xauth ☆
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Description:
X.Org Applications: xauth
Type: Formula  |  Tracked Since: Dec 28, 2025
Links: Homepage  |  formulae.brew.sh
Category: System utilities
Tags: x11 xorg authentication security graphics
Install: brew install xauth
About:
xauth is a command-line utility used to manage and manipulate Xauthority files, which store authentication cookies used by the X Window System. It allows users to merge, extract, and list these tokens, enabling secure remote display of graphical applications. This tool is essential for managing trusted connections between X clients and servers in multi-user or networked environments.
Key Features:
  • Extract authentication data from a remote server
  • Merge authentication tokens into local Xauthority files
  • List and remove entries from the Xauthority database
  • Supports both MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1 and XDM-AUTHORIZATION-1 protocols
Use Cases:
  • Enabling secure X11 forwarding over SSH sessions
  • Granting temporary access to a user's display for specific applications
  • Troubleshooting X11 authentication and connection issues
Alternatives:
  • ssh -X – Handles X11 forwarding automatically, but xauth provides lower-level control for complex scenarios.
Version History
Detected Version Rev Change Commit
Sep 11, 2025 10:08am 0 VERSION_BUMP 40667574
Nov 20, 2024 12:39am 0 VERSION_BUMP 1411c858
Feb 8, 2023 2:25pm 0 VERSION_BUMP 8eb568d1
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