How to open a desktop entry as root?

Question

I have a desktop entry placed in usr/share/applications that runs a Java jar and looks something like:

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Exec=pkexec /usr/bin/java -jar something-something.jar
Icon=default.png
Type=Application
Terminal=false
Name=foo
GenericName=bar
StartupNotify=false
Categories=Game

I need to run the JAR as root , so I tried using pkexec to have a GUI password prompt appear so I can run the JAR as sudo (I am using Ubuntu 18). However, it would not work and when I tried to open the desktop entry in the terminal (using something like xdg-open ) I got: Refusing to render service to dead parents

I believe the problem is with my using pkexec . While I would be interested to know why pkexec does not work for my usage, I would like to know what I can do to run the JAR with sudo from the GUI? That way, when I click on the desktop entry from the menu, a password prompt appears.

Edit:

Actually, I've been using gtk-open and getting the dead parents error. xdg-open results in the desktop entry simply being opened in vim .

Answer 1

pkexec is part of PolicyKit, which allows a finer distribution of rights. To execute programs with graphical user interface using pkexec, you can use the following call:

pkexec env DISPLAY=$DISPLAY XAUTHORITY=$XAUTHORITY /usr/bin/java -jar something-something.jar