Much of the server API requires authenticated user. To avoid typing the passwords all the time, the mech_turk package uses a config file ("~/.ros/.mech_turk/auth.txt") to keep the user credentials. The file has very simple format:

server_alias:{ server: server_name[:port], user: user_name, pwd: user_password } ...

e.g.

test: { server: vm6.willowgarage.com, user: mt_tester, pwd: some-not-important-password } default: { server: mech_turk.willowgarage.com, user: mt_worker, pwd: some-not-important-password }

After a server alias is declared in the auth.txt, it can be used in all mech turk commands using "--server=ALIAS". For convenience, "--server=default" is assumed as a default value.