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



NAME
       mkxauth - create and merge .Xauthority files

SYNOPSIS
       (1) mkxauth [ -q ] [ -u login ] -c [ host [ host ... ] ]

       (2) mkxauth [ -q ] [ -u login ] -m login

       (3) mkxauth [ -q ] [ -u login ] -f host

       (4) mkxauth [ -q ] [ -u login ] -r host [ -l login ]

       (5) mkxauth [ -q ] [ -u login ] -z host [ -l login ]

DESCRIPTION
       mkxauth  aids  in  the  creation  and  maintenance of X authentication databases (.Xauthority files).  Use it to create a
       ~/.Xauthority file or merge keys from another local  or  remote  .Xauthority  file.   Remote  .Xauthority  files  can  be
       retrieved  via  FTP (using ncftp(1)) or via rsh(1).  For a slight measure of security, mkxauth does not create any tempo-
       rary files containing authentication keys (although anyone spying on network packets can see the authentication key  data
       as they pass through the network; for secure network communications, use ssh(1)).

   Creating and Adding to a .Xauthority File
       To  create  a  .Xauthority  file,  use mkxauth -c (see (1) above).  mkxauth creates a .Xauthority file in the user's home
       directory (~/), containing a `key' or `magic cookie' for the host it was run on (the one returned by hostname(1)).  If  a
       .Xauthority file already exists, the keys are added to it.  If keys for that host already exist, they are replaced.

       To  create or add to a .Xauthority file for another user, use mkxauth -u login -c.  mkxauth adds keys to ~login/.Xauthor-
       ity (only the root user is allowed to do this).

       To add a key for more than one host, specify all hosts on the command line: mkxauth -c daffy porky bugs.  All hosts spec-
       ified  on  the same command line receive the same key.  To create different keys for multiple hosts, run mkxauth for each
       host in succession:

              mkxauth -c daffy
              mkxauth -c porky
              mkxauth -c bugs

   Merging Keys from Local .Xauthority Files
       To merge keys from another local user's .Xauthority file, use mkxauth -m login (see (2) above).  mkxauth adds the keys in
       ~login/.Xauthority  to ~/.Xauthority, replacing any keys which already exist.  ~login/.Xauthority must be readable by the
       user running mkxauth (normally only the root user can read other people's .Xauthority files).

   Merging Keys via FTP
       To merge keys from a remote .Xauthority file via FTP, use mkxauth -f host (see (3) above).  mkxauth retrieves the  remote
       .Xauthority  from  host  using  ncftp(1)  and  adds  those keys to ~/.Xauthority, replacing any keys which already exist.
       [NOTE: you must have a ~/.netrc file set up to automatically log you into host, otherwise  the  FTP  login  attempt  will
       fail.]

   Merging Keys via rsh(1)
       To merge keys from remote .Xauthority file via rsh(1), use mkxauth -r host (see (4) above).  mkxauth retrieves the remote
       .Xauthority from host using rsh(1) and adds those keys to ~/.Xauthority, replacing any  keys  which  already  exist.   To
       login as a different user, use -l login.  [NOTE: you must have a .rhosts file set up properly for this to work, otherwise
       the remote login attempt will fail].

   Merging Keys via rsh(1) and gzip(1)
       If your remote .Xauthority file is large, or to make it slightly less obvious  that  you're  transferring  authentication
       keys  over  the network, mkxauth can gzip(1) your .Xauthority file before retrieving it via rsh(1).  To do this, use mkx-
       auth -z host (see (5) above).  mkxauth retrieves the remote .Xauthority from host using rsh(1) and  adds  those  keys  to
       ~/.Xauthority, replacing any keys which already exist.  To login as a different user, use -l login.  [NOTE: you must have
       a .rhosts file set up properly for this to work, otherwise the remote login attempt will fail].

   Options
       To make mkxauth operate quietly, use the -q option.

       To add to ~login/.Xauthority, use the -u login option.

       To use login for the remote login in mkxauth -f, mkxauth -r, and mkxauth -z, use the -l login option.

   Getting Help
       To get quick help about mkxauth, use mkxauth --help.

FILES
       ~/.Xauthority
       ~/.netrc
       ~/.rhosts

COMMENTS
       mkxauth is mostly useful for maintaining .Xauthority files in an environment which uses startx(1x).  xdm(1x) uses its own
       method  of  generating  .Xauthority  files.  However, mkxauth is still useful for transferring .Xauthority information to
       remote login sessions so that the user can display remote X clients on the local host without too much trouble.

       Note, however, that using rsh(1) is inherently insecure, and sites concerned about security  should  use  ssh(1)  instead
       (see http://www.cs.hut.fi/ssh/ for more information).

SEE ALSO
       X(1x), Xsecurity(1x), gzip(1), mcookie(1), md5sum(1), ncftp(1), rsh(1), startx(1x), xauth(1x), xdm(1x)

BUGS
       Does not respect the XAUTHORITY environment variable.

AUTHOR
       Conceived  and written by Jim Knoble <jmknobleATredhat.com>.  Copyright 1996 by Jim Knoble and Red Hat Software.  Distrib-
       uted under the GNU GPL (General Public License); see ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/COPYING for more information.



Red Hat Software                                           12-Dec-1996                                               mkxauth(1x)