xauth

X11 authorization credential management

TLDR

List all authorization entries

$ xauth list

Display authority file info

$ xauth info

Add an authorization entry

$ xauth add [display_name] [protocol_name] [hex_key]

Generate a new authorization entry via the server

$ xauth generate [display_name] [protocol_name]

Remove an authorization entry

$ xauth remove [display_name]

Extract entry for the current display to a file

$ xauth extract [path/to/file] $DISPLAY

Merge entries from a file

$ xauth merge [path/to/file]

Use a specific authority file

$ xauth -f [path/to/file] list

SYNOPSIS

xauth [options] [command [args]]

xauth edits and displays the authorization information used for connecting to X servers. It manages the ~/.Xauthority file (or the file specified by the XAUTHORITY environment variable) which contains credentials for X11 authentication.The tool is commonly used to extract authorization records from one machine and merge them on another for remote display access, X11 forwarding over SSH, and managing X security.

PARAMETERS

-f FILE

Use the specified authority file instead of ~/.Xauthority.

-v

Verbose mode. Print status messages for operations.

-q

Quiet mode. Suppress unsolicited status messages.

-i

Ignore authority file locks.

-b

Attempt to break stale authority file locks.

-n

Do not resolve hostnames; display stored addresses directly.

-V

Display the xauth version number.

COMMANDS

add DISPLAY PROTOCOL HEXKEY

Add an authorization entry for the indicated display.

generate DISPLAY PROTOCOL [options]

Contact the server to generate and add an authorization entry.

remove DISPLAY

Remove matching authorization entries.

list [DISPLAY]

List authorization entries (all if no display specified).

nlist [DISPLAY]

List entries in numeric format.

extract FILE DISPLAY

Write authorization entries to a file.

nextract FILE DISPLAY

Extract entries in numeric format for non-binary transmission.

merge FILE...

Read and merge authorization entries from files.

nmerge FILE...

Merge entries in numeric format.

source FILE

Execute xauth commands from a script file.

info

Display information about the authority file.

exit

Save changes and exit.

quit

Exit without saving changes.

help

List available commands.

CAVEATS

Authority files contain sensitive credentials and should have restrictive permissions (readable only by the owner). X11 forwarding with SSH requires proper xauth setup. The program does not contact the X server except when the `generate` command is used.