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Anshunoob

Member

Registered: 2026-02-03

Posts: 4

[SOLVED] Weird SDDM Config file error message

Everytime i boot up my system i get an error popup saying "Configuration file(/var/lib/sddm/.config/sddm-greeter-qt6rc) not writeable. Please contact system administrator." just before the login screen.
When i press the Ok button the login screen comes up as usual and no error message comes after that.
I checked the directory (/var/lib/sddm/.config) and there was no file or directory named 'sddm-greeter-qt6rc'.
It not a system breaking error but i just want to know what is causing this and if i can remove this error.

Last edited by Anshunoob (2026-02-04 08:49:37)

Scimmia

Fellow

Registered: 2012-09-01

Posts: 13,591

Re: [SOLVED] Weird SDDM Config file error message

What are the permissions on /var/lib/sddm/ and /var/lib/sddm/.config/?

Anshunoob

Member

Registered: 2026-02-03

Posts: 4

Re: [SOLVED] Weird SDDM Config file error message

ls -l for /var/lib/sddm/:  -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 286 Feb  2 14:45 state.conf

ls -l for /var/lib/sddm/.config :  -rw------- 1 sddm sddm   35 Feb  2 14:47 kcminputrc
                                                        -rw------- 1 sddm sddm 3513 Feb  2 14:47 kdeglobals
                                                        -rw-r--r-- 1 sddm sddm 1832 Feb  3 22:55 kwinoutputconfig.json
                                                        -rw------- 1 sddm sddm   21 Feb  2 14:47 plasmarc

Everything2067

Member

Registered: 2025-06-29

Posts: 68

Re: [SOLVED] Weird SDDM Config file error message

/var/lib/sddm should be owned by sddm:sddm.
Also, default permissions for that folder is 750 (rwxr-x---).

Last edited by Everything2067 (2026-02-03 19:08:05)

Scimmia

Fellow

Registered: 2012-09-01

Posts: 13,591

Re: [SOLVED] Weird SDDM Config file error message

They didn't post the permissions for the dirs, they posted the permissions for the files inside the dirs.

Anshunoob

Member

Registered: 2026-02-03

Posts: 4

Re: [SOLVED] Weird SDDM Config file error message

drwxr-x--- 5 sddm sddm 4096 Feb  2 16:36 /var/lib/sddm/
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Feb  3 23:34 /var/lib/sddm/.config

Everything2067

Member

Registered: 2025-06-29

Posts: 68

Re: [SOLVED] Weird SDDM Config file error message

My bad, but it's still a permission mismatch. Change the owner of /var/lib/sddm/.config to sddm:sddm. The permissions look fine.
I'm more curious about what caused this. Did you install some theme/plugin (using a (badly written) script) for sddm?
Run as root:

pacman -Qkk sddm

and share the output.

Last edited by Everything2067 (2026-02-04 06:57:01)

Anshunoob

Member

Registered: 2026-02-03

Posts: 4

Re: [SOLVED] Weird SDDM Config file error message

Changing the owner of the dir fixed it.
This error started appearing when i installed a theme from System settings>SDDM>Get New.

Output for pacman -Qkk sddm:
warning: sddm: /usr/lib/sddm/sddm.conf.d/default.conf (Modification time mismatch)
warning: sddm: /usr/lib/sddm/sddm.conf.d/default.conf (Size mismatch)
warning: sddm: /usr/lib/sddm/sddm.conf.d/default.conf (SHA256 checksum mismatch)
sddm: 251 total files, 1 altered file

seth

Member

From: Don't DM me only for attention

Registered: 2012-09-03

Posts: 73,417

Re: [SOLVED] Weird SDDM Config file error message

Changing the owner of the dir fixed it.

\o/
Please always remember to mark resolved threads by editing your initial posts subject - so others will know that there's no task left, but maybe a solution to find.
Thanks.

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