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 temporary files containing authentication keys (although anyone spy-
       ing 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 (~/), con-
       taining 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/.Xauthority (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 specified 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/.Xauthor-
       ity 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 net-
       work, mkxauth can gzip(1) your .Xauthority file before retrieving it via rsh(1).  To do this, use mkxauth -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 gener-
       ating .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 <jmknoble@redhat.com>.  Copyright 1996 by Jim Knoble and Red Hat Software.  Distributed 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)