WPA_SUPPLICANT(8)					    BSD System Manager's Manual 					 WPA_SUPPLICANT(8)

NAME

     wpa_supplicant -- WPA/802.11i Supplicant for wireless network devices

SYNOPSIS

     wpa_supplicant [-BdehLqvw] [-f debug-file] -i ifname -c config-file [-N -i ifname -c config-file ...]

DESCRIPTION

     The wpa_supplicant utility is an implementation of the WPA Supplicant component, i.e., the part that runs in the client stations.	It imple-
     ments WPA key negotiation with a WPA Authenticator and EAP authentication with an Authentication Server.  In addition, wpa_supplicant con-
     trols the roaming and IEEE 802.11 authentication/association support and can be used to configure static WEP keys based on identified net-
     works.

     The wpa_supplicant utility is designed to be a ``daemon'' program that runs in the background and acts as the backend component controlling
     the wireless connection.  It supports separate frontend programs such as the text-based wpa_cli(8) program.

     The following arguments must be specified on the command line:

     -i ifname
	     Use the specified wireless interface.

     -c config-file
	     Use the settings in the specified configuration file when managing the wireless interface.  See wpa_supplicant.conf(5) for a descrip-
	     tion of the configuration file syntax and contents.

	     Changes to the configuration file can be reloaded by sending a SIGHUP signal to the wpa_supplicant process or with the wpa_cli(8)
	     utility, using ``wpa_cli reconfigure''.

OPTIONS

     The following options are available:

     -B      Detach from the controlling terminal and run as a daemon process in the background.

     -d      Enable debugging messages.  If this option is supplied twice, more verbose messages are displayed.  Messages are sent to stdout by
	     default, even when daemonised.  This can be changed with the -f flag.

     -e      Use an external IEEE 802.1X Supplicant program and disable the internal Supplicant.  This option is not normally used.

     -f      Specifies a file to send debug messages to when enabled with the -d flag.

     -h      Show help text.

     -K      Include key information in debugging output.

     -L      Display the license for this program on the terminal and exit.

     -N -i ifname -c config-file ...
	     Specify an additional interface and configuration file.  If multiple interfaces are specified then wpa_supplicant will manage them
	     all with a single process.

     -q      Decrease debugging verbosity (i.e., counteract the use of the -d flag).

     -v      Display version information on the terminal and exit.

     -w      If the specified interface is not present, wait for it to be added; e.g. a cardbus device to be inserted.

SEE ALSO

     ath(4), ipw(4), iwi(4), ral(4), wi(4), wpa_supplicant.conf(5), ifconfig(8), wpa_cli(8)

HISTORY

     The wpa_supplicant utility first appeared in NetBSD 4.0.

AUTHORS

     The wpa_supplicant utility was written by Jouni Malinen <jkmaline@cc.hut.fi>.  This manual page is derived from the README file included in
     the wpa_supplicant distribution.

BSD
								 January 22, 2010							       BSD