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config file is read only?

asked Jul 10 '15

mechpro gravatar image

Hello,

I am using Ubuntu 14.04 i3 and I am trying to edit my i3 config file located in /etc/i3/config. I tried to edit the file using gedit config. I am able to open the config file using gedit but the option to save my changes is greyed out. I checked the permissions of the config file and noticed the following:

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 6148 May 4 04:17 config
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 5290 May 4 04:17 config.keycodes

I have no clue why the file is read only when it seems like I am logged in as root? The permissions show that I have write access so I'm not quite sure why I can't edit the file, maybe I'm reading the permissions wrong?

I'm not sure if this is related or not but I'm also confused as to why it shows root as the user? When I start up my machine I get to choose if I want to log in using the Unity file manager or i3. Any thoughts or help would be much appreciated.

Comments

Usually root has no password on Ubuntu (unless explicitly set), so I'd guess you are not actually logged in as root. "root" in your output shows the user and group ownership of the file. As it is the system wide configuration in /etc, it belonging to root is correct.

Adaephon gravatar imageAdaephon (Jul 10 '15)edit

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answered Jul 10 '15

oberon gravatar image

updated Jul 10 '15

Your personalized config should be located in ~/.i3/config or ~/.config/i3/configand owned by you. Please read here: https://i3wm.org/docs/userguide.html#... about how to properly create it.

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answered Jul 10 '15

mechpro gravatar image

Thank you oberon, I appreciate it - I was going bald trying to figure it out

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Please, use "add a comment" to write comments and do not post them as answers. Answers should always be answers to the original question. Also, the order of answers is not fixed, so it is not always obvious to which post you are referring.

Adaephon gravatar imageAdaephon (Jul 13 '15)edit

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Asked: Jul 10 '15

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Last updated: Jul 10