Problem
When logging in to systems of CSCS you see the message: "xauth: unable to write authority file /users/<YOUR_USERNAME>/.Xauthority...".
Solution
This error is usually triggered due to (almost) no more available disk space in the $HOME folder of the user account, e.g. when the quota for data volume or inodes is reached. For more information on the limits see the dedicated section on the User Portal.
Please check your current disk usage by doing:
- Clean login "ssh ela.cscs.ch"
- Run the command "quota"
This output will look something like this:
> quota Retrieving data ... User: <YOUR_USERNAME> Usage data updated on: 2023-01-18 12:00:03 +----------------------------+--------+------+--------+------+-------------+---------+------+-----------+------+-------------+ | | User quota | Proj quota | | User files | Proj files | | +----------------------------+--------+------+--------+------+-------------+---------+------+-----------+------+-------------+ | Directory | Used | % | Used | % | Quota limit | Used | % | Used | % | Files limit | +----------------------------+--------+------+--------+------+-------------+---------+------+-----------+------+-------------+ | /users/<YOUR_USERNAME> | 28.2G | 56.3 | - | - | 50.0G | 78499 | 15.7 | - | - | 500000 | ...
If the percentages for "User quota" or "User files" is close to 100%, you will need to reduce the amount of data/number of files in your $HOME.
NB:
Please take into account, that the information shown by the "quota" command might not be updated immediately. Therefore, you might see any result of changes you made (e.g. by removing files) only after a short while. Also, "quota" is only a reporting tool. Having reduced the files should have an immediate effect, i.e. the error message should not appear any more.
In case you get this error message despite your data volume AND number of files in your $HOME are reported to be within the quota, please open a service issue on the CSCS Service Desk.