I found a (lengthy) guide to doing this but it is for gksu which is gone. I have to imagine there’s an easy way. I am running Ubuntu. There is no specific use case, it is just a feature I miss from windows.
EDIT: I always expect a degree of hostility and talking-down from the desktop Linux community, but the number of people in this thread telling me I am using my own computer that I bought with my own money in a way they don’t prefer while ignoring my question is just absurd and frankly should be deeply embarrassing for all of us. I have strongly defended the desktop Linux community for decades, but this experience has left a sour taste in my mouth.
Thank you to the few of you who tried to assist without judgement or assumptions.
It depends on the file browser you are using.
Thunar has ‘custom actions’. Add one using
pkexec %f. Other FM have similiar functionality.Sudo is “su do”, i.e. “run as root”, so it’s funny to hear run as sudo because it means “run as run as root”, like “chai tea” or “ATM machine”.
To your question the answer is “why?”. You shouldn’t need that, that’s one of the hardest things to get rid of, the “Windows mentality”, it’s like when people ask how to install a .tar.gz they downloaded from the internet, the answer is most likely “you don’t need that”.
This leads to an XY problem, where you’re asking how to solve problem Y but that is caused by you assuming you need to do X, when in fact you don’t. The main clue is that people keep asking you why do you want to do this. So, what exactly is the problem you’re trying to solve? Why do you think you need this?
There is no reason to assume this is an XY problem scenario.
Yes there is, you’re asking how to add a menu entry to run things with sudo, and refuse to answer why you want to do it, what’s your use case? What graphical application do you need to run with sudo and why?
I’m almost sure I know why, and your refusal to answer this even though it’s been asked multiple times seems fishy. Like it was explained multiple times there’s a 99% chance that you don’t need it, and there is a package for the remaining 1% or you could do it manually like others have suggested. But until we know your use case we can’t help you, so while you keep refusing to explain what is it that you’re actually trying to accomplish and why do you feel you need it it will be impossible for anyone to help you.
What I want to accomplish is to open files and programs as root without use of the terminal. I promise you I have no nefarious intentions towards you or your ilk.
What program? What files? Why do you need to run them with sudo? You’re either being purposefully vague or you don’t even know why you think you need this.
The question is not about a specific use-case, but a general one. An alternative reading would be “Is there a way to run short commands as root without switching to the terminal?”
I have had to un-teach dumb things that people learn from Windows.
A menu item to run a GUI program as root it is indeed a rather absurd scenario. It suggests that you want to violate the admin/user barrier which is intended to be difficult to surpass except in certain circumstances.
There can be a lot of things under the hood that are necessary to run a GUI program as root depending on whether you’re using X11 or Wayland or something more esoteric. It’s doable though.
But instead of doing that, why not just learn how to use the command line? Every administrative task can be done via the command line, but not every administrative task has a GUI counterpart. So you’re going to need to learn to use the command line sooner or later.
OP asks a relatively simple question, and gets scolded as it committed murder.
For all we know OP is the only user and is just playing with Linux, and just wants a simple (probably unnecessary) shortcut because he’s GUI oriented.
This is kind of someone asking how to open their lunchbox easier, and get treated like they are giving a copy of their house keys to everyone in town.
Chill… Not everyone is running a maximum security level server. If OP screws their system (like most of us do at some point), I’m sure a fresh re-install would be enough for them.
I see no “hostility” and “talking down” here. You shouldn’t be running GUI programs with sudo, and the fact that you’ve been using Linux for X amount of years doesn’t change that.
I think the talking down aspect comes from phrases like “you shouldn’t be doing X”, especially when these statements are made as absolutes, rather than contextualised with actual reasons.
Running GUI programs as root might cause security problems, or it might cause software problems. And while you might find these issues important, others might not.
In my opinion, saying something like “it’s not a good idea if you care about security” or “doing so might make your PC burst into flames” gives helpful warnings for OP and future readers without talking down to them by making decisions for them what they should and should not do.
