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GETTY(8)		     System Manager's Manual			GETTY(8)

NAME
     getty -- set terminal mode

SYNOPSIS
     getty [type [tty]]

DESCRIPTION
     The getty utility is called by init(8) to open and initialize the tty line,
     read a login name, and invoke login(1).

     The  argument tty is the special device file in /dev to open for the termi-
     nal (for example, ``ttyh0'').  If there is no argument or the  argument  is
     `-', the tty line is assumed to be open as file descriptor 0.

     The  type	argument  can be used to make getty treat the terminal line spe-
     cially.  This argument is used as an index into the  gettytab(5)  database,
     to  determine the characteristics of the line.  If there is no argument, or
     there is no such table,  the  default  table  is  used.   If  there  is  no
     /etc/gettytab  a set of system defaults is used.  If indicated by the table
     located, getty will clear the terminal screen, print a banner heading,  and
     prompt  for  a  login  name.  Usually either the banner or the login prompt
     will include the system hostname.

     Most of the default actions of getty can be circumvented, or modified, by a
     suitable gettytab table.

     The getty utility can be set to timeout after  some  interval,  which  will
     cause  dial up lines to hang up if the login name is not entered reasonably
     quickly.

FILES
     /etc/gettytab
     /etc/ttys

DIAGNOSTICS
     ttyxx: No such device or address.
     ttyxx: No such file or address.

     A terminal which is turned on in the ttys file cannot be opened, likely be-
     cause the requisite lines are either not configured into  the  system,  the
     associated  device  was not attached during boot-time system configuration,
     or the special file in /dev does not exist.

SEE ALSO
     login(1), ioctl(2), tty(4), gettytab(5), ttys(5), init(8), pstat(8)

HISTORY
     A getty utility appeared in Version 3 AT&T UNIX.

FreeBSD ports 15.quarterly	  July 21, 2020 			GETTY(8)

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