Updated gui root access with sddm and plasma5
 

I'm new to this forum, so am unsure of this forum's policies with regard to security implications for a gui root. I know from experience there are some tasks that are virtually impossible without a root gui, for instance changing fonts on some base utilities to make them readable through a projector display.

Usual warnings about gui root access

1) set root password -- open terminal and
2) open /etc/sddm.conf and edit the line MinimumUid=1000 ---- change it to----- MinimumUid=0

3) open /etc/pam.d/sddm and delete/comment out these lines:-
#auth requisite pam_nologin.so
#auth required pam_succeed_if.so user != root quiet_success

That's it, enjoy the root gui on your machine.

Cheers, Tony.

Actually that depends from the distro you are using. In openSUSE you just click on SDDM's "other" icon which allows you to enter a username by hand including root's and subsequently the password -- no fancy tricks necessary ;).

Of course you are right-some distros are a lot less hassle with these issues. I tried opensuse but was unable to get Mythtv running well on it, a pre-requisite for me. I use Kubuntu as I really like the productivity gains that the plasma desktop gives me with multiple activities sandboxed from each other.
Unfortunately the Ubuntu developers as well as the KDE developers are so uptight with their security protocols that it negates the ease of use we all crave.
I figure that I can damn well do what I like with my machine, I don't want some Californian geek telling me what I can and can't do on my machine.
Regards, Tony

I'm not saying firing up a GUI editor as root is a sacrilege, but it is very well possible to do it differently.
Root GUI access is not a must, and the people advising against it are correct (if a little zealous sometimes). Especially logging into X as root!!!

Ondoho- You are quite right, with linux there are invariably multiple ways to achieve the same outcome, however, the gui route is faster, more convenient and more intelligible for 90% of the none-geeks out there, if it is not available then it is a massive turn-off for most desktop users and surely that is the whole point? So I must argue the point, if ever we are to make the transition to linux for the masses, then gui access IS a must, ESPECIALLY from X, and we must accept it or forever be consigned to the fringes of the desktop fraternity.

@barfly You might want to try openSUSE tumbleweed. In my experience, (all)most (all) software is working there out of the box.

@ondoho X is a dying breed. Most arguments for not using GUI as root will disappear with Wayland coming. And I support barfly's arguments. I do root with GUI when needed as well, though in tumbleweed there are pre-configured editors and dolphin to start with root privileges, so it is quite rare meanwhile that I do it.

JZL.....

I d/l opensuse tumbleweed. The hardware detection is good, but installing Nvidia drivers was a bit of a challenge. Audio worked out of the box, as did networking. It is a bit of a different take on package management and yast is really good in some ways but I found it difficult to navigate. I tried it and spent the best part of a day trying to install Mythtv.

The version in the Yast repos is many years out of date (version 0.27)and even trying to install that through yast did not work, many unfulfilled dependencies and I could not work around it. I tried downloading the source of Mythtv version 0.30 which I presently use and installing that but there seems to be a problem with many other unresolved dependencies especially QT5 and make. I then tried through the GIT system, and that suffered the same fate. I was able to install a new v4l tree for my TBS tuner card and that works well in Kaffeine and VLC. Opensuse is promising, but if I can't get Mythtv working, it is unusable for me.

Thanks anyway, a learning curve and exposure to other ways of doing things than .deb Ubuntu and .rpm Red Hat is always good to discover.

Cheers Tony.

I'm not sure where you're getting mythtv but I have v29 on leap 15.1 and tumbleweed and have no problems with dependencies. Have you got the packman repo?

Also I can't remember the last time I logged on as root, although I do use dolphin as root occasionally.

Pete-

I'm glad you managed to get a version going, I'm not exactly a linux mewbie, but my Kubuntu system is just so much easier to administer and install Mythtv. I tried really hard to get it going, I remember having similar problems with opensuse last time I tried, about 18 months ago. If I re-install Kubuntu it takes me about one hour from scratch, I just don't feel like wasting what's left of my life working out the dependency hell with which opensuse presents me.

As I said, I don't login as root very often, but there are certain jobs that you simply cannot do without all sorts of chicanery from the cli. Editing xorg.conf with the special commands and settings I need for my HDMI setup for sound, and so I can see fonts on my projector clearly for instance. I use a twin-panel display with leafpad side by side so I can see my old backup settings at the same time as my new xorg.conf. I have used mc commander in the past, but a root login speeds things up tremendously. There are a few other special files I use for my swimming pool chlorine and ph controller interface with zigbee and it all just works with Kubuntu.

If I have to reinstall opensuse (I've done tumbleweed a couple of times) it doesn't take me anything like an hour to install and set up mythtv. My third system is neon kde (a 'buntu derivative) and that took me a little while longer with Myth. I had to reinstall it 3 times before I could get it set up.

Pete-
Just goes to show, it's what we get used to and the systems with which we are familiar. If I do a re-install from a backup it takes about 10 mins. with fsarchiver or dd/rsync. If I get asked to do something on a Windaz system now, it takes me forever because I forget where all the admin bits are that used to be second nature when I administered 4 servers and 150 desktops for pool-controls in Western Australia- I've forgotten almost everything about active directory.....don't get old mate...:)

Too late for that I'm afraid!

Running Debian Buster, I don't have a "/etc/sddm.conf"
Create it with the line listed?
Is there a way to
(Uid==0)||(Uid>=1000) ?
I really don't want to log into 1 <= Uid < 1000

Piobair-

I don't know what window manager buster uses-sddm is just one, there are several more- lighdm, kdm, gdm etc. Each of them will have their own peculiarities but they will all have an editable file under /etc somewhere.

Cheers, Tony.

Oops. I have KDE and also Gnome loaded. Default window manager is KDE.
The /etc/sddm.conf file is missing.
Apparently, if sddm.conf is missing, all defaults are assumed.
I created /etc/sddm.conf:
That worked.
For some reason /sbin is omitted from the default path.
According to the man page, there is an option for hiding UIDs in a comma separated list. Is there an easier way to do that? A ShowUsers would be nice.