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 LynxOS, and GNU Hurd. Darwin and Mac OS X are
30 supported with the XDarwin(1) X server. Win32/Cygwin is supported with
31 the XWin(1) X 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 TCPIP
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 file, 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 such as Linux, BSD, SVR3 and SVR4, that have vir‐
101 tual terminal support.
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 -allowNonLocalModInDev
109 Allow changes to keyboard and mouse settings from non-local
110 clients. By default, connections from non-local clients are
111 not allowed to do this. This is equivalent to the AllowNonLo‐
112 calModInDev [22mxorg.conf(5) file option.
113 -allowNonLocalXvidtune
115 Make the VidMode extension available to remote clients. This
116 allows the xvidtune client to connect from another host. This
117 is equivalent to the AllowNonLocalXvidtune [22mxorg.conf(5) file
118 option. By default non-local connections are not allowed.
119 -bgamma value
121 Set the blue gamma correction. value must be between 0.1 and
122 10. The default is 1.0. Not all drivers support this. See
123 also the -gamma, -rgamma, and -ggamma options.
124 -bpp n No longer supported. Use -depth to set the color depth, and
126 use -fbbpp if you really need to force a non-default frame‐
127 buffer (hardware) pixel format.
128 -configure
130 When this option is specified, the Xorg server loads all video
131 driver modules, probes for available hardware, and writes out
132 an initial xorg.conf(5) file based on what was detected. This
133 option currently has some problems on some platforms, but in
134 most cases it is a good way to bootstrap the configuration
135 process. This option is only available when the server is run
136 as root (i.e, with real-uid 0).
137 -crt /dev/ttyXX
139 SCO only. This is the same as the vt option, and is provided
140 for compatibility with the native SCO X server.
141 -depth n
143 Sets the default color depth. Legal values are 1, 4, 8, 15,
144 16, and 24. Not all drivers support all values.
145 -disableModInDev
147 Disable dynamic modification of input device settings. This is
148 equivalent to the DisableModInDev [22mxorg.conf(5) file option.
149 -disableVidMode
151 Disable the the parts of the VidMode extension (used by the
152 xvidtune client) that can be used to change the video modes.
153 This is equivalent to the DisableVidModeExtension [22mxorg.conf(5)
154 file option.
155 -fbbpp n
157 Sets the number of framebuffer bits per pixel. You should only
158 set this if you're sure it's necessary; normally the server can
159 deduce the correct value from -depth above. Useful if you want
160 to run a depth 24 configuration with a 24 bpp framebuffer
161 rather than the (possibly default) 32 bpp framebuffer (or vice
162 versa). Legal values are 1, 8, 16, 24, 32. Not all drivers
163 support all values.
164 -flipPixels
166 Swap the default values for the black and white pixels.
167 -gamma value
169 Set the gamma correction. value must be between 0.1 and 10.
170 The default is 1.0. This value is applied equally to the R, G
171 and B values. Those values can be set independently with the
172 -rgamma, -bgamma, and -ggamma options. Not all drivers support
173 this.
174 -ggamma value
176 Set the green gamma correction. value must be between 0.1 and
177 10. The default is 1.0. Not all drivers support this. See
178 also the -gamma, -rgamma, and -bgamma options.
179 -ignoreABI
181 The Xorg server checks the ABI revision levels of each module
182 that it loads. It will normally refuse to load modules with
183 ABI revisions that are newer than the server's. This is
184 because such modules might use interfaces that the server does
185 not have. When this option is specified, mismatches like this
186 are downgraded from fatal errors to warnings. This option
187 should be used with care.
188 -isolateDevice bus-id
190 Restrict device resets to the device at bus-id. The bus-id
191 string has the form bustype:bus:device:function (e.g.,
192 ‘PCI:1:0:0’). At present, only isolation of PCI devices is
193 supported; i.e., this option is ignored if bustype is anything
194 other than ‘PCI’.
195 -keeptty
197 Prevent the server from detaching its initial controlling ter‐
198 minal. This option is only useful when debugging the server.
199 Not all platforms support (or can use) this option.
200 -keyboard keyboard-name
202 Use the xorg.conf(5) file InputDevice section called keyboard-
203 name as the core keyboard. This option is ignored when the
204 Layout section specifies a core keyboard. In the absence of
205 both a Layout section and this option, the first relevant
206 InputDevice section is used for the core keyboard.
207 -layout layout-name
209 Use the xorg.conf(5) file Layout section called layout-name.
210 By default the first Layout section is used.
211 -logfile filename
213 Use the file called filename as the Xorg server log file. The
214 default log file is /var/log/Xorg.n.log on most platforms,
215 where n is the display number of the Xorg server. The default
216 may be in a different directory on some platforms. This option
217 is only available when the server is run as root (i.e, with
218 real-uid 0).
219 -logverbose [n]
221 Sets the verbosity level for information printed to the Xorg
222 server log file. If the n value isn't supplied, each occur‐
223 rence of this option increments the log file verbosity level.
224 When the n value is supplied, the log file verbosity level is
225 set to that value. The default log file verbosity level is 3.
226 -modulepath searchpath
228 Set the module search path to searchpath. searchpath is a
229 comma separated list of directories to search for Xorg server
230 modules. This option is only available when the server is run
231 as root (i.e, with real-uid 0).
232 -nosilk Disable Silken Mouse support.
234 -pixmap24
236 Set the internal pixmap format for depth 24 pixmaps to 24 bits
237 per pixel. The default is usually 32 bits per pixel. There is
238 normally little reason to use this option. Some client appli‐
239 cations don't like this pixmap format, even though it is a per‐
240 fectly legal format. This is equivalent to the Pixmap
241 xorg.conf(5) file option.
242 -pixmap32
244 Set the internal pixmap format for depth 24 pixmaps to 32 bits
245 per pixel. This is usually the default. This is equivalent to
246 the Pixmap [22mxorg.conf(5) file option.
247 -pointer pointer-name
249 Use the xorg.conf(5) file InputDevice section called pointer-
250 name as the core pointer. This option is ignored when the Lay‐
251 out section specifies a core pointer. In the absence of both a
252 Layout section and this option, the first relevant InputDevice
253 section is used for the core pointer.
254 -probeonly
256 Causes the server to exit after the device probing stage. The
257 xorg.conf(5) file is still used when this option is given, so
258 information that can be auto-detected should be commented out.
259 -quiet Suppress most informational messages at startup. The verbosity
261 level is set to zero.
262 -rgamma value
264 Set the red gamma correction. value must be between 0.1 and
265 10. The default is 1.0. Not all drivers support this. See
266 also the -gamma, -bgamma, and -ggamma options.
267 -scanpci
269 When this option is specified, the Xorg server scans the PCI
270 bus, and prints out some information about each device that was
271 detected. See also scanpci(1) and pcitweak(1).
272 -screen screen-name
274 Use the xorg.conf(5) file Screen section called screen-name.
275 By default the screens referenced by the default Layout section
276 are used, or the first Screen section when there are no Layout
277 sections.
278 -showconfig
280 This is the same as the -version option, and is included for
281 compatibility reasons. It may be removed in a future release,
282 so the -version option should be used instead.
283 -weight nnn
285 Set RGB weighting at 16 bpp. The default is 565. This applies
286 only to those drivers which support 16 bpp.
287 -verbose [n]
289 Sets the verbosity level for information printed on stderr. If
290 the n value isn't supplied, each occurrence of this option
291 increments the verbosity level. When the n value is supplied,
292 the verbosity level is set to that value. The default ver‐
293 bosity level is 0.
294 -version
296 Print out the server version, patchlevel, release date, the
297 operating system/platform it was built on, and whether it
298 includes module loader support.
299 -showDefaultModulePath
301 Print out the default module path the server was compiled with.
302 -showDefaultLibPath
304 Print out the path libraries should be installed to.
305 -config file
307 Read the server configuration from file. This option will work
308 for any file when the server is run as root (i.e, with real-uid
309 0), or for files relative to a directory in the config search
310 path for all other users.
311
313 The Xorg server is normally configured to recognize various special
314 combinations of key presses that instruct the server to perform some
315 action, rather than just sending the key press event to a client appli‐
316 cation. The default XKEYBOARD keymap defines the key combinations
317 listed below. The server also has these key combinations builtin to
318 its event handler for cases where the XKEYBOARD extension is not being
319 used. When using the XKEYBOARD extension, which key combinations per‐
320 form which actions is completely configurable.
321 For more information about when the builtin event handler is used to
323 recognize the special key combinations, see the documentation on the
324 HandleSpecialKeys option in the xorg.conf(5) man page.
325 The special combinations of key presses recognized directly by Xorg
327 are:
328 Ctrl+Alt+Backspace
330 Immediately kills the server -- no questions asked. This can
331 be disabled with the DontZap [22mxorg.conf(5) file option.
332 Ctrl+Alt+Keypad-Plus
334 Change video mode to next one specified in the configuration
335 file. This can be disabled with the DontZoom [22mxorg.conf(5) file
336 option.
337 Ctrl+Alt+Keypad-Minus
339 Change video mode to previous one specified in the configura‐
340 tion file. This can be disabled with the DontZoom [22mxorg.conf(5)
341 file option.
342 Ctrl+Alt+Keypad-Multiply
344 Not treated specially by default. If the AllowClosedownGrabs
345 xorg.conf(5) file option is specified, this key sequence kills
346 clients with an active keyboard or mouse grab as well as
347 killing any application that may have locked the server, nor‐
348 mally using the XGrabServer(3) Xlib function.
349 Ctrl+Alt+Keypad-Divide
351 Not treated specially by default. If the AllowDeactivateGrabs
352 xorg.conf(5) file option is specified, this key sequence deac‐
353 tivates any active keyboard and mouse grabs.
354 Ctrl+Alt+F1...F12
356 For BSD and Linux systems with virtual terminal support, these
357 keystroke combinations are used to switch to virtual terminals
358 1 through 12, respectively. This can be disabled with the
359 DontVTSwitch [22mxorg.conf(5) file option.
360
362 Xorg typically uses a configuration file called xorg.conf for its ini‐
363 tial setup. Refer to the xorg.conf(5) manual page for information
364 about the format of this file.
365 Xorg has a mechanism for automatically generating a built-in configura‐
367 tion at run-time when no xorg.conf file is present. The current ver‐
368 sion of this automatic configuration mechanism works in two ways.
369 The first is via enhancements that have made many components of the
371 xorg.conf file optional. This means that information that can be
372 probed or reasonably deduced doesn't need to be specified explicitly,
373 greatly reducing the amount of built-in configuration information that
374 needs to be generated at run-time.
375 The second is to have "safe" fallbacks for most configuration informa‐
377 tion. This maximises the likelihood that the Xorg server will start up
378 in some usable configuration even when information about the specific
379 hardware is not available.
380 The automatic configuration support for Xorg is work in progress. It
382 is currently aimed at the most popular hardware and software platforms
383 supported by Xorg. Enhancements are planned for future releases.
384
386 The Xorg server config file can be found in a range of locations.
387 These are documented fully in the xorg.conf(5) manual page. The most
388 commonly used locations are shown here.
389 /etc/X11/xorg.conf Server configuration file.
391 /etc/X11/xorg.conf-4 Server configuration file.
393 /etc/xorg.conf Server configuration file.
395 /usr/etc/xorg.conf Server configuration file.
397 /usr/lib/X11/xorg.conf Server configuration file.
399 /var/log/Xorg.n.log Server log file for display n.
401 /usr/bin/∗ Client binaries.
403 /usr/include/∗ Header files.
405 /usr/lib/∗ Libraries.
407 /usr/lib/X11/fonts/∗ Fonts.
409 /usr/share/X11/rgb.txt Color names to RGB mapping.
411 /usr/share/X11/XErrorDB Client error message database.
413 /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/∗ Client resource specifications.
415 /usr/man/man?/∗ Manual pages.
417 /etc/Xn.hosts Initial access control list for display
419 n.
420
422 X(7), Xserver(1), xdm(1), xinit(1), xorg.conf(5), xorgconfig(1),
423 xorgcfg(1), xvidtune(1), apm(4), ati(4), chips(4), cirrus(4), cyrix(4),
424 fbdev(4), glide(4), glint(4), i128(4), i740(4), i810(4), imstt(4),
425 mga(4), neomagic(4), nsc(4), nv(4), r128(4), rendition(4), s3virge(4),
426 siliconmotion(4), sis(4), sunbw2(4), suncg14(4), suncg3(4), suncg6(4),
427 sunffb(4), sunleo(4), suntcx(4), tdfx(4), tga(4), trident(4), tseng(4),
428 v4l(4), vesa(4), vga(4), vmware(4),
429 Web site <http://www.x.org>.
430
433 Xorg has many contributors world wide. The names of most of them can
434 be found in the documentation, CHANGELOG files in the source tree, and
435 in the actual source code.
436 Xorg was originally based on XFree86 4.4rc2. That was originally based
438 on X386 1.2 by Thomas Roell, which was contributed to the then X Con‐
439 sortium's X11R5 distribution by SGCS.
440 Xorg is released by the X.Org Foundation.
442 The project that became XFree86 was originally founded in 1992 by David
444 Dawes, Glenn Lai, Jim Tsillas and David Wexelblat.
445 XFree86 was later integrated in the then X Consortium's X11R6 release
447 by a group of dedicated XFree86 developers, including the following:
448 Stuart Anderson anderson@metrolink.com
450 Doug Anson danson@lgc.com
451 Gertjan Akkerman akkerman@dutiba.twi.tudelft.nl
452 Mike Bernson mike@mbsun.mlb.org
453 Robin Cutshaw robin@XFree86.org
454 David Dawes dawes@XFree86.org
455 Marc Evans marc@XFree86.org
456 Pascal Haible haible@izfm.uni-stuttgart.de
457 Matthieu Herrb Matthieu.Herrb@laas.fr
458 Dirk Hohndel hohndel@XFree86.org
459 David Holland davidh@use.com
460 Alan Hourihane alanh@fairlite.demon.co.uk
461 Jeffrey Hsu hsu@soda.berkeley.edu
462 Glenn Lai glenn@cs.utexas.edu
463 Ted Lemon mellon@ncd.com
464 Rich Murphey rich@XFree86.org
465 Hans Nasten nasten@everyware.se
466 Mark Snitily mark@sgcs.com
467 Randy Terbush randyt@cse.unl.edu
468 Jon Tombs tombs@XFree86.org
469 Kees Verstoep versto@cs.vu.nl
470 Paul Vixie paul@vix.com
471 Mark Weaver Mark_Weaver@brown.edu
472 David Wexelblat dwex@XFree86.org
473 Philip Wheatley Philip.Wheatley@ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM
474 Thomas Wolfram wolf@prz.tu-berlin.de
475 Orest Zborowski orestz@eskimo.com
476 Xorg source is available from the FTP server <ftp://ftp.x.org/>, and
478 from the X.Org server <http://gitweb.freedesktop.org/>. Documentation
479 and other information can be found from the X.Org web site
480 <http://www.x.org/>.
481
484 Xorg is copyright software, provided under licenses that permit modifi‐
485 cation and redistribution in source and binary form without fee. Xorg
486 is copyright by numerous authors and contributors from around the
487 world. Licensing information can be found at <http://www.x.org>.
488 Refer to the source code for specific copyright notices.
489 XFree86(TM) is a trademark of The XFree86 Project, Inc.
491 X11(TM) and X Window System(TM) are trademarks of The Open Group.
493X Version 11 xorg-server 1.3.0.0 Xorg(1)