Polkit Explorer
Polkit Explorer reads in a Polkit .policy file, parses its XML contents, and presents the information it contains, on a more human-readable GUI window.
Polkit policies define what the default permissions users are given to perform certain tasks on their systems, for example, can a user eject a disk. These permissions are granted or denied depending on if a user is logged in locally (Active) , logged in remotely (Inactive), or just plain logged in.
This utility is intended to give you an insight into how your system is configured by default.
Written in Python using the QT5 library.
Requires
python2
python2-qt5
python2-lxml
Qt libraries
Running
To run, simply change into the PolkitExplorer directory and type ./polkitex.py
Menus
Use File--->Open from the GUI to open the .policy file you wish to explore.
File--->Quit exits the application.
Help--->About brings up the About window.
Help--->Glossary brings up a window explaining the meanings of the information displayed.
More details at http://scarygliders.net/2013/03/26/polkit-explorer-v1-0-released/
Tested on Debian and works. For other distributions you may have to browse to a different directory where that particular distribution keeps its Polkit .policy files.
Send patches, bug reports either to the GitHub repository and/or my website at http://scarygliders.net
Files
About.ui : Qtdesigner file for the About window
Glossary.ui : QtDesigner file for the Glossary window
PKEIconV001.png : The program's "logo"
polkitex.py : The main Python program
polkitex.ui : QtDesigner file for the main GUI
Ui_*.py : Python code, compiled from the *.ui files using pyuic5
Any changes made to the .ui QtDesigner forms need to then be compiled via pyuic4. Signal slots from the buttons to the main program are created inside QtDesigner.
Python will more than likely create some .pyc files after running this, it's normal (compiled python files).
I hope this proves useful to someone.
I intend to create a spin-off utility which will enable the creation/editing of policies, at a later date.
Enjoy ;)
Kevin Cave kevin@scarygliders.net