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. 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 associated 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 environment 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 launchd(8) will maintain for the terminal line.

As flag values, the strings ``on'' and ``off'' specify that launchd(8) should (should not) execute the command given in the second field, while ``secure'' (if ``on'' is also specified) allows users with a uid of 0 to login on this line. The flags ``local'', ``rtscts'', ``mdmbuf'', and ``softcar'' modify the default behaviour of the terminal line, and their actions are driver dependent. The ``local'' flag causes the driver to treat the line as if it locally connected. The ``rtscts'' flag instructs the driver to use RTS/CTS hardware flow control, if possible. The ``mdmbuf'' flag instructs the driver to use DTR/DCD flow control, if possible. The ``softcar'' flag causes the driver to ignore hardware carrier on the line. These flag fields should not be quoted.

The string ``window='' may be followed by a quoted command string which launchd(8) will execute before starting the command specified by the second field.

FILES
/etc/ttys

NUMERIC SEQUENCES
Numeric sequences of terminals can be represented in a more compact format. A matching pair of square bracket may enclose two numbers (the start and stop values), separated by a hyphen. The numbers are assumed to be decimal, unless prefixed with ``0x'', in which case they are interpreted as hexadecimal. The number of characters (not including any ``0x'') in the starting value gives the minimum width; sequence values are zero padded up to this width. Thus ``tty[00-07]'' represents the eight terminals ``tty00'' through ``tty07''.

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 	# 555-1234
    # Mike's terminal: hp2621
    ttyh0	"/usr/libexec/getty std.9600"	hp2621-nl	on 	# 457 Evans
    # John's terminal: vt100
    ttyh1	"/usr/libexec/getty std.9600"	vt100	on 		# 459 Evans
    # terminal emulate/window system
    ttyv0	"/usr/X11/bin/xterm -display :0"	xterm	on window="/usr/X11/bin/X :0"
    # the sequence of eight terminals tty00 through tty07
    tty[00-07]     "/usr/libexec/getty std.9600"  vt100      on
    # Network pseudo ttys -- don't enable getty
    ttyp0	none	network
    ttyp1	none	network	off
    # All sixteen of a pseudo tty sequence
    ttyq[0x0-0xf]  none                           network

SEE ALSO
login(1), getttyent(3), ttyslot(3), gettytab(5), termcap(5), getty(8), launchd(8)

HISTORY
A ttys file appeared in AT&T UNIX.