x11-ssh-askpass(1) Version x11-ssh-askpass(1)
NAME
x11-ssh-askpass - an X11-based pass-phrase dialog for use
with OpenSSH
SYNOPSIS
x11-ssh-askpass [options] [label]
DESCRIPTION
x11-ssh-askpass is an X11-based pass-phrase dialog for use
with OpenSSH. It is intended to be called from the ssh-
add(1) program and not invoked directly.
x11-ssh-askpass supports most standard Toolkit command line
arguments, with the exception of -geometry, -borderwidth,
-iconic, -rv, and -title. See X(1).
If exactly one non-option argument is provided on the com-
mand line, it is displayed in the dialog instead of the
default label. If the argument contains newline characters
('\n'), each line of text is displayed on a separate line in
the dialog.
The features of x11-ssh-askpass are as follows: It Confi-
gurable via the standard X resource mechanisms
/usr/X/lib/X11/app-defaults, ~/.Xdefaults, xrdb(1), etc. It
Requires only stock X11 libraries (libXt, libX11, libSM,
libICE). It Can be configured to grab the keyboard and/or
pointer (grabs the keyboard by default, not the pointer).
The user interface is somewhat different than most
password/pass-phrase dialogs and more similar to the X11-
based pass-phrase dialog that accompanies the regular SSH
distribution. Instead of a text field that fills with
asterisks or some other character as the user enters the
pass-phrase, a series of LED-like areas light up one-by-one
with each pass-phrase character entered, beginning from the
left-hand edge of the dialog. When they reach the right-
hand edge, they go dark one-by-one again, and so on. This
gives the user feedback that pass-phrase characters have
been entered, but does not provide onlookers with a cue as
to the length of the pass-phrase.
Pressing the `OK' button accepts the pass-phrase (even if it
is empty), which is printed on the standard output, and the
dialog exits with a status of zero (success). Pressing the
`Cancel' button discards the pass-phrase, and the dialog
exits with non-zero status.
The following keystrokes work as expected:
Bq Backspace
Last change: September 17, 2001 1
x11-ssh-askpass(1) Version x11-ssh-askpass(1)
Bq Delete
Erase previous character
Bq Control+U
Bq Control+X
Erase entire pass-phrase
Bq Enter
Bq Control+M
Bq Control+J
Accept pass-phrase (OK)
Bq Escape
Discard pass-phrase (Cancel)
WIDGETS
The main window of x11-ssh-askpass has the widget hierarchy
indicated below. The widget class name is given first, fol-
lowed by the instance name.
Dialog
dialog
Indicator
indicator
Button
okButton
Button
cancelButton
RESOURCES
The following resources are used to customize the applica-
tion globally:
grabKeyboard (class GrabKeyboard)
specifies if the application should grab the keyboard.
Default value:
``True''.
grabPointer (class GrabPointer)
Last change: September 17, 2001 2
x11-ssh-askpass(1) Version x11-ssh-askpass(1)
specifies if the application should grab the pointer.
Default value:
``False''.
grabServer (class GrabServer)
specifies if the application should grab the server.
Default value:
``False''.
inputTimeout (class InputTimeout)
the number of seconds
x11-ssh-askpass should wait for a key or button press
before it gives up and exits. A timeout of ``0'' means
wait forever.
Default value:
``0''.
defaultXResolution (class DefaultXResolution)
the number of pixels per unit length that horizontal
spacing and width values are intended for. If the
actual horizontal (x) resolution of the X server is
significantly greater or less than this value, portions
of the dialog, indicator, and button widgets are
stretched or shrunk horizontally to take the difference
into account. The value is a positive integer, followed
by a slash ( / ) and a one- or two-character unit
abbreviation. Valid units are inches ( in or i) and
meters ( m ) .
Default value:
``75/in'' (75 pixels per inch).
defaultYResolution (class DefaultYResolution)
the number of pixels per unit length that vertical
spacing and height values are intended for. If the
actual vertical (y) resolution of the X server is sig-
nificantly greater or less than this value, portions of
the dialog, indicator, and button widgets are stretched
or shrunk vertically to take the difference into
account. Valid values are the same as for defaultXReso-
lution above.
Default value:
``75/in'' (75 pixels per inch).
Last change: September 17, 2001 3
x11-ssh-askpass(1) Version x11-ssh-askpass(1)
xResolutionFuzz (class XResolutionFuzz)
the range of
``fuzz'' around the value of defaultXResolution beyond
which some widgets will be stretched or shrunk horizon-
tally to fit the current actual horizontal resolution.
Valid values are the same as for defaultXResolution.
For example, if the default X resolution is ``75/in'',
and the X resolution fuzz is ``50/in'', then widgets
won't be scaled horizontally unless the actual horizon-
tal resolution is less than 25 pixels per inch or
greater than 125 pixels per inch.
Default value:
``20/in'' (20 pixels per inch).
yResolutionFuzz (class YResolutionFuzz)
the range of
``fuzz'' around the value of defaultYResolution beyond
which some widgets will be stretched or shrunk verti-
cally to fit the current actual vertical resolution.
Valid values are the same as for defaultXResolution
above.
Default value:
``20/in'' (20 pixels per inch).
The following resources are recognized by the Dialog
widget:
title (class Title)
The title of the application as specified to the window
manager.
label (class Label)
The label displayed above the led indicators.
font (class Font)
The font to be used to display the label.
The following Resources are recognized by the dialog,
button, and indicator widgets and the main widget to
customize the 3D appearance (all measurements are in
pixels):
foreground (class Foreground)
The foreground color of the widget. This is the text
color of the label for buttons and dialog and the color
of the active led for the indicator.
background (class Background)
Last change: September 17, 2001 4
x11-ssh-askpass(1) Version x11-ssh-askpass(1)
The background color of the widget. In the case of the
indicator this is the color of the inactive led.
topShadowColor (class TopShadowColor)
The color used by the sides of the widget exposed to
the light (top and left).
bottomShadowColor (class BottomShadowColor)
The color used by the sides of the widget in the shadow
(right and bottom).
shadowThickness (class ShadowTickness)
The thickness of the 3D border of the widget.
borderColor (class BorderColor)
The color of the border around the widget.
borderWidth (class BorderWidth)
The width of the border around the widget.
horizontalSpacing (class HorizontalSpacing)
The space to leave on left and right sides of the
widget.
verticalSpacing (class VerticalSpacing)
The space to leave on top and bottom sides of the
widget.
The following resources are recognized by the indicator
widgets:
minimumCount (class MinimumCount)
The minimum number of indicators to display in the dia-
log.
maximumCount (class MaximumCount)
The maximum number of indicators to display in the dia-
log.
Each button uses the following resources to customize
its label:
label (class Label)
the string to display on the button.
font (class Font)
the font to use for this button label.
FILES
/usr/X/lib/X11/app-defaults/SshAskpass
Last change: September 17, 2001 5
x11-ssh-askpass(1) Version x11-ssh-askpass(1)
SEE ALSO
X(1), ssh(1), ssh-agent(1)
LICENSE
Some portions of x11-ssh-askpass are derived directly or
indirectly from portions of xscreensaver by Jamie Zawinski
<jwz@jwz.org>, while others are original works.
xscreensaver, Copyright 8c9 1991-1999 Jamie Zawinski
<jwz@jwz.org>
Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this
software and its documentation for any purpose is hereby
granted without fee, provided that the above copyright
notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright
notice and this permission notice appear in supporting docu-
mentation. No representations are made about the suitabil-
ity of this software for any purpose. It is provided "as
is" without express or implied warranty.
The remaining portions fall under the following copyright
and license:
x11-ssh-askpass by Jim Knoble <jmknoble@pobox.com> Copyright
8c9 1999,2000,2001 Jim Knoble
Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this
software and its documentation for any purpose is hereby
granted without fee, provided that the above copyright
notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright
notice and this permission notice appear in supporting docu-
mentation.
Last change: September 17, 2001 6
Man(1) output converted with
man2html