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TTYS(5)			      File Formats Manual		       TTYS(5)

NAME
       ttys -- terminal	initialization information

DESCRIPTION
       The  file ttys contains information that	is used	by various routines to
       initialize and control the use of terminal special files.   Pseudo-ter-
       minals  (see pts(4)) are	not listed.  This information is read with the
       getttyent(3) library routines.  There is	one line in the	ttys file  per
       special	device	file.	Fields	are  separated	by tabs	and/or spaces.
       Fields comprised	of more	than one word should  be  enclosed  in	double
       quotes  (``"'').	  Blank	 lines and comments may	appear anywhere	in the
       file; comments are delimited by hash marks (``#'') and new lines.   Any
       unspecified fields will default to null.

       The first field is normally the name of the terminal special file as it
       is found	in /dev.  However, it can be any arbitrary string when the as-
       sociated	command	is not related to a tty.

       The  second  field  of the file is the command to execute for the line,
       usually getty(8), which initializes and opens  the  line,  setting  the
       speed,  waiting for a user name and executing the login(1) program.  It
       can be, however,	any desired command, for example the start  up	for  a
       window  system  terminal	emulator or some other daemon process, and can
       contain multiple	words if quoted.

       The third field is the type of terminal usually connected to  that  tty
       line, normally the one found in the termcap(5) data base	file.  The en-
       vironment  variable  TERM  is  initialized  with	 the  value  by	either
       getty(8)	or login(1).

       The  remaining  fields  set  flags  in	the   ty_status	  entry	  (see
       getttyent(3)),  specify a window	system process that init(8) will main-
       tain for	the terminal  line,  optionally	 determine  the	 type  of  tty
       (whether	 dialin,  network  or  otherwise), or specify a	tty group name
       that allows the login class database (see login.conf(5))	 to  refer  to
       many  ttys as a group, to selectively allow or deny access or enable or
       disable accounting facilities for ttys as a group.

       As flag values, the strings ``on'' and  ``off''	specify	 that  init(8)
       should  (should	not)  execute  the  command given in the second	field.
       ``onifconsole'' will cause this line to be enabled if and only if it is
       an active kernel	console	device (it is equivalent  to  ``on''  in  this
       case).	The  flag ``onifexists'' will cause this line to be enabled if
       and only	if the name exists.  If	the name starts	with a ``/'', it  will
       be  considered  an  absolute  path.  Otherwise, it is considered	a path
       relative	to /dev.  The flag ``secure'' (if the console is enabled)  al-
       lows  users with	a uid of 0 to login on this line.  The flag ``dialup''
       indicates that a	tty entry describes a dialin line, and ``network''  is
       obsolete	 and does nothing.  Either of these strings may	also be	speci-
       fied in the terminal type field.	 The string ``window=''	 may  be  fol-
       lowed  by  a  quoted  command  string which init(8) will	execute	before
       starting	the command specified by the second field.

       The string ``group='' may be followed by	a group	name comprised of  al-
       phanumeric  characters  that  can  be used by login.conf(5) to refer to
       many tty	lines as a group to enable or disable  access  and  accounting
       facilities.  If no group	is specified, then the tty becomes a member of
       the  group  "none".  For	backwards compatibility, the ``group=''	should
       appear last on the line,	immediately before the optional	comment.

       Both the	second field and any command specified with  ``window=''  will
       be  split into words and	executed using execve(2).  Words are separated
       by any combinations of tabs and spaces.	 Arguments  containing	white-
       space  should  be  enclosed  in single quotes (').  Note	that no	shell-
       style globbing or other variable	substitution occurs.

FILES
       /etc/ttys

EXAMPLES
       # root login on console at 1200 baud
       console "/usr/libexec/getty std.1200"   vt100   on secure
       # dialup	at 1200	baud, no root logins
       ttyd0   "/usr/libexec/getty d1200"      dialup  on group=dialup # 555-1234
       # Mike's	terminal: hp2621
       ttyh0   "/usr/libexec/getty std.9600"   hp2621-nl       on group=dialup # 457 Evans
       # John's	terminal: vt100
       ttyh1   "/usr/libexec/getty std.9600"   vt100   on group=dialup	       # 459 Evans
       # terminal emulate/window system
       ttyv0   "/usr/local/bin/xterm -display :0"      xterm   on window="/usr/local/bin/X :0"

SEE ALSO
       login(1),  getttyent(3),	 nmdm(4),   uart(4),   ucom(4),	  gettytab(5),
       login.conf(5),	termcap(5),   getty(8),	  init(8),   pam_securetty(8),
       pstat(8)

HISTORY
       A ttys file appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.

FreeBSD	13.2			 June 1, 2021			       TTYS(5)

NAME | DESCRIPTION | FILES | EXAMPLES | SEE ALSO | HISTORY

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