Manual: Xorg
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 sys‐
tems 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 supported 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 operating systems such as UnixWare are also supported. Other supported operating systems in‐
clude 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 plat‐
forms, the "local" connection types also include STREAMS pipes, named pipes, and some other mech‐
anisms. 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 dis‐
abled by default, but may be enabled with the -listen option (see the Xserver(1) man page for de‐
tails).
OPTIONS
Xorg supports several mechanisms for supplying/obtaining configuration and run-time parameters: com‐
mand 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 prece‐
dence mechanism is used. The list of mechanisms is ordered from highest precedence to lowest. Note
that not all parameters can be supplied via all methods. The available command line options and en‐
vironment variables (and some defaults) are described here and in the Xserver(1) manual page. Most
configuration file parameters, 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 AllowMouseOpenFail 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 framebuffer (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 di‐
rectory 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 na‐
tive 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 xvidtune 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 de‐
fault) 32 bpp framebuffer (or vice versa). Legal values are 1, 8, 16, 24, 32. Not all dri‐
vers support all values.
-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 nor‐
mally 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 terminal. If you want to use sys‐
temd-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 occurrence 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 directo‐
ries to search for Xorg server modules. This option is only available when the server is run
as root (i.e, with real-uid 0).
-noautoBindGPU
Disable automatically setting secondary GPUs up as output sinks and offload sources. This is
equivalent to setting the AutoBindGPU xorg.conf(5) file option. To false.
-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 Layout 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 refer‐
enced 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 verbosity 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
application. These actions depend on the XKB keymap loaded by a particular keyboard device and may or
may not be available on a given configuration.
The following key combinations are commonly part of the default XKEYBOARD 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 Terminate_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 configuration 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 combinations 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 configuration 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 configuration 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 explic‐
itly, 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 information. This maximises the like‐
lihood 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 re‐
leases.
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.
SEE ALSO
X(7), Xserver(1), xdm(1), xinit(1), xorg.conf(5), xvidtune(1), xkeyboard-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), rendition(4), s3virge(4), siliconmo‐
tion(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 .
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 Consortium'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 , and from the X.Org server
. Documentation and other information can be found from the
X.Org web site .
LEGAL
Xorg is copyright software, provided under licenses that permit modification 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 . 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.
X Version 11 xorg-server 21.1.22 Xorg(1)