I am using Sway.
I tried using google to search for this problem and I get literally nothing.
Thunar documentation gives me no options for changing file permissions; I am guessing it’s related to this.
I come from using KDE so please be patient with me 
When I try to edit my config file, it fails. I’m returned with “Diffuse:error writing ”
Could you post the output of:
ls -al /path/to/file
replace /path/to/file with the real path to the file you are trying to edit.
Also run the following command to check if everything under your home directory belongs to your user:
find $HOME ! -user $USER
This shouldn’t return anything if that is the case.
> -total 1380
drwxr-xr-x 83 root root 4096 Oct 31 15:33 .
drwxr-xr-x 17 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 44 Oct 25 12:53 adjtime
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 alsa
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Oct 18 14:01 arch-release
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Jul 25 07:16 arptables.conf
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 audit
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 avahi
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 28 Jan 8 2022 bash.bash_logout
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 618 Jan 8 2022 bash.bashrc
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2403 Oct 23 12:34 bind.keys
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 535 Aug 8 12:27 bindresvport.blacklist
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 24 12:48 binfmt.d
dr-xr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 bluetooth
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 ca-certificates
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 conf.d
-rw------- 1 root root 576 Oct 25 12:49 crypttab
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 13:13 daxctl.conf.d
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 dconf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 default
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jun 30 13:19 depmod.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 174 Jun 11 01:07 diffuserc
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 27836 Sep 26 00:02 dnsmasq.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 685 Jun 13 05:52 e2scrub.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Jul 25 07:16 ebtables.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 180 Oct 25 12:54 environment
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 eos-apps-info
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 628 Oct 25 02:07 eos-log-tool.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 7433 Oct 9 07:39 eos-quickstart.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1668 Oct 21 01:15 eos-rankmirrors.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Oct 25 12:53 eos-repo-before-arch-repos.once
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 6100 Oct 19 08:23 eos-script-lib-yad.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 547 Oct 19 08:23 eos-sendlog.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2501 Apr 30 2022 eos-update-notifier.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1362 Jul 25 07:16 ethertypes
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 429 Aug 9 13:33 exports
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Aug 9 13:33 exports.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 firewall
drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 firewalld
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 fonts
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 597 Oct 25 12:49 fstab
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 694 Sep 12 09:59 fuse.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2584 Oct 7 07:17 gai.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 14:48 geoclue
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 939 Oct 25 12:53 group
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 905 Oct 25 12:53 group-
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 grub.d
-rw------- 1 root root 836 Oct 25 12:53 gshadow
-rw------- 1 root root 802 Oct 25 12:53 gshadow-
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 gss
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 gssproxy
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 gtk-2.0
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 gtk-3.0
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 450 Feb 18 2021 healthd.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 73 Oct 18 14:01 host.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 7 Oct 25 12:53 hostname
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 183 Oct 25 12:53 hosts
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 5799 Aug 9 13:33 idmapd.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 ifplugd
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 ImageMagick-7
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 989 Oct 21 11:27 imv_config
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 initcpio
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 714 Jan 29 2022 inputrc
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 iproute2
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 iptables
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 27 Oct 25 12:53 issue
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 kernel
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jul 7 2020 keyutils
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 369 Aug 30 11:37 krb5.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 92135 Oct 31 15:32 ld.so.cache
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 117 Oct 18 14:01 ld.so.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 ld.so.conf.d
-rw-r----- 1 root root 191 Apr 21 2022 libaudit.conf
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Oct 25 13:13 libblockdev
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Jun 12 03:33 libinput
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 libnl
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 24 Sep 28 06:32 libva.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 230 Oct 25 12:49 locale.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10016 Oct 25 12:49 locale.gen
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 39 Oct 25 12:49 localtime -> /usr/share/zoneinfo/America/Los_Angeles
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 14347 Oct 18 12:26 login.defs
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 686 May 25 23:17 logrotate.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 logrotate.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 114 Oct 25 12:53 lsb-release
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 lvm
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 33 Oct 25 12:49 machine-id
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 272 May 4 2021 mailcap
-r--r--r-- 1 root root 9545 Mar 31 2022 mail.rc
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 6249 Sep 25 05:54 makepkg.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 5205 Oct 15 12:51 man_db.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2349 Mar 30 2022 mdadm.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 69857 May 4 2021 mime.types
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 782 Jun 13 05:52 mke2fs.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2528 Oct 25 12:53 mkinitcpio.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 mkinitcpio.d
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 ModemManager
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 modprobe.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 24 12:48 modules-load.d
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 19 Oct 18 14:01 mtab -> ../proc/self/mounts
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2614 Oct 22 09:11 mtools.conf
-rw-r----- 1 root named 1219 Oct 23 12:34 named.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 11233 Aug 6 15:04 nanorc
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 nbd-server
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Oct 25 13:13 ndctl
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 13:13 ndctl.conf.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 767 Aug 8 12:27 netconfig
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 netctl
drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 NetworkManager
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1451 Aug 9 13:33 nfs.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3604 Aug 9 13:33 nfsmount.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 846 Aug 10 00:38 nftables.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 nginx
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2484 Jun 26 12:21 nilfs_cleanerd.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2717 Oct 7 07:17 nscd.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 359 Oct 18 14:01 nsswitch.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 706 Jul 1 2020 ntp.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 openldap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 665 Oct 1 2019 openswap.conf
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 openvpn
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 21 Oct 25 12:49 os-release -> ../usr/lib/os-release
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3044 Sep 8 09:01 pacman.conf
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 pacman.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 29 13:24 pam.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1749 Oct 25 12:53 passwd
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1749 Oct 25 12:53 passwd-
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 pinentry
drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 pipewire
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 pkcs11
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 polkit-1
drwxr-xr-x 7 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 ppp
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1020 Oct 18 14:01 profile
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 profile.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3196 Sep 22 00:43 protocols
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 pulse
-rw------- 1 root root 0 Oct 25 12:49 .pwd.lock
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 31 2021 rc_keymaps
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 7692 Oct 31 2021 rc_maps.cfg
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 rdnssd
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1268 Sep 1 08:07 reflector-simple.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1481 Sep 1 08:07 reflector-simple-tool.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1814 Jul 7 2020 request-key.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 request-key.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 280 Oct 31 15:33 resolv.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 255 Dec 29 2020 resolvconf.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1634 Oct 7 07:17 rpc
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 172 Oct 20 23:15 rsyncd.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 26 Oct 25 12:53 sddm.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 sddm.conf.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 139 Oct 18 14:01 securetty
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 security
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10593 Feb 18 2021 sensors3.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Feb 18 2021 sensors.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 298990 Sep 22 00:43 services
-rw------- 1 root root 957 Oct 25 12:53 shadow
-rw------- 1 root root 852 Oct 25 12:53 shadow-
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 102 Oct 25 12:53 shells
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 skel
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2030 Aug 16 12:44 slsh.rc
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 6699 Mar 1 2022 smartd.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 ssh
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 ssl
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 25 Oct 25 12:53 subgid
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Oct 18 14:01 subgid-
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 25 Oct 25 12:53 subuid
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 Oct 18 14:01 subuid-
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4557 Oct 23 07:59 sudo.conf
-r--r----- 1 root root 3319 Oct 23 07:59 sudoers
drwxr-x--- 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 sudoers.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 9800 Oct 23 07:59 sudo_logsrvd.conf
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 sway
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 24 12:48 sysctl.d
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 systemd
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 20 Oct 25 12:49 timezone
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 24 12:48 tmpfiles.d
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 tpm2-tss
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 738 Oct 13 2020 trusted-key.key
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 938 Jul 1 2020 ts.conf
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 udev
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 13:13 udisks2
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 208 Oct 29 13:24 .updated
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 568 Apr 21 2021 updatedb.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 94 Jan 6 2020 update-menus.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 UPower
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1522 Mar 7 2022 usb_modeswitch.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Mar 7 2022 usb_modeswitch.d
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 78853 Mar 7 2022 usb_modeswitch.setup
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 10 Oct 25 12:49 vconsole.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 51 Mar 12 2022 vdpau_wrapper.cfg
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 vpnc
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 5026 Mar 20 2022 wgetrc
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 380 Oct 19 01:49 whois.conf
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Aug 3 00:40 wpa_supplicant
drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:49 X11
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 681 Feb 1 2022 xattr.conf
drwxr-xr-x 11 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 xdg
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 xinetd.d
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 Oct 25 12:53 xl2tpd
and the other command returns nothing
Not sure what file you are trying to edit.
If it is a system file owned by root, you could try editing it in a terminal using
sudo nano /path/to/file
For example: sudo nano /etc/fstab
When done editing, press in turn Ctrl-O, Enter and finally Ctrl-X.
I want to edit a few files, in /etc/
like sddm.config, <sway/sway.config. Is there a way to apply these settings effectively to the whole directory, so that I can edit the files with nano, or gui text editors? Neovim, Thunar?
But, thanks a ton! I will try editing the single files with these commands and confirm it works.
I am not sure what settings you have in mind but personally I would not change ownership or permissions of systems files/folders for being able to edit them.
Also using a GUI as root is not recommended.
See:https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Running_GUI_apps_as_root
Whenever I need to edit a system file I just get elevated privilege with sudo and use nano to do it in a terminal.
@automatepl0x
Why are you editing those config files? Did you get an update for them as .pacnew files? Can you show the exact command you are using?