how to become root in vi?

[Bing Du]

Greetings,

I was creating a file in a system privileged directory as me. When I
tried to save the file, of course, I got 'Can't open file for writing'.
How can I become root in vi (I can sudo to root) and then save the
file (very long) all done without leaving vi? I don't want to lose
anything I've just typed.

Thanks for any ideas,

Bing

[Dave Hinz]

On Fri, 07 May 2004 16:07:11 -0500, Bing Du <bdu@iastate.edu> wrote:

> Greetings,
>
> I was creating a file in a system privileged directory as me. When I
> tried to save the file, of course, I got 'Can't open file for writing'.
> How can I become root in vi (I can sudo to root) and then save the
> file (very long) all done without leaving vi? I don't want to lose
> anything I've just typed.

Have you tried:
sudo vi filename
....which should execute "vi" as root, and give you the permissions
you need to write to filename?

Dave Hinz

[S. Anthony Sequeira]

On Fri, 07 May 2004 16:07:11 -0500, Bing Du penned:

> Greetings,
>
> I was creating a file in a system privileged directory as me. When I
> tried to save the file, of course, I got 'Can't open file for writing'.
> How can I become root in vi (I can sudo to root) and then save the
> file (very long) all done without leaving vi? I don't want to lose
> anything I've just typed.
>
> Thanks for any ideas,
>
> Bing

Save the file in another directory and then, as root, move it where you
want it.

:w /dir/filename
--
Tony

Experience is directly proportional to the cost of the equipment ruined.

[Bing Du]

That's too late. When I realized I did not have enough permission to
save the file, I had already been in vi. Thanks for the response.

Bing

Dave Hinz wrote:

> On Fri, 07 May 2004 16:07:11 -0500, Bing Du <bdu@iastate.edu> wrote:
>

>>Greetings,
>>
>>I was creating a file in a system privileged directory as me. When I
>>tried to save the file, of course, I got 'Can't open file for writing'.
>> How can I become root in vi (I can sudo to root) and then save the
>>file (very long) all done without leaving vi? I don't want to lose
>>anything I've just typed.

>
>
> Have you tried:
> sudo vi filename
> ...which should execute "vi" as root, and give you the permissions
> you need to write to filename?
>
> Dave Hinz

[Bing Du]

Ah, I kinda like this workaround. But still curious to know if there
would be a way that could save the file directly in the directory I
wanted. Thanks for the heads-up.

Bing

S. Anthony Sequeira wrote:

> On Fri, 07 May 2004 16:07:11 -0500, Bing Du penned:
>
>

>>Greetings,
>>
>>I was creating a file in a system privileged directory as me. When I
>>tried to save the file, of course, I got 'Can't open file for writing'.
>> How can I become root in vi (I can sudo to root) and then save the
>>file (very long) all done without leaving vi? I don't want to lose
>>anything I've just typed.
>>
>>Thanks for any ideas,
>>
>>Bing

>
>
> Save the file in another directory and then, as root, move it where you
> want it.
>
> :w /dir/filename

[Dave Hinz]

On Mon, 10 May 2004 08:06:41 -0500, Bing Du <bdu@iastate.edu> wrote:

> That's too late. When I realized I did not have enough permission to
> save the file, I had already been in vi. Thanks for the response.

Yes, then save it with a different filename, in a place where you have
permission to write (/tmp at least, and/or your home account). Move it
using sudo to it's intended location. There isn't a way to become root
during a vi session that isn't more work than just saving it elsewhere
and moving it into the right place.

That having been said - how long do you go between saves? If you've made
so many changes that losing them would be painful, I would suggest that
you're not saving often enough.

Good luck,
Dave Hinz

[joe durusau]

I wouldn't think that you could do that without doing something
that is inherently denagerous - like, maybe building a private copy of vi
that only you use and making it suid root. I certainly can't think
of any I would reccommend.

Speaking only for myself,

Joe Durusau


Bing Du wrote:

> Ah, I kinda like this workaround. But still curious to know if there
> would be a way that could save the file directly in the directory I
> wanted. Thanks for the heads-up.
>
> Bing
>
> S. Anthony Sequeira wrote:
>

> > On Fri, 07 May 2004 16:07:11 -0500, Bing Du penned:
> >
> >

> >>Greetings,
> >>
> >>I was creating a file in a system privileged directory as me. When I
> >>tried to save the file, of course, I got 'Can't open file for writing'.
> >> How can I become root in vi (I can sudo to root) and then save the
> >>file (very long) all done without leaving vi? I don't want to lose
> >>anything I've just typed.
> >>
> >>Thanks for any ideas,
> >>
> >>Bing

> >
> >
> > Save the file in another directory and then, as root, move it where you
> > want it.
> >
> > :w /dir/filename

[adam@cec.wustl.edu]

On Mon, 10 May 2004, Bing Du wrote:

> Ah, I kinda like this workaround. But still curious to know if there
> would be a way that could save the file directly in the directory I
> wanted. Thanks for the heads-up.

Saving it then moving it is definitely your best and easiest way to go. You
might (MIGHT, I haven't and wouldn't test this, personally) be able to do
something funky like

:w !sudo cat > /filename/needing/root/privs

or something. I still wouldn't recommend it; anything you do as root opens you
up to potential problems, so it's best not to be too tricky.

[Doug Freyburger]

Bing Du wrote:

>
> I was creating a file in a system privileged directory as me. When I
> tried to save the file, of course, I got 'Can't open file for writing'.
> How can I become root in vi (I can sudo to root) and then save the
> file (very long) all done without leaving vi? I don't want to lose
> anything I've just typed.

Use the "!" to get a subshell. Use sudo to get privileges. Use
"chown" or "chmod" on the directory in question so the regular user
your vi session is running as can write the file.

The cleaner apporach is to save it elsewhere and handle it outside
of vi.

[Birger Blixt]

On 2004-05-07 23:07, Bing Du wrote:

> Greetings,
>
> I was creating a file in a system privileged directory as me. When I
> tried to save the file, of course, I got 'Can't open file for writing'.
> How can I become root in vi (I can sudo to root) and then save the file
> (very long) all done without leaving vi? I don't want to lose anything
> I've just typed.
>
> Thanks for any ideas,
>
> Bing
>

This is an ugly one :-)

:map W :!sudo chown $USER % ^M :w! ^M :!sudo chown root % ^M

where ^M is typed <ctrl>V<ctrl>M

Then save with W

If you are really brave, put it in .exrc

But seriously , save it in /tmp and copy the file as root later.


/bb