xinit requires root privileges to install port, it doesn't need them.

[nickpapadonis (Nick Papadonis)]

port install xinit

fails trying to install items to /Library for LaunchD

I tried editing the GitHub latest Portfile to remove the code installing launchd during activate, then 'port uninstall' , then 'port install' however it still tries to install items as root for launchd.

It's my understanding this port should be able to install non-root. I typically use 'xinit' or 'startx' from the command line to launch X.

Found this when trying to 'port install xorg' without root privileges.

[nickpapadonis (Nick Papadonis)]

quick hack to get xinit to compile non root

[nickpapadonis (Nick Papadonis)]

added a quick hack to get xinit to compile, looking to find guidance on the correct non-root solution here that still preserves the ability to update launchd. Is there a way to launch xinit on a per user bases instead of placing it system wide?

[nickpapadonis (Nick Papadonis)]

I can confirm, boiling xorg and quartz-wm that working X server does not depend on root. I built and installed all as an unprivileged user using above diff.

[nickpapadonis (Nick Papadonis)]

I can launch an xterm using xinit to start the server, startx has the following errors using this change. Trying to debug why it hangs.

% startx
font_cache: Scanning user font directories to generate X11 font caches
font_cache: Updating FC cache
"/usr/local/share/fonts": Permission denied
font_cache: Done
xauth:  file /Users/mp0/.serverauth.46858 does not exist


waiting for X server to begin accepting connections .
.^C.^C
.^C.
..

[nickpapadonis (Nick Papadonis)]

in startx remove

unset X11_PREFS_DOMAIN before 'xinit' exec allows X to start. Still debugging this...

[nickpapadonis (Nick Papadonis)]

If I customize the Applications menu, the changes still take effect if X11_PREFS_DOMAIN in unset. I think this has something to do with removing launchd activation as root in xinit. Looking for a maintainer to add to this.

[nickpapadonis (Nick Papadonis)]

Apologies, I'll try this again, --without-startupitems option to macports-base may be required. Curious what the advantages are using LaunchD vs starting as a startup item for the user.

[jmroot (Joshua Root)]

I don't know how the xinit port could work correctly without /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.macports.privileged_startx.plist, which needs to be loaded as root.

[nickpapadonis (Nick Papadonis)]

I'm still testing... I was able to get an xterm using 'xinit' or unsetting X11_PREFS_DOMAIN in 'startx'. I think the patch I supplied earlier is unnecessary if --without-startupitems in configure macports-base. I'm curious why it needs to be run as root unless it needs some special direct access to graphics hardware?

[nickpapadonis (Nick Papadonis)]

update per more testing

[nickpapadonis (Nick Papadonis)]

screenshot of proof

[nickpapadonis (Nick Papadonis)]

I added xinit-nonroot.patch which is the workaround to allow xinit to run as non-root. It was a configuration option that disables the root installation. I added a jpg screenshot of a system with fresh build of macports-ports master (took like a day!) and Xwindows running non-root. I created an non-admin account on the system and performed the installation without using sudo.

cd macports-base
./configure --with-no-root-privileges --prefix=/Volumes/export/opt --without-startupitems --no-create --no-recursion

I will bring up that xinit seemed to either fail or not create a 'xinit' binary during 'ports install xorg xinit' and the port application seemed to silently ignore the error. I noticed this and had to manually go back and 'uninstall' then 'install' it.

Looking for guidance in the fix. If --with-no-root-privileges is supplied, the configuration option in the diff needs to be applied and the activation section set to false.

[nickpapadonis (Nick Papadonis)]

work around patch for non-root install

[atod101101]

I still had an Xserver running as root in the background still through launchd. From what I read the system needs KMS capabilities in the kernel to run X as non-root. Therefore, just looking for some input from Jeremey (Thanks for creating the port!) on this as well.

[ryandesign (Ryan Carsten Schmidt)]

Nick, please remember to use WikiFormatting.