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 authen-
       tication 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 spying on network packets can see  the  authentica-
       tion 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 host-
       name(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/.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 authentica-
       tion keys over the network, mkxauth can gzip(1) your .Xau-
       thority 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 prop-
       erly 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, mkx-
       auth is still useful for transferring .Xauthority informa-
       tion to remote login sessions so that the user can display
       remote  X clients on the local host without too much trou-
       ble.

       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  informa-
       tion).

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 lt;jmknoble@redhat.com.
       Copyright  1996  by Jim Knoble and Red Hat Software.  Dis-
       tributed under the GNU GPL (General Public  License);  see
       ftp://prep.ai.mit.edu/pub/gnu/COPYING  for  more  informa-
       tion.