Ubuntu – How to create the .Xauthority file

xorg

I don't have a .Xauthority file in my home folder. I want to create it, please tell me the steps to do so in ubuntu 10.10.

Thank You!

Best Answer

In Ubuntu 10.10 there's no longer a ~/.Xauthority file. Instead you'll find the equivalent in

/var/run/gdm/auth-for-<USER>-<RANDOM_CHARACTERS>/database

which will be re-created with new random characters on every session start. You can get its name via the $XAUTHORITY environment variable.

If you need a ~/.Xauthority file to be present, I guess you can simply create a symbolic link to $AUTHORITY on every session start:

  1. Open System > Preferences > Startup Applications

  2. Click on Add :

    • Name: Xauthority
    • Command: /bin/bash -c 'ln -s -f "$XAUTHORITY" ~/.Xauthority'
    • Comment: Creates a symbolic link from ~/.Xauthority to $XAUTHORITY

    and add the entry by clicking on Add.

  3. Now every time you log in, it should create the link to the current authority file.