I want to give root or super-user privileges to nautilus by default. i am just about 6 months into using Linux, and i love to dig into the OS and make lots of changes, and install and remove software, and do a whole bunch of other stuff that requires root in nautilus, including break my OS. i read all over the internet to find out how to have nautilus automatically open with superuser privileges. i was successful once in the past, where i found a website that had instructions how to do so, but i cannot find it again.

Example: when i click on "places" in the panel menu than any choice such as Documents, or Downloads it should open nautilus with the ability for me to do whatever i want. period.

Someone, please tell me how to have nautilus automatically open as root, and if possible not require a password. i made my password just the parentheses button, so its not so bad, but not being able to use the default nautilus is a real pain in the behind. if there was one thing i would change in any Linux OS i would say to get rid of the stupid password requirement. I know everyone says its dangerous, or can cause major problems.. I Don't Care!! Windows or MAC don't have a password anytime i want to modify an file or install something, and there up and running all over the world. for a new user, who is bent on in-depth understanding of Linux, its sooo ridiculous to have to manually open nautilus with the terminal, or right click a desktop icon icon and open as admin/root.

for example, if i download something, and i just double click it from the Firefox download window, i cannot do anything, so i have to open a terminal, type the command "gksu nautilus" navigate to the downloads folder, and so on... after someone does this a thousand times it gets really time consuming, and ultimately annoying.

please don't respond with its dangerous, or anything of the sort, if you can tell me how to do this than i would be VERY happy to hear from you. In fact i would Love to hear from you, as you will be saving me hours and hours over the coarse of the next year. But please don't go on about how it can be dangerous or cause major problems... Danger is a person pointing a gun at me, bypassing a password requirement is not "dangerous" and i will re-install my OS a hundred times, so its not dangerous to my system either since i will be deleting it soon anyway...

Okay, I won't.

Therefore, I don't seem to have anything at all to say. Good day to you. And, by the way, put those backups in a safe place...

On second thought: another reason why root-privileges are no good for tools like this is that they make the system itself extremely unstable. Something .. anything .. happens, and "whups!! buh-bye!!!" and now you find yourself saying, "WTF?" (because it is not something that you intended or expected) and suddenly you're not doing useful work anymore: you are mopping up after you-don't-yet-know-what.

"The principle of least privilege" puts a clear boundary upon what the software can, on its own, attempt to do ... and ... it triggers an immediate (and therefore, easily traceable) failure response if the software for whatever reason attempts to intrude beyond those boundaries. This is not just "extremely useful," it is absolutely priceless. You can eliminate a tremendous number of possibilities because you can assert definitively that they could not have occurred. "I do not yet know exactly where it fell down, but I do know several places where it could not have fallen, because I know that the only doors leading to those places are locked and could not be opened."

Sorry, but this is a public forum, not private one-on-one support. By posting here, you invite comment on your question.

Many long-time posters here feel a responsibility not just to the person writing the question but to the thousands of people who will read this archived thread over the years when they do a google search on "nautilus as root in linux." Therefore we feel a responsibility to provide accurate and safe answers to your question (not the answer you want to hear).

Something is very wrong with your system if this is the case. In fact I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you may have created your own permission problems by using file manager as root unnecessarily.

On any default Linux installation, when you download a file with Firefox, it is saved to your home folder. You do not need root/gksu to open or edit a file in your home folder. If your downloads folder is owned by root, then you have broken your system, in which case my recommendation is to be humble and to follow the suggestions of every reputable Linux book, tutorial, FAQ, and how-to: which is to perform your everyday tasks as an unprivileged user.

1 members found this post helpful.

So why bother?

As for your questions, second link when I Googled "open nautilus as root"

Create an Application Shortcut to Open Nautilus as Root in Ubuntu : http://lifehacker.com/5596006/create...root-in-ubuntu

Ummm.. i cant seem to make any sense out of your statement. you decided to tell me, and everyone else, you wont say anything, yet you replied... plus i don't know what you mean by "put those backups in a safe place"... i didn't say anything about backups... do you have any suggestions as to how to do what i am asking, if so, i would love to hear your suggestions.

craigevil,
i can do things, but i cannot unzip, or install, or anything else, all i can do is view the files. my system is not broken...

your suggested link shows only to create a shortcut, not make nautilus always open with root privileges, i would not be posting this thread if the answer were posted in plain sight on a quick google search.

what i am looking to do is "make nautilus automatically open with super-user privileges" not an icon, or a right click.

I thank you for the reply, and welcome any further suggestions.

here is just one example in detail:

Click "Places"
Click "Computer"
Click "File System"
than navigate to /etc/apt
than double click sources.list
make changes than try to save...
you cannot save cause no super-user privileges when i clicked on "computer" in step 2 above...

Nautilus-as-root-is irrelevant to editing /etc/apt/sources.list. You do not need to open every file on your system as root to edit one of them!

or

or

if you prefer a completely automated gui solution: system, admin, software sources

Nautilus-as-root is not necessary to edit this important system file. (And how often do you really need to edit it anyway?)

Dude, am i speaking some unknown language? can someone please answer the question and stop trying to be the Linux police. its my computer, and my choice. i don't need anyone telling me what is safe, and what is not. i just want to know how to make Nautilus automatically, Always, and by Default open with super-user privileges. Simple... no need for any further information, comments etc...

linuxquestions.org is supposed to answer questions, not tell me why its a bad idea, or anything else.

Below is an example of an appropriate answer... Perhaps adding additional information like the following would be acceptable...

1. Here is the answer to solve your issue, but we highly recommend you do not do it because its dangerous...

Or...

2. The answer to your questions is.... But we are warning you against doing this because its dangerous, and can possibly cause major problems or security issues...

But please answer the question... unless no one knows how to...

Respectfully: Do your 6 posts here qualify you to lecture us on "what linuxquestions.org is supposed to be?"

My contributions to the discussion of warning that you are heading for permission problems and listing 3 safe and easy ways to edit sources.list violate no forum rules.

@OP: pay someone and they'll walk you through it and put up with your spoiled kid's behavior. Till then, try to be a tad more respectful. It will get you more help.

Please just answer the question. I'm 33 years old, and never been spoiled. Everything i have i worked very hard for, and continue to work very hard. But this is getting off the subject, as i just want to know how to make Nautilus Automatically, Always, and by Default open with Super-User privileges. Nothing more, nothing less... i don't want to be disrespectful, or derogatory in any way but as you can see, no one has answered my question. i also had an inkling i wouldn't get a direct answer, because every other post i have read about this subject no one answers the question, they give some reason why its not a good idea... thus my slight frustration....

And by the way I have tried to pay someone, in fact i made 4 phone calls trying to pay someone.

OK, first my rant, then the soultion:Not sure if that password thing is true on MacOS X, but on Windows it is the main reason (besides users that don't know what they do) for being infected with all kinds of malware. That is one reason I don't let my Windows install into the net by default, I will enable the connection only on purpose.
That would be a very bad thing, unless you want your machine be compromised and used for DDOS attacks, brute force attacks, sending spam to our mail accounts, being an file-share machine for illegal content, like copyrighted material, child porn (which could perfectly send you to jail for a few years), ... .
The problem is that many users don't see that not they alone take the risk, when they have unprotected machines exposed to the net, so also at least annoy other users (the spam thing) or even support criminal activities with their behavior.
Think again if password protection is really that bad.

Now the solution:

1. Add a line for your user to the sudoers list that allows you to start /usr/bin/nautilus as root without password.
2. Rename /usr/bin/nautilus to /usr/bin/nautilus.original
3. Create a script named /usr/bin/nautilus which starts nautilus.original with sudo and passes the command-line options to it.
4. Make a system backup. It is easier to restore a backup than to re-install every time you break the system.

Tobi,
You are the MAN!!! and i thank you for the information. problem is... i don't know how to do step 1 and step 3 in your post. perhaps a little more detailed instructions would suffice. one again, i thank you very much for the reply, and look forward to further details.

If the Admin's of linuxquestions.org, or anyone else wold prefer to not post this answer as it provides to much of a security risk, i ask that you please send me an email to rubbishmail78@gmail.com, i just created it for this situation.

thanks a 3rd time!!!

1. This will help:3. For more info on Bash-scripting look here.