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Updated: Wednesday, July 27, 2022
 
 

Xorg (1)

Name

Xorg - X11R7 X server

Synopsis

Xorg [:display] [option ...]

Description

Xorg(1)                     General Commands Manual                    Xorg(1)



NAME
       Xorg - X11R7 X server

SYNOPSIS
       Xorg [:display] [option ...]

DESCRIPTION
       Xorg  is a full featured X server that was originally designed for UNIX
       and UNIX-like operating systems running on Intel x86 hardware.  It  now
       runs on a wider range of hardware and OS platforms.

       This  work  was  derived  by  the  X.Org  Foundation  from  the XFree86
       Project's XFree86 4.4rc2 release.  The XFree86 release  was  originally
       derived from X386 1.2 by Thomas Roell which was contributed to X11R5 by
       Snitily Graphics Consulting Service.

PLATFORMS
       Xorg operates under a wide range  of  operating  systems  and  hardware
       platforms.   The  Intel x86 (IA32) architecture is the most widely sup-
       ported hardware platform.   Other  hardware  platforms  include  Compaq
       Alpha, Intel IA64, AMD64, SPARC and PowerPC.  The most widely supported
       operating systems are the free/OpenSource  UNIX-like  systems  such  as
       Linux,  FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and Solaris.  Commercial UNIX operat-
       ing systems such as UnixWare are also supported.  Other supported oper-
       ating  systems  include  GNU  Hurd.   Mac  OS  X  is supported with the
       Xquartz(1) X server.  Win32/Cygwin is  supported  with  the  XWin(1)  X
       server.

NETWORK CONNECTIONS
       Xorg  supports  connections  made  using  the  following reliable byte-
       streams:

       Local
           On most platforms, the "Local" connection  type  is  a  UNIX-domain
           socket.   On  some System V platforms, the "local" connection types
           also include STREAMS pipes, named pipes, and some other mechanisms.
           See the "LOCAL CONNECTIONS" section of X(7) for details.

       TCP/IP
           Xorg  listens  on port 6000+n, where n is the display number.  This
           connection type is usually disabled by default, but may be  enabled
           with the -listen option (see the Xserver(1) man page for details).

OPTIONS
       Xorg  supports several mechanisms for supplying/obtaining configuration
       and run-time parameters: command line options,  environment  variables,
       the  xorg.conf(5)  configuration  files,  auto-detection,  and fallback
       defaults.  When the same information is supplied in more than one  way,
       the  highest  precedence  mechanism is used.  The list of mechanisms is
       ordered from highest precedence to lowest.  Note that not  all  parame-
       ters  can  be  supplied  via  all  methods.  The available command line
       options and environment variables (and  some  defaults)  are  described
       here and in the Xserver(1) manual page.  Most configuration file param-
       eters, with their defaults, are described in  the  xorg.conf(5)  manual
       page.    Driver   and  module  specific  configuration  parameters  are
       described in the relevant driver or module manual page.

       In addition to the normal server options described  in  the  Xserver(1)
       manual page, Xorg accepts the following command line switches:

       vtXX    XX specifies the Virtual Terminal device number which Xorg will
               use.  Without this option, Xorg will pick the  first  available
               Virtual  Terminal that it can locate.  This option applies only
               to platforms that have virtual terminal support, such as Linux,
               BSD, OpenSolaris, SVR3, and SVR4.

       -allowMouseOpenFail
               Allow  the server to start up even if the mouse device can't be
               opened or  initialised.   This  is  equivalent  to  the  Allow-
               MouseOpenFail xorg.conf(5) file option.

       -allowNonLocalXvidtune
               Make  the  VidMode extension available to remote clients.  This
               allows the xvidtune client to connect from another host.   This
               is  equivalent  to  the AllowNonLocalXvidtune xorg.conf(5) file
               option.  By default non-local connections are not allowed.

       -bgamma value
               Set the blue gamma correction.  value must be between  0.1  and
               10.   The  default  is 1.0.  Not all drivers support this.  See
               also the -gamma, -rgamma, and -ggamma options.

       -bpp n  No longer supported.  Use -depth to set the  color  depth,  and
               use  -fbbpp  if  you  really need to force a non-default frame-
               buffer (hardware) pixel format.

       -config file
               Read the server configuration from file.  This option will work
               for any file when the server is run as root (i.e, with real-uid
               0), or for files relative to a directory in the  config  search
               path for all other users.

       -configdir directory
               Read  the  server  configuration  files  from  directory.  This
               option will work for any directory when the server  is  run  as
               root  (i.e,  with real-uid 0), or for directories relative to a
               directory in the config directory search  path  for  all  other
               users.

       -configure
               When  this option is specified, the Xorg server loads all video
               driver modules, probes for available hardware, and  writes  out
               an  initial xorg.conf(5) file based on what was detected.  This
               option currently has some problems on some  platforms,  but  in
               most  cases  it  is  a  good way to bootstrap the configuration
               process.  This option is only available when the server is  run
               as root (i.e, with real-uid 0).

       -crt /dev/ttyXX
               SCO  only.   This is the same as the vt option, and is provided
               for compatibility with the native SCO X server.

       -depth n
               Sets the default color depth.  Legal values are 1,  4,  8,  15,
               16, and 24.  Not all drivers support all values.

       -disableVidMode
               Disable  the  parts of the VidMode extension (used by the xvid-
               tune client) that can be used to change the video modes.   This
               is  equivalent to the DisableVidModeExtension xorg.conf(5) file
               option.

       -fbbpp n
               Sets the number of framebuffer bits per pixel.  You should only
               set this if you're sure it's necessary; normally the server can
               deduce the correct value from -depth above.  Useful if you want
               to  run  a  depth  24  configuration  with a 24 bpp framebuffer
               rather than the (possibly default) 32 bpp framebuffer (or  vice
               versa).   Legal  values  are 1, 8, 16, 24, 32.  Not all drivers
               support all values.

       -flipPixels
               Swap the default values for the black and white pixels.

       -gamma value
               Set the gamma correction.  value must be between  0.1  and  10.
               The  default is 1.0.  This value is applied equally to the R, G
               and B values.  Those values can be set independently  with  the
               -rgamma, -bgamma, and -ggamma options.  Not all drivers support
               this.

       -ggamma value
               Set the green gamma correction.  value must be between 0.1  and
               10.   The  default  is 1.0.  Not all drivers support this.  See
               also the -gamma, -rgamma, and -bgamma options.

       -ignoreABI
               The Xorg server checks the ABI revision levels of  each  module
               that  it  loads.   It will normally refuse to load modules with
               ABI revisions that  are  newer  than  the  server's.   This  is
               because  such modules might use interfaces that the server does
               not have.  When this option is specified, mismatches like  this
               are  downgraded  from  fatal  errors  to warnings.  This option
               should be used with care.

       -isolateDevice bus-id
               Restrict device resets to the device  at  bus-id.   The  bus-id
               string   has   the   form   bustype:bus:device:function  (e.g.,
               `PCI:1:0:0').  At present, only isolation  of  PCI  devices  is
               supported;  i.e., this option is ignored if bustype is anything
               other than `PCI'.

       -keeptty
               Prevent the server from detaching its initial controlling  ter-
               minal.  If  you want to use systemd-logind integration you must
               specify this option.  Not all platforms support  (or  can  use)
               this option.

       -keyboard keyboard-name
               Use  the xorg.conf(5) file InputDevice section called keyboard-
               name as the core keyboard.  This option  is  ignored  when  the
               Layout  section  specifies  a core keyboard.  In the absence of
               both a Layout section  and  this  option,  the  first  relevant
               InputDevice section is used for the core keyboard.

       -layout layout-name
               Use  the  xorg.conf(5)  file Layout section called layout-name.
               By default the first Layout section is used.

       -logfile filename
               Use the file called filename as the Xorg server log file.   The
               default  log  file  when running as root is /var/log/Xorg.n.log
               and for non root it is $XDG_DATA_HOME/xorg/Xorg.n.log  where  n
               is  the  display number of the Xorg server.  The default may be
               in a different directory on some  platforms.   This  option  is
               only  available when the server is run as root (i.e, with real-
               uid 0).

       -logverbose [n]
               Sets the verbosity level for information printed  to  the  Xorg
               server  log  file.   If the n value isn't supplied, each occur-
               rence of this option increments the log file  verbosity  level.
               When  the  n value is supplied, the log file verbosity level is
               set to that value.  The default log file verbosity level is 3.

       -modulepath searchpath
               Set the module search path  to  searchpath.   searchpath  is  a
               comma  separated  list of directories to search for Xorg server
               modules.  This option is only available when the server is  run
               as root (i.e, with real-uid 0).

       -nosilk Disable Silken Mouse support.

       -novtswitch
               Disable  the automatic switching on X server reset and shutdown
               to the VT that was active when the server started, if supported
               by the OS.

       -pointer pointer-name
               Use  the  xorg.conf(5) file InputDevice section called pointer-
               name as the core pointer.  This option is ignored when the Lay-
               out section specifies a core pointer.  In the absence of both a
               Layout section and this option, the first relevant  InputDevice
               section is used for the core pointer.

       -quiet  Suppress most informational messages at startup.  The verbosity
               level is set to zero.

       -rgamma value
               Set the red gamma correction.  value must be  between  0.1  and
               10.   The  default  is 1.0.  Not all drivers support this.  See
               also the -gamma, -bgamma, and -ggamma options.

       -sharevts
               Share virtual terminals with another X server, if supported  by
               the OS.

       -screen screen-name
               Use  the  xorg.conf(5)  file Screen section called screen-name.
               By default the screens referenced by the default Layout section
               are  used, or the first Screen section when there are no Layout
               sections.

       -showconfig
               This is the same as the -version option, and  is  included  for
               compatibility  reasons.  It may be removed in a future release,
               so the -version option should be used instead.

       -showDefaultModulePath
               Print out the default module path the server was compiled with.

       -showDefaultLibPath
               Print out the path libraries should be installed to.

       -showopts
               For each driver module installed, print out the list of options
               and their argument types.

       -weight nnn
               Set RGB weighting at 16 bpp.  The default is 565.  This applies
               only to those drivers which support 16 bpp.

       -verbose [n]
               Sets the verbosity level for information printed on stderr.  If
               the  n  value  isn't  supplied,  each occurrence of this option
               increments the verbosity level.  When the n value is  supplied,
               the  verbosity  level  is  set to that value.  The default ver-
               bosity level is 0.

       -version
               Print out the server version,  patchlevel,  release  date,  the
               operating  system/platform  it  was  built  on,  and whether it
               includes module loader support.

KEYBOARD
       The Xorg server is normally configured  to  recognize  various  special
       combinations  of  key  presses that instruct the server to perform some
       action, rather than just sending the key press event to a client appli-
       cation.  These  actions depend on the XKB keymap loaded by a particular
       keyboard device and may or may not be available on a  given  configura-
       tion.

       The  following  key combinations are commonly part of the default XKEY-
       BOARD keymap.

       Ctrl+Alt+Backspace
               Immediately kills the server -- no questions asked. It  can  be
               disabled  by  setting the DontZap xorg.conf(5) file option to a
               TRUE value.

               It should be noted that zapping  is  triggered  by  the  Termi-
               nate_Server action in the keyboard map. This action is not part
               of the default keymaps but can be enabled with the  XKB  option
               "terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp".

       Ctrl+Alt+Keypad-Plus
               Change  video  mode  to next one specified in the configuration
               file.  This can be disabled with the DontZoom xorg.conf(5) file
               option.

       Ctrl+Alt+Keypad-Minus
               Change  video  mode to previous one specified in the configura-
               tion file.  This can be disabled with the DontZoom xorg.conf(5)
               file option.

       Ctrl+Alt+F1...F12
               For systems with virtual terminal support, these keystroke com-
               binations are used to switch to virtual terminals 1 through 12,
               respectively.   This  can  be  disabled  with  the DontVTSwitch
               xorg.conf(5) file option.

CONFIGURATION
       Xorg typically uses a configuration file called xorg.conf and  configu-
       ration  files  with  the suffix .conf in a directory called xorg.conf.d
       for its initial setup.  Refer  to  the  xorg.conf(5)  manual  page  for
       information about the format of this file.

       Xorg has a mechanism for automatically generating a built-in configura-
       tion at run-time when  no  xorg.conf  file  or  xorg.conf.d  files  are
       present.  The current version of this automatic configuration mechanism
       works in two ways.

       The first is via enhancements that have made  many  components  of  the
       xorg.conf  file  optional.   This  means  that  information that can be
       probed or reasonably deduced doesn't need to be  specified  explicitly,
       greatly  reducing the amount of built-in configuration information that
       needs to be generated at run-time.

       The second is to have "safe" fallbacks for most configuration  informa-
       tion.  This maximises the likelihood that the Xorg server will start up
       in some usable configuration even when information about  the  specific
       hardware is not available.

       The  automatic  configuration support for Xorg is work in progress.  It
       is currently aimed at the most popular hardware and software  platforms
       supported by Xorg.  Enhancements are planned for future releases.

FILES
       The  Xorg  server  config  files  can be found in a range of locations.
       These are documented fully in the xorg.conf(5) manual page.   The  most
       commonly used locations are shown here.

       /etc/X11/xorg.conf            Server configuration file.

       /etc/X11/xorg.conf-4          Server configuration file.

       /etc/xorg.conf                Server configuration file.

       /usr/etc/xorg.conf            Server configuration file.

       /usr/lib/X11/xorg.conf        Server configuration file.

       /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d          Server configuration directory.

       /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d-4        Server configuration directory.

       /etc/xorg.conf.d              Server configuration directory.

       /usr/etc/xorg.conf.d          Server configuration directory.

       /usr/lib/X11/xorg.conf.d      Server configuration directory.

       /var/log/Xorg.n.log           Server log file for display n.

       /usr/bin/*                    Client binaries.

       /usr/include/*                Header files.

       /usr/lib/*                    Libraries.

       /usr/share/fonts/X11/*        Fonts.

       /usr/share/X11/XErrorDB       Client error message database.

       /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/*   Client resource specifications.

       /usr/share/man/man?/*         Manual pages.

       /etc/Xn.hosts                 Initial  access  control list for display
                                     n.


ATTRIBUTES
       See attributes(7) for descriptions of the following attributes:


       +---------------+------------------+
       |ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE  |
       +---------------+------------------+
       |Availability   | x11/server/xorg  |
       +---------------+------------------+
       |Stability      | Volatile         |
       +---------------+------------------+

SEE ALSO
       X(7), Xserver(1), xdm(1), xinit(1),  xorg.conf(5),  xvidtune(1),  xkey-
       board-config   (7),  apm(4),  ati(4),  chips(4),  cirrus(4),  cyrix(4),
       fbdev(4), glide(4), glint(4),  i128(4),  i740(4),  imstt(4),  intel(4),
       mga(4),  neomagic(4),  nsc(4),  nv(4),  openchrome (4), r128(4), rendi-
       tion(4), s3virge(4), siliconmotion(4), sis(4),  sunbw2(4),  suncg14(4),
       suncg3(4), suncg6(4), sunffb(4), sunleo(4), suntcx(4), tdfx(4), tga(4),
       trident(4), tseng(4), v4l(4), vesa(4), vmware(4),
       Web site <https://www.x.org>.


AUTHORS
       Xorg has many contributors world wide.  The names of most of  them  can
       be  found in the documentation, ChangeLog files in the source tree, and
       in the actual source code.

       Xorg was originally based on XFree86 4.4rc2.  That was originally based
       on  X386  1.2 by Thomas Roell, which was contributed to the then X Con-
       sortium's X11R5 distribution by SGCS.

       Xorg is released by the X.Org Foundation.

       The project that became XFree86 was originally founded in 1992 by David
       Dawes, Glenn Lai, Jim Tsillas and David Wexelblat.

       XFree86  was  later integrated in the then X Consortium's X11R6 release
       by a group of dedicated XFree86 developers, including the following:

           Stuart Anderson    anderson@metrolink.com
           Doug Anson         danson@lgc.com
           Gertjan Akkerman   akkerman@dutiba.twi.tudelft.nl
           Mike Bernson       mike@mbsun.mlb.org
           Robin Cutshaw      robin@XFree86.org
           David Dawes        dawes@XFree86.org
           Marc Evans         marc@XFree86.org
           Pascal Haible      haible@izfm.uni-stuttgart.de
           Matthieu Herrb     Matthieu.Herrb@laas.fr
           Dirk Hohndel       hohndel@XFree86.org
           David Holland      davidh@use.com
           Alan Hourihane     alanh@fairlite.demon.co.uk
           Jeffrey Hsu        hsu@soda.berkeley.edu
           Glenn Lai          glenn@cs.utexas.edu
           Ted Lemon          mellon@ncd.com
           Rich Murphey       rich@XFree86.org
           Hans Nasten        nasten@everyware.se
           Mark Snitily       mark@sgcs.com
           Randy Terbush      randyt@cse.unl.edu
           Jon Tombs          tombs@XFree86.org
           Kees Verstoep      versto@cs.vu.nl
           Paul Vixie         paul@vix.com
           Mark Weaver        Mark_Weaver@brown.edu
           David Wexelblat    dwex@XFree86.org
           Philip Wheatley    Philip.Wheatley@ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM
           Thomas Wolfram     wolf@prz.tu-berlin.de
           Orest Zborowski    orestz@eskimo.com

       Xorg source is available from the FTP  server  <ftp://ftp.x.org/>,  and
       from the X.Org server <https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/>.  Documen-
       tation and other information can be  found  from  the  X.Org  web  site
       <https://www.x.org/>.


LEGAL
       Xorg is copyright software, provided under licenses that permit modifi-
       cation and redistribution in source and binary form without fee.   Xorg
       is  copyright  by  numerous  authors  and  contributors from around the
       world.  Licensing information  can  be  found  at  <https://www.x.org>.
       Refer to the source code for specific copyright notices.

       XFree86(TM) is a trademark of The XFree86 Project, Inc.

       X11(TM) and X Window System(TM) are trademarks of The Open Group.



NOTES
       Source  code  for open source software components in Oracle Solaris can
       be found at https://www.oracle.com/downloads/opensource/solaris-source-
       code-downloads.html.

       This     software     was    built    from    source    available    at
       https://github.com/oracle/solaris-userland.   The  original   community
       source   was   downloaded   from    https://www.x.org/releases/individ-
       ual/xserver/xorg-server-1.20.13.tar.gz.

       Further information about this software can be found on the open source
       community website at https://www.x.org.



X Version 11                  xorg-server 1.20.13                      Xorg(1)