On 2025/04/02 09:02 AM, Darrell Anderson via tde-devels wrote:

I  updated my system from 14.1.2 to 14.1.3. I no longer could launch non TDE tools as root using pkexec. Testing in the command line indicates some kind of polkit issue.

I tested the same in KDE and had no problems.

I noticed in KDE there is a polkit-kde-authentication-agent-1 process running. No such process in TDE, but I don't recall anything like that in previous versions of TDE. Kind of implies something in 14.1.3 changed to expect a polkit agent.

On a whim I created a $TDEHOME/Autostart desktop file to launch the KDE polkit agent. I then could again launch non TDE tools as root with pkexec.

Did something related change between 14.1.2 and 14.1.3? Digging further into this indicates there has for a while been a polkit-tqt and polkit-agent-tde package. I never had these packages installed and never had an issue until 14.1.3.

Are these two packages now required in TDE? A simple executive summary would be a help.

Hi Darrell, polkit-tqt and polkit-agent-tde packages have been there for a number of releases already. Unless you have some special config banning root, you basically don't need them if you are root, since you already have all the permission you need being root. Those packages are meant for non-root users and allows them to authorize execution of actions that need special permission. There has been no changes between R14.1.2 and R14.1.3 that would affect that, so if you see a difference, the problem is likely somewhere else (polkit config of those non TDE tools perhaps?). pkexec is a polkit related tool, there is nothing in TDE that would/could block it.

Cheers Michele