macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install xauthlocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install xauthMacPorts ports tree · x11/xauth/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew / rank 920
Install xauth with Homebrew, apk, apt, MacPorts, Nix, zypper, dnf
X.Org Applications: xauth. Version 1.1.5 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with debian: sudo apt install xauth.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add xauthAlpine Linux edge package indexes · xauth · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install xauthDebian stable package indexes · xauth · source: deb.debian.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#xauthnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/xa/xauth/package.nix · source: api.github.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install xauthopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · xauth · source: download.opensuse.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install xorg-x11-xauthFedora Rawhide package metadata · xorg-x11-xauth · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
overview
Package summary
X.Org Applications: xauth
Project links
Commands and aliases
- xauth
history
Project history and usage
xauth is the X.Org X authority file utility. It edits and displays the authorization records used when X clients connect to an X server, especially records stored in the user's X authority file.
Project history
The xauth manual credits Jim Fulton of the MIT X Consortium as author, placing the utility in the long-running X11 security and display-access toolchain. The current upstream project is maintained as an X.Org application under freedesktop.org, where the GitLab project describes it as the 'X authority file utility.'
xauth was carried into the modular X.Org application set. X.Org's public release pages describe the post-X11R7.7 model in which individual modules are released independently, and the xauth repository follows that model with standalone tags such as xauth-1.0.3 in 2008 and later 1.1.x releases.
Adoption history
xauth became infrastructure rather than an end-user application: display managers, startx workflows, remote shells, and administrators use authority records so X clients can prove they are allowed to connect. Its persistence across X.Org releases, Unix distributions, and macOS X11 environments follows from that role.
The GitLab project shows the repository under the xorg/app namespace, and the mirrored cgit page lists a long X.Org history, older XFree86-era tags, and recent xauth release tags through xauth-1.1.5 in December 2025.
How it is used
The manual describes xauth commands such as add, generate, extract, merge, list, and remove. A typical remote workflow is to extract the record for the current DISPLAY and merge it on another host, as in the manual's ssh pipeline example.
xauth normally uses the file named by XAUTHORITY, falling back to $HOME/.Xauthority. It does not usually create the first authority entry itself; the program that starts the X server, such as xdm or startx, usually does that.
Why package nerds care
For package maintainers and Unix users, xauth is the tiny command that makes X11 forwarding and cross-user X sessions understandable and scriptable. It is one of those small X.Org packages whose value is disproportionate to its size because many remote-GUI workflows fail without a correct authority file.
Timeline
- MIT X Consortium era: xauth is authored as the X authority file utility by Jim Fulton.
- 2008: xauth 1.0.3 is announced on xorg-announce as an individual X.Org app release.
- 2012: X11R7.7 is released; X.Org later continues mostly with independent module releases.
- 2018: The freedesktop.org GitLab project page records creation of the xorg/app/xauth project.
- 2025: The cgit mirror lists xauth-1.1.4 and xauth-1.1.5 release tags.
Related projects
- The xauth manual points to X(7), Xsecurity(7), xhost(1), Xserver(1), xdm(1), startx(1), and Xau(3). In practice, xauth sits beside these X11 access-control and session-startup tools.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew bottle metadata was recorded.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
local files
Configuration and credential file locations
These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.
Credential files
Credential-bearing paths to review before unattended agent runs.
- Unix
$XAUTHORITY~/.Xauthority
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
xauth | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-08-03
manager version1.1.5
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:xauth |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.1.5 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://www.x.org/ |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
xauth 1:1.1.2-1.1
X authentication utility
sudo apt install xauth- Section: x11
- Architecture: amd64
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xauth
Nix95%
xauth
nix profile install nixpkgs#xauth- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xauth
Ubuntu apt95%
xauth 1:1.1.2-1build1
X authentication utility
sudo apt install xauth- Section: x11
- Architecture: amd64
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xauth
apk95%
xauth 1.1.5-r0
X.Org authorization settings program
sudo apk add xauth- License: custom
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: xauth
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xauth
apk95%
xauth-doc 1.1.5-r0
X.Org authorization settings program (documentation)
sudo apk add xauth-doc- License: custom
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: xauth
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xauth
dnf95%
xorg-x11-xauth 1.1.5-6.fc45
X.Org X11 X authority utilities
sudo dnf install xorg-x11-xauth- License: MIT-open-group
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: xorg-x11-xauth
- 6 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xauth
zypper95%
xauth 1.1.5-1.5
Utility to edit and display the X authorization information
sudo zypper install xauth- License: MIT
- Category: System/X11/Utilities
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: xauth
- 5 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xauth
MacPorts95%
xauth
sudo port install xauth- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xauth
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation