Archive:Getting Started/Run/Shell: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:41, 29 June 2011

Getting_Started/Run/Shell

Using the normal shell with sux

For this method, the tool sux (http://fgouget.free.fr/sux/sux-readme.shtml) is required. sux is available on most distributions. Otherwise you could rely on the normal shell without sux method below. sux allows you to change to another user with an implicit managing of the X forwarding details (authentication and DISPLAY exporting) in a clean and simple way.

To login, type <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">sux - kde-devel

All environment variables and everything else should be set up correctly by your .bashrc. To start an application, simply type it's name; for example <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">kwrite

Note

If you get errors about missing mimetypes or such, try running the following:<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">unset XDG_DATA_DIRS ; kbuildsycoca4

Using the normal shell without sux

The simplest method to launch KDE 4 applications is using su to login as the kde-devel user and then simply start any KDE 4 application from command line. To login, type <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">su - kde-devel and then, after entering your password <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">export DISPLAY=:0

Note

Exporting the DISPLAY variable is necessary so that the KDE 4 applications appear on your normal KDE 3 desktop.

All environment variables and everything else should be set up correctly by your .bashrc. To start an application, simply type it's name; for example <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">kwrite

Note

If you get errors about missing mimetypes or such, try the following:

run <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">unset XDG_DATA_DIRS ; kbuildsycoca4

Note

{{{1}}}

Using SSH

The simplest way to run a KDE 4 application with SSH in your current desktop environment is to get an X-aware shell prompt as the kde-devel user like this: <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">ssh -X kde-devel@localhost Now you can launch KDE apps as usual, for example: <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">kwrite The two lines can be conveniently combined: <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">ssh -X kde-devel@localhost kwrite

Note

If this gives you any errors, try the troubleshooting tips from the section above. If you receive something like "kwrite: cannot connect to X server", open /etc/ssh/sshd_config and enable the "X11Forwarding" key. Restart sshd and it should work fine.

Passwordless login

Before anything serious can be done using this method, a passwordless login needs to be set up. To start, run the following command as the regular desktop user: <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">ssh-keygen -t rsa Hit enter three times to accept the path of ~/.ssh/id_rsa and an empty passphrase. Now, copy the single line in ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub that's printed after running this command: <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub After that line is copied, ssh back into the kde-devel user and put the copied line in the file $HOME/.ssh/authorized_keys: <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">ssh -X kde-devel@localhost $HOME/kde/bin/kwrite \

 $HOME/.ssh/authorized_keys

Paste in the line, save the file, and quit KWrite.

Next make sure $HOME/.ssh/authorized_keys has the correct permissions: <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">ssh kde-devel@localhost chmod og-xrw ~kde-devel/.ssh/authorized_keys Now try running KWrite again with the same SSH command; you shouldn't have to enter a password anymore: <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">ssh -X kde-devel@localhost $HOME/kde/bin/kwrite

Warning

Using a passwordless SSH login has certain security risks, so make sure you protect your ~/.ssh/id_rsa file by restricting access to it with <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">chmod og-xrw ~/.ssh/id_rsa(although the file should have these permissions when it is created)

The SSH desktop file

If you want to be able to launch apps more easily than running them with an SSH command from the command line, one way is to create .desktop files that ssh into the other account.

Note

This will only be useful if your desktop environment supports .desktop files, but at least KDE and GNOME do.

You can start with an existing .desktop file as a template (like one from your desktop) or you can make one from scratch. The main idea is to prefix the command being run with this string: <syntaxhighlight lang="bash"> ssh -X kde-devel@localhost $HOME/kde/bin/

A simple .desktop file that runs KWrite would have the following contents:

<syntaxhighlight lang="ini"> [Desktop Entry] Categories=Qt;KDE;TextEditor; Comment= DocPath=kwrite/index.html Encoding=UTF-8 Exec=ssh -X kde-devel@localhost /home/kde-devel/kde/bin/kwrite %U GenericName=Text Editor Icon=kwrite InitialPreference=8 MimeType=text/plain Name=KWrite (kde-devel) Path= StartupNotify=false Terminal=false TerminalOptions= Type=Application X-DBUS-StartupType=Multi X-DCOP-ServiceType=non X-KDE-StartupNotify=true X-KDE-SubstituteUID=false X-KDE-Username=

Tip

Apps launched using SSH like this don't trigger the correct launch responses, so you probably want to disable "launch feedback" for your .desktop files

Note

In order to create a .desktop file for a KDE 4 app by using this pattern, the app's package will have to have been installed into ~/kde/bin using the cmakekde command

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 For this method, the tool '''sux''' (http://fgouget.free.fr/sux/sux-readme.shtml) is required. '''sux''' is available on most distributions. Otherwise you could rely on the ''normal shell without sux'' method below. '''sux''' allows you to change to another user with an implicit managing of the X forwarding details (authentication and DISPLAY exporting) in a clean and simple way.
-To login, type <code bash>sux - kde-devel</code>
+To login, type <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">sux - kde-devel</code>
-All environment variables and everything else should be set up correctly by your {{path|[[Getting_Started/Increased_Productivity_in_KDE4_with_Scripts/.bashrc|.bashrc]]}}. To start an application, simply type it's name; for example <code bash>kwrite</code>
+All environment variables and everything else should be set up correctly by your {{path|[[Getting_Started/Increased_Productivity_in_KDE4_with_Scripts/.bashrc|.bashrc]]}}. To start an application, simply type it's name; for example <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">kwrite</code>
-{{Note|If you get errors about missing mimetypes or such, try running the following:<code bash>unset XDG_DATA_DIRS ; kbuildsycoca4</code>
+{{Note|If you get errors about missing mimetypes or such, try running the following:<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">unset XDG_DATA_DIRS ; kbuildsycoca4</code>
 }}
 == Using the normal shell without sux ==
 The simplest method to launch KDE 4 applications is using <tt>su</tt> to login as the <tt>kde-devel</tt> user and then simply start any KDE 4 application from command line. To login, type
-<code bash>su - kde-devel</code>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">su - kde-devel</code>
 and then, after entering your password
-<code bash>export DISPLAY=:0</code>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">export DISPLAY=:0</code>
 {{Note|Exporting the <tt>DISPLAY</tt> variable is necessary so that the KDE 4 applications appear on your normal KDE 3 desktop.}}
-All environment variables and everything else should be set up correctly by your {{path|[[Getting_Started/Increased_Productivity_in_KDE4_with_Scripts/.bashrc|.bashrc]]}}. To start an application, simply type it's name; for example <code bash>kwrite</code>
+All environment variables and everything else should be set up correctly by your {{path|[[Getting_Started/Increased_Productivity_in_KDE4_with_Scripts/.bashrc|.bashrc]]}}. To start an application, simply type it's name; for example <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">kwrite</code>
 {{Note|
 If you get errors about missing mimetypes or such, try the following:
-* run <code bash>unset XDG_DATA_DIRS ; kbuildsycoca4</code>
+* run <syntaxhighlight lang="bash">unset XDG_DATA_DIRS ; kbuildsycoca4</code>
 }}
 {{Note|
 If you get an error about not being able to connect to an X server, be sure to issue
-<code bash>sudo xhost +local:kde-devel</code>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">sudo xhost +local:kde-devel</code>
 as your regular KDE 3 user to ensure that the application can connect to your current X session.
@@ Line 32: / Line 32: @@
 For convenience, you should put this in the Autostart of your regular user. To do this, create a new file in the <tt>$HOME/.kde/Autostart</tt> directory of your regular user with the following content:
-<code bash>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
 #! /bin/sh
 xhost +local:kde-devel
@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 The simplest way to run a KDE 4 application with SSH in your current desktop environment is to get an X-aware shell prompt as the <tt>kde-devel</tt> user like this:
-<code bash>ssh -X kde-devel@localhost</code>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">ssh -X kde-devel@localhost</code>
 Now you can launch KDE apps as usual, for example:
-<code bash>kwrite</code>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">kwrite</code>
 The two lines can be conveniently combined:
-<code bash>ssh -X kde-devel@localhost kwrite</code>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">ssh -X kde-devel@localhost kwrite</code>
 {{Note|
@@ Line 57: / Line 57: @@
 === Passwordless login ===
 Before anything serious can be done using this method, a passwordless login needs to be set up. To start, run the following command as the regular desktop user:
-<code bash>ssh-keygen -t rsa</code>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">ssh-keygen -t rsa</code>
 Hit enter three times to accept the path of {{path|~/.ssh/id_rsa}} and an empty passphrase. Now, copy the single line in {{path|~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub}} that's printed after running this command:
-<code bash>cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub</code>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub</code>
 After that line is copied, <tt>ssh</tt> back into the <tt>kde-devel</tt> user and put the copied line in the file {{path|$HOME/.ssh/authorized_keys}}:
-<code bash>ssh -X kde-devel@localhost $HOME/kde/bin/kwrite \
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">ssh -X kde-devel@localhost $HOME/kde/bin/kwrite \
    $HOME/.ssh/authorized_keys</code>
 Paste in the line, save the file, and quit KWrite.
 Next make sure {{path|$HOME/.ssh/authorized_keys}} has the correct permissions:
-<code bash>ssh kde-devel@localhost chmod og-xrw ~kde-devel/.ssh/authorized_keys</code>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">ssh kde-devel@localhost chmod og-xrw ~kde-devel/.ssh/authorized_keys</code>
 Now try running KWrite again with the same SSH command; you shouldn't have to enter a password anymore:
-<code bash>ssh -X kde-devel@localhost $HOME/kde/bin/kwrite</code>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">ssh -X kde-devel@localhost $HOME/kde/bin/kwrite</code>
 {{warning|Using a passwordless SSH login has certain '''security risks''', so make sure you protect your <tt>~/.ssh/id_rsa</tt> file by restricting access to it with
-<code bash>chmod og-xrw ~/.ssh/id_rsa</code>(although the file should have these permissions when it is created)}}
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">chmod og-xrw ~/.ssh/id_rsa</code>(although the file should have these permissions when it is created)}}
 === The SSH desktop file ===
@@ Line 78: / Line 78: @@
 You can start with an existing .desktop file as a template (like one from your desktop) or you can make one from scratch. The main idea is to prefix the command being run with this string:
-<code bash>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">
 ssh -X kde-devel@localhost $HOME/kde/bin/
 </code>