Opening Code first time via root results in access denied for new files

[ayoungethan]

I just installed the latest elementary os: elementary OS 5.1.7 Hera

I had accidentally used the wrong computer name. So the first thing I did after the first boot was open a terminal and

sudo io.elementary.code /etc/hostname
and
sudo io.elementary.code /etc/hosts

After this, I get

[FATAL 22:28:43.138423] DocumentView.vala:151: Error opening file “/home/ayoungethan/.local/share/io.elementary.code/unsaved/Text file from 2021-01-26 22:28:43:138313”: Permission denied

When I try to open or edit a new file by default without superuser privileges.

Changing permissions in ~/.local/share/io.elementary.code appears to fix the issue. eg

sudo chown -R ayoungethan ~/.local/share/io.elementary.code

I believe if a user opens io.elementary.code using superuser privileges, it should not create a root-level folder in the user's home folder.

[danirabbit]

You should never run GUI apps with sudo for precisely this reason.

I think we may have a safeguard in place for Files that refuses to run with sudo and recommends pkexec instead. We should probably do the same here

[ayoungethan]

Sounds good to me! There are many websites that give examples and tips using sudo gedit... etc.

A safeguard that refuses a bad command and recommends a better alternative would be a lot easier than trying to convince the entire web to behave better :)

Is the safeguard implemented per-app or can it be implemented per app category to handle all text editors? I am thinking of the user that might read the same tip and download gedit specifically to run sudo gedit...

[danirabbit]

As far as I know there would not be any real way to globally identify graphical apps to sudo