option is specified, the Xorg server loads all video
106               driver modules, probes for available hardware, and  writes  out
107               an  initial xorg.conf(5) file based on what was detected.  This
108               option currently has some problems on some  platforms,  but  in
109               most  cases  it  is  a  good way to bootstrap the configuration
110               process.  This option is only available when the server is  run
111               as root (i.e, with real-uid 0).
112
113       -crt /dev/ttyXX
114               SCO  only.   This is the same as the vt option, and is provided
115               for compatibility with the native SCO X server.
116
117       -depth n
118               Sets the default color depth.  Legal values are 1,  4,  8,  15,
119               16, and 24.  Not all drivers support all values.
120
121       -disableVidMode
122               Disable  the  parts of the VidMode extension (used by the xvid‐
123               tune client) that can be used to change the video modes.   This
124               is  equivalent to the DisableVidModeExtension xorg.conf(5) file
125               option.
126
127       -fbbpp n
128               Sets the number of framebuffer bits per pixel.  You should only
129               set this if you're sure it's necessary; normally the server can
130               deduce the correct value from -depth above.  Useful if you want
131               to  run  a  depth  24  configuration  with a 24 bpp framebuffer
132               rather than the (possibly default) 32 bpp framebuffer (or  vice
133               versa).   Legal  values  are 1, 8, 16, 24, 32.  Not all drivers
134               support all values.
135
136       -flipPixels
137               Swap the default values for the black and white pixels.
138
139       -gamma value
140               Set the gamma correction.  value must be between  0.1  and  10.
141               The  default is 1.0.  This value is applied equally to the R, G
142               and B values.  Those values can be set independently  with  the
143               -rgamma, -bgamma, and -ggamma options.  Not all drivers support
144               this.
145
146       -ggamma value
147               Set the green gamma correction.  value must be between 0.1  and
148               10.   The  default  is 1.0.  Not all drivers support this.  See
149               also the -gamma, -rgamma, and -bgamma options.
150
151       -ignoreABI
152               The Xorg server checks the ABI revision levels of  each  module
153               that  it  loads.   It will normally refuse to load modules with
154               ABI revisions that  are  newer  than  the  server's.   This  is
155               because  such modules might use interfaces that the server does
156               not have.  When this option is specified, mismatches like  this
157               are  downgraded  from  fatal  errors  to warnings.  This option
158               should be used with care.
159
160       -isolateDevice bus-id
161               Restrict device resets to the device  at  bus-id.   The  bus-id
162               string   has   the   form   bustype:bus:device:function  (e.g.,
163               ‘PCI:1:0:0’).  At present, only isolation  of  PCI  devices  is
164               supported;  i.e., this option is ignored if bustype is anything
165               other than ‘PCI’.
166
167       -keeptty
168               Prevent the server from detaching its initial controlling  ter‐
169               minal.  If  you want to use systemd-logind integration you must
170               specify this option.  Not all platforms support  (or  can  use)
171               this option.
172
173       -keyboard keyboard-name
174               Use  the xorg.conf(5) file InputDevice section called keyboard-
175               name as the core keyboard.  This option  is  ignored  when  the
176               Layout  section  specifies  a core keyboard.  In the absence of
177               both a Layout section  and  this  option,  the  first  relevant
178               InputDevice section is used for the core keyboard.
179
180       -layout layout-name
181               Use  the  xorg.conf(5)  file Layout section called layout-name.
182               By default the first Layout section is used.
183
184       -logfile filename
185               Use the file called filename as the Xorg server log file.   The
186               default  log  file  when running as root is /var/log/Xorg.n.log
187               and for non root it is $XDG_DATA_HOME/xorg/Xorg.n.log  where  n
188               is  the  display number of the Xorg server.  The default may be
189               in a different directory on some  platforms.   This  option  is
190               only  available when the server is run as root (i.e, with real-
191               uid 0).
192
193       -logverbose [n]
194               Sets the verbosity level for information printed  to  the  Xorg
195               server  log  file.   If the n value isn't supplied, each occur‐
196               rence of this option increments the log file  verbosity  level.
197               When  the  n value is supplied, the log file verbosity level is
198               set to that value.  The default log file verbosity level is 3.
199
200       -modulepath searchpath
201               Set the module search path  to  searchpath.   searchpath  is  a
202               comma  separated  list of directories to search for Xorg server
203               modules.  This option is only available when the server is  run
204               as root (i.e, with real-uid 0).
205
206       -noautoBindGPU
207               Disable automatically setting secondary GPUs up as output sinks
208               and offload sources. This is equivalent to  setting  the  Auto‐
209               BindGPU xorg.conf(5) file option. To false.
210
211       -nosilk Disable Silken Mouse support.
212
213       -novtswitch
214               Disable  the automatic switching on X server reset and shutdown
215               to the VT that was active when the server started, if supported
216               by the OS.
217
218       -pointer pointer-name
219               Use  the  xorg.conf(5) file InputDevice section called pointer-
220               name as the core pointer.  This option is ignored when the Lay‐
221               out section specifies a core pointer.  In the absence of both a
222               Layout section and this option, the first relevant  InputDevice
223               section is used for the core pointer.
224
225       -quiet  Suppress most informational messages at startup.  The verbosity
226               level is set to zero.
227
228       -rgamma value
229               Set the red gamma correction.  value must be  between  0.1  and
230               10.   The  default  is 1.0.  Not all drivers support this.  See
231               also the -gamma, -bgamma, and -ggamma options.
232
233       -sharevts
234               Share virtual terminals with another X server, if supported  by
235               the OS.
236
237       -screen screen-name
238               Use  the  xorg.conf(5)  file Screen section called screen-name.
239               By default the screens referenced by the default Layout section
240               are  used, or the first Screen section when there are no Layout
241               sections.
242
243       -showconfig
244               This is the same as the -version option, and  is  included  for
245               compatibility  reasons.  It may be removed in a future release,
246               so the -version option should be used instead.
247
248       -showDefaultModulePath
249               Print out the default module path the server was compiled with.
250
251       -showDefaultLibPath
252               Print out the path libraries should be installed to.
253
254       -showopts
255               For each driver module installed, print out the list of options
256               and their argument types.
257
258       -weight nnn
259               Set RGB weighting at 16 bpp.  The default is 565.  This applies
260               only to those drivers which support 16 bpp.
261
262       -verbose [n]
263               Sets the verbosity level for information printed on stderr.  If
264               the  n  value  isn't  supplied,  each occurrence of this option
265               increments the verbosity level.  When the n value is  supplied,
266               the  verbosity  level  is  set to that value.  The default ver‐
267               bosity level is 0.
268
269       -version
270               Print out the server version,  patchlevel,  release  date,  the
271               operating  system/platform  it  was  built  on,  and whether it
272               includes module loader support.
273

KEYBOARD

275       The Xorg server is normally configured  to  recognize  various  special
276       combinations  of  key  presses that instruct the server to perform some
277       action, rather than just sending the key press event to a client appli‐
278       cation.  These  actions depend on the XKB keymap loaded by a particular
279       keyboard device and may or may not be available on a  given  configura‐
280       tion.
281
282       The  following  key combinations are commonly part of the default XKEY‐
283       BOARD keymap.
284
285       Ctrl+Alt+Backspace
286               Immediately kills the server -- no questions asked. It  can  be
287               disabled  by  setting the DontZap xorg.conf(5) file option to a
288               TRUE value.
289
290               It should be noted that zapping  is  triggered  by  the  Termi‐
291               nate_Server action in the keyboard map. This action is not part
292               of the default keymaps but can be enabled with the  XKB  option
293               "terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp".
294
295       Ctrl+Alt+Keypad-Plus
296               Change  video  mode  to next one specified in the configuration
297               file.  This can be disabled with the DontZoom xorg.conf(5) file
298               option.
299
300       Ctrl+Alt+Keypad-Minus
301               Change  video  mode to previous one specified in the configura‐
302               tion file.  This can be disabled with the DontZoom xorg.conf(5)
303               file option.
304
305       Ctrl+Alt+F1...F12
306               For systems with virtual terminal support, these keystroke com‐
307               binations are used to switch to virtual terminals 1 through 12,
308               respectively.   This  can  be  disabled  with  the DontVTSwitch
309               xorg.conf(5) file option.
310

CONFIGURATION

312       Xorg typically uses a configuration file called xorg.conf and  configu‐
313       ration  files  with  the suffix .conf in a directory called xorg.conf.d
314       for its initial setup.  Refer  to  the  xorg.conf(5)  manual  page  for
315       information about the format of this file.
316
317       Xorg has a mechanism for automatically generating a built-in configura‐
318       tion at run-time when  no  xorg.conf  file  or  xorg.conf.d  files  are
319       present.  The current version of this automatic configuration mechanism
320       works in two ways.
321
322       The first is via enhancements that have made  many  components  of  the
323       xorg.conf  file  optional.   This  means  that  information that can be
324       probed or reasonably deduced doesn't need to be  specified  explicitly,
325       greatly  reducing the amount of built-in configuration information that
326       needs to be generated at run-time.
327
328       The second is to have "safe" fallbacks for most configuration  informa‐
329       tion.  This maximises the likelihood that the Xorg server will start up
330       in some usable configuration even when information about  the  specific
331       hardware is not available.
332
333       The  automatic  configuration support for Xorg is work in progress.  It
334       is currently aimed at the most popular hardware and software  platforms
335       supported by Xorg.  Enhancements are planned for future releases.
336

FILES

338       The  Xorg  server  config  files  can be found in a range of locations.
339       These are documented fully in the xorg.conf(5) manual page.   The  most
340       commonly used locations are shown here.
341
342       /etc/X11/xorg.conf            Server configuration file.
343
344       /etc/X11/xorg.conf-4          Server configuration file.
345
346       /etc/xorg.conf                Server configuration file.
347
348       /usr/etc/xorg.conf            Server configuration file.
349
350       /usr/lib/X11/xorg.conf        Server configuration file.
351
352       /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d          Server configuration directory.
353
354       /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d-4        Server configuration directory.
355
356       /etc/xorg.conf.d              Server configuration directory.
357
358       /usr/etc/xorg.conf.d          Server configuration directory.
359
360       /usr/lib/X11/xorg.conf.d      Server configuration directory.
361
362       /var/log/Xorg.n.log           Server log file for display n.
363
364       /usr/bin/∗                    Client binaries.
365
366       /usr/include/∗                Header files.
367
368       /usr/lib/∗                    Libraries.
369
370       /usr/share/fonts/X11/∗        Fonts.
371
372       /usr/share/X11/XErrorDB       Client error message database.
373
374       /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/∗   Client resource specifications.
375
376       /usr/share/man/man?/∗         Manual pages.
377
378       /etc/Xn.hosts                 Initial  access  control list for display
379                                     n.
380

SEE ALSO

382       X(7), Xserver(1), xdm(1), xinit(1),  xorg.conf(5),  xvidtune(1),  xkey‐
383       board-config   (7),  apm(4),  ati(4),  chips(4),  cirrus(4),  cyrix(4),
384       fbdev(4), glide(4), glint(4),  i128(4),  i740(4),  imstt(4),  intel(4),
385       mga(4),  neomagic(4),  nsc(4),  nv(4),  openchrome (4), r128(4), rendi‐
386       tion(4), s3virge(4), siliconmotion(4), sis(4),  sunbw2(4),  suncg14(4),
387       suncg3(4), suncg6(4), sunffb(4), sunleo(4), suntcx(4), tdfx(4), tga(4),
388       trident(4), tseng(4), v4l(4), vesa(4), vmware(4),
389       Web site <http://www.x.org>.
390
391

AUTHORS

393       Xorg has many contributors world wide.  The names of most of  them  can
394       be  found in the documentation, ChangeLog files in the source tree, and
395       in the actual source code.
396
397       Xorg was originally based on XFree86 4.4rc2.  That was originally based
398       on  X386  1.2 by Thomas Roell, which was contributed to the then X Con‐
399       sortium's X11R5 distribution by SGCS.
400
401       Xorg is released by the X.Org Foundation.
402
403       The project that became XFree86 was originally founded in 1992 by David
404       Dawes, Glenn Lai, Jim Tsillas and David Wexelblat.
405
406       XFree86  was  later integrated in the then X Consortium's X11R6 release
407       by a group of dedicated XFree86 developers, including the following:
408
409           Stuart Anderson    anderson@metrolink.com
410           Doug Anson         danson@lgc.com
411           Gertjan Akkerman   akkerman@dutiba.twi.tudelft.nl
412           Mike Bernson       mike@mbsun.mlb.org
413           Robin Cutshaw      robin@XFree86.org
414           David Dawes        dawes@XFree86.org
415           Marc Evans         marc@XFree86.org
416           Pascal Haible      haible@izfm.uni-stuttgart.de
417           Matthieu Herrb     Matthieu.Herrb@laas.fr
418           Dirk Hohndel       hohndel@XFree86.org
419           David Holland      davidh@use.com
420           Alan Hourihane     alanh@fairlite.demon.co.uk
421           Jeffrey Hsu        hsu@soda.berkeley.edu
422           Glenn Lai          glenn@cs.utexas.edu
423           Ted Lemon          mellon@ncd.com
424           Rich Murphey       rich@XFree86.org
425           Hans Nasten        nasten@everyware.se
426           Mark Snitily       mark@sgcs.com
427           Randy Terbush      randyt@cse.unl.edu
428           Jon Tombs          tombs@XFree86.org
429           Kees Verstoep      versto@cs.vu.nl
430           Paul Vixie         paul@vix.com
431           Mark Weaver        Mark_Weaver@brown.edu
432           David Wexelblat    dwex@XFree86.org
433           Philip Wheatley    Philip.Wheatley@ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM
434           Thomas Wolfram     wolf@prz.tu-berlin.de
435           Orest Zborowski    orestz@eskimo.com
436
437       Xorg source is available from the FTP  server  <ftp://ftp.x.org/>,  and
438       from  the X.Org server <http://gitweb.freedesktop.org/>.  Documentation
439       and  other  information  can  be  found  from  the   X.Org   web   site
440       <http://www.x.org/>.
441
442
444       Xorg is copyright software, provided under licenses that permit modifi‐
445       cation and redistribution in source and binary form without fee.   Xorg
446       is  copyright  by  numerous  authors  and  contributors from around the
447       world.  Licensing  information  can  be  found  at  <http://www.x.org>.
448       Refer to the source code for specific copyright notices.
449
450       XFree86(TM) is a trademark of The XFree86 Project, Inc.
451
452       X11(TM) and X Window System(TM) are trademarks of The Open Group.
453
454
455
456X Version 11                  xorg-server 1.20.1                       Xorg(1)
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