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  Al‐
25       pha,  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 de‐
52       faults.  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 op‐
56       tions and environment variables (and some defaults) are described  here
57       and in the Xserver(1) manual page.  Most configuration file parameters,
58       with their defaults, are described in  the  xorg.conf(5)  manual  page.
59       Driver  and  module  specific configuration parameters are described in
60       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 op‐
99               tion will work for any directory when the server is run as root
100               (i.e, with real-uid 0), or for directories relative to a direc‐
101               tory in the config directory search path for all other users.
102
103       -configure
104               When this option is specified, the Xorg server loads all  video
105               driver  modules,  probes for available hardware, and writes out
106               an initial xorg.conf(5) file based on what was detected.   This
107               option  currently  has  some problems on some platforms, but in
108               most cases it is a good  way  to  bootstrap  the  configuration
109               process.   This option is only available when the server is run
110               as root (i.e, with real-uid 0).
111
112       -crt /dev/ttyXX
113               SCO only.  This is the same as the vt option, and  is  provided
114               for compatibility with the native SCO X server.
115
116       -depth n
117               Sets  the  default  color depth.  Legal values are 1, 4, 8, 15,
118               16, and 24.  Not all drivers support all values.
119
120       -disableVidMode
121               Disable the parts of the VidMode extension (used by  the  xvid‐
122               tune  client) that can be used to change the video modes.  This
123               is equivalent to the DisableVidModeExtension xorg.conf(5)  file
124               option.
125
126       -fbbpp n
127               Sets the number of framebuffer bits per pixel.  You should only
128               set this if you're sure it's necessary; normally the server can
129               deduce the correct value from -depth above.  Useful if you want
130               to run a depth 24  configuration  with  a  24  bpp  framebuffer
131               rather  than the (possibly default) 32 bpp framebuffer (or vice
132               versa).  Legal values are 1, 8, 16, 24, 32.   Not  all  drivers
133               support all values.
134
135       -flipPixels
136               Swap the default values for the black and white pixels.
137
138       -gamma value
139               Set  the  gamma  correction.  value must be between 0.1 and 10.
140               The default is 1.0.  This value is applied equally to the R,  G
141               and  B  values.  Those values can be set independently with the
142               -rgamma, -bgamma, and -ggamma options.  Not all drivers support
143               this.
144
145       -ggamma value
146               Set  the green gamma correction.  value must be between 0.1 and
147               10.  The default is 1.0.  Not all drivers  support  this.   See
148               also the -gamma, -rgamma, and -bgamma options.
149
150       -ignoreABI
151               The  Xorg  server checks the ABI revision levels of each module
152               that it loads.  It will normally refuse to  load  modules  with
153               ABI  revisions  that  are newer than the server's.  This is be‐
154               cause such modules might use interfaces that  the  server  does
155               not  have.  When this option is specified, mismatches like this
156               are downgraded from fatal  errors  to  warnings.   This  option
157               should be used with care.
158
159       -isolateDevice bus-id
160               Restrict  device  resets  to  the device at bus-id.  The bus-id
161               string  has   the   form   bustype:bus:device:function   (e.g.,
162               ‘PCI:1:0:0’).   At  present,  only  isolation of PCI devices is
163               supported; i.e., this option is ignored if bustype is  anything
164               other than ‘PCI’.
165
166       -keeptty
167               Prevent  the server from detaching its initial controlling ter‐
168               minal. If you want to use systemd-logind integration  you  must
169               specify  this  option.   Not all platforms support (or can use)
170               this option.
171
172       -keyboard keyboard-name
173               Use the xorg.conf(5) file InputDevice section called  keyboard-
174               name  as  the  core  keyboard.  This option is ignored when the
175               Layout section specifies a core keyboard.  In  the  absence  of
176               both  a  Layout section and this option, the first relevant In‐
177               putDevice section is used for the core keyboard.
178
179       -layout layout-name
180               Use the xorg.conf(5) file Layout  section  called  layout-name.
181               By default the first Layout section is used.
182
183       -logfile filename
184               Use  the file called filename as the Xorg server log file.  The
185               default log file when running as  root  is  /var/log/Xorg.n.log
186               and  for  non root it is $XDG_DATA_HOME/xorg/Xorg.n.log where n
187               is the display number of the Xorg server.  The default  may  be
188               in  a  different  directory  on some platforms.  This option is
189               only available when the server is run as root (i.e, with  real-
190               uid 0).
191
192       -logverbose [n]
193               Sets  the  verbosity  level for information printed to the Xorg
194               server log file.  If the n value isn't  supplied,  each  occur‐
195               rence  of  this option increments the log file verbosity level.
196               When the n value is supplied, the log file verbosity  level  is
197               set to that value.  The default log file verbosity level is 3.
198
199       -modulepath searchpath
200               Set  the  module  search  path  to searchpath.  searchpath is a
201               comma separated list of directories to search for  Xorg  server
202               modules.   This option is only available when the server is run
203               as root (i.e, with real-uid 0).
204
205       -noautoBindGPU
206               Disable automatically setting secondary GPUs up as output sinks
207               and  offload  sources.  This is equivalent to setting the Auto‐
208               BindGPU xorg.conf(5) file option. To false.
209
210       -nosilk Disable Silken Mouse support.
211
212       -novtswitch
213               Disable the automatic switching on X server reset and  shutdown
214               to the VT that was active when the server started, if supported
215               by the OS.
216
217       -pointer pointer-name
218               Use the xorg.conf(5) file InputDevice section  called  pointer-
219               name as the core pointer.  This option is ignored when the Lay‐
220               out section specifies a core pointer.  In the absence of both a
221               Layout  section and this option, the first relevant InputDevice
222               section is used for the core pointer.
223
224       -quiet  Suppress most informational messages at startup.  The verbosity
225               level is set to zero.
226
227       -rgamma value
228               Set  the  red  gamma correction.  value must be between 0.1 and
229               10.  The default is 1.0.  Not all drivers  support  this.   See
230               also the -gamma, -bgamma, and -ggamma options.
231
232       -sharevts
233               Share  virtual terminals with another X server, if supported by
234               the OS.
235
236       -screen screen-name
237               Use the xorg.conf(5) file Screen  section  called  screen-name.
238               By default the screens referenced by the default Layout section
239               are used, or the first Screen section when there are no  Layout
240               sections.
241
242       -showconfig
243               This  is  the  same as the -version option, and is included for
244               compatibility reasons.  It may be removed in a future  release,
245               so the -version option should be used instead.
246
247       -showDefaultModulePath
248               Print out the default module path the server was compiled with.
249
250       -showDefaultLibPath
251               Print out the path libraries should be installed to.
252
253       -showopts
254               For each driver module installed, print out the list of options
255               and their argument types.
256
257       -weight nnn
258               Set RGB weighting at 16 bpp.  The default is 565.  This applies
259               only to those drivers which support 16 bpp.
260
261       -verbose [n]
262               Sets the verbosity level for information printed on stderr.  If
263               the n value isn't supplied, each occurrence of this option  in‐
264               crements  the  verbosity  level.  When the n value is supplied,
265               the verbosity level is set to that  value.   The  default  ver‐
266               bosity level is 0.
267
268       -version
269               Print out the server version, patchlevel, release date, the op‐
270               erating system/platform it was built on,  and  whether  it  in‐
271               cludes module loader support.
272

KEYBOARD

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

CONFIGURATION

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

FILES

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

SEE ALSO

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

AUTHORS

392       Xorg  has  many contributors world wide.  The names of most of them can
393       be found in the documentation, ChangeLog files in the source tree,  and
394       in the actual source code.
395
396       Xorg was originally based on XFree86 4.4rc2.  That was originally based
397       on X386 1.2 by Thomas Roell, which was contributed to the then  X  Con‐
398       sortium's X11R5 distribution by SGCS.
399
400       Xorg is released by the X.Org Foundation.
401
402       The project that became XFree86 was originally founded in 1992 by David
403       Dawes, Glenn Lai, Jim Tsillas and David Wexelblat.
404
405       XFree86 was later integrated in the then X Consortium's  X11R6  release
406       by a group of dedicated XFree86 developers, including the following:
407
408           Stuart Anderson    anderson@metrolink.com
409           Doug Anson         danson@lgc.com
410           Gertjan Akkerman   akkerman@dutiba.twi.tudelft.nl
411           Mike Bernson       mike@mbsun.mlb.org
412           Robin Cutshaw      robin@XFree86.org
413           David Dawes        dawes@XFree86.org
414           Marc Evans         marc@XFree86.org
415           Pascal Haible      haible@izfm.uni-stuttgart.de
416           Matthieu Herrb     Matthieu.Herrb@laas.fr
417           Dirk Hohndel       hohndel@XFree86.org
418           David Holland      davidh@use.com
419           Alan Hourihane     alanh@fairlite.demon.co.uk
420           Jeffrey Hsu        hsu@soda.berkeley.edu
421           Glenn Lai          glenn@cs.utexas.edu
422           Ted Lemon          mellon@ncd.com
423           Rich Murphey       rich@XFree86.org
424           Hans Nasten        nasten@everyware.se
425           Mark Snitily       mark@sgcs.com
426           Randy Terbush      randyt@cse.unl.edu
427           Jon Tombs          tombs@XFree86.org
428           Kees Verstoep      versto@cs.vu.nl
429           Paul Vixie         paul@vix.com
430           Mark Weaver        Mark_Weaver@brown.edu
431           David Wexelblat    dwex@XFree86.org
432           Philip Wheatley    Philip.Wheatley@ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM
433           Thomas Wolfram     wolf@prz.tu-berlin.de
434           Orest Zborowski    orestz@eskimo.com
435
436       Xorg  source  is  available from the FTP server <ftp://ftp.x.org/>, and
437       from the X.Org server <https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/>.  Documen‐
438       tation  and  other  information  can  be  found from the X.Org web site
439       <https://www.x.org/>.
440
441
443       Xorg is copyright software, provided under licenses that permit modifi‐
444       cation  and redistribution in source and binary form without fee.  Xorg
445       is copyright by numerous  authors  and  contributors  from  around  the
446       world.  Licensing information can be found at <https://www.x.org>.  Re‐
447       fer to the source code for specific copyright notices.
448
449       XFree86(TM) is a trademark of The XFree86 Project, Inc.
450
451       X11(TM) and X Window System(TM) are trademarks of The Open Group.
452
453
454
455X Version 11                  xorg-server 1.20.14                      Xorg(1)
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