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

NAME

     wpa_cli -- text-based frontend program for interacting with wpa_supplicant

SYNOPSIS

     wpa_cli [commands]

DESCRIPTION

     The wpa_cli utility is a text-based frontend program for interacting with wpa_supplicant(8).  It is used to query current status, change con-
     figuration, trigger events, and request interactive user input.

     The wpa_cli utility can show the current authentication status, selected security mode, dot11 and dot1x MIBs, etc.  In addition, wpa_cli can
     configure EAPOL state machine parameters and trigger events such as reassociation and IEEE 802.1X logoff/logon.

     The wpa_cli utility provides an interface to supply authentication information such as username and password when it is not provided in the
     wpa_supplicant.conf(5) configuration file.  This can be used, for example, to implement one-time passwords or generic token card authentica-
     tion where the authentication is based on a challenge-response that uses an external device for generating the response.

     The wpa_cli utility supports two modes: interactive and command line.  Both modes share the same command set and the main difference is in
     interactive mode providing access to unsolicited messages (event messages, username/password requests).

     Interactive mode is started when wpa_cli is executed without any parameters on the command line.  Commands are then entered from the control-
     ling terminal in response to the wpa_cli prompt.  In command line mode, the same commands are entered as command line arguments.

     The control interface of wpa_supplicant(8) can be configured to allow non-root user access by using the ctrl_interface_group parameter in the
     wpa_supplicant.conf(5) configuration file.  This makes it possible to run wpa_cli with a normal user account.

AUTHENTICATION PARAMETERS

     When wpa_supplicant(8) needs authentication parameters, such as username and password, that are not present in the configuration file, it
     sends a request message to all attached frontend programs, e.g., wpa_cli in interactive mode.  The wpa_cli utility shows these requests with
     a ``CTRL-REQ-<type>-<id>:<text>'' prefix, where <type> is IDENTITY, PASSWORD, or OTP (One-Time Password), <id> is a unique identifier for the
     current network, <text> is a description of the request.  In the case of an OTP (One-Time Password) request, it includes the challenge from
     the authentication server.

     A user must supply wpa_supplicant(8) the needed parameters in response to these requests.

     For example,

	   CTRL-REQ-PASSWORD-1:Password needed for SSID foobar
	   > password 1 mysecretpassword

	   Example request for generic token card challenge-response:

	   CTRL-REQ-OTP-2:Challenge 1235663 needed for SSID foobar
	   > otp 2 9876

COMMANDS

     The following commands may be supplied on the command line or at a prompt when operating interactively.

     status  Report the current WPA/EAPOL/EAP status for the current interface.

     mib     Report MIB variables (dot1x, dot11) for the current interface.

     help    Show usage help.

     interface [ifname]
	     Show available interfaces and/or set the current interface when multiple are available.

     level debug_level
	     Change the debugging level in wpa_supplicant(8).  Larger numbers generate more messages.

     license
	     Display the full license for wpa_cli.

     logoff  Send the IEEE 802.1X EAPOL state machine into the ``logoff'' state.

     logon   Send the IEEE 802.1X EAPOL state machine into the ``logon'' state.

     set [settings]
	     Set variables.  When no arguments are supplied, the known variables and their settings are displayed.

     pmksa   Show the contents of the PMKSA cache.

     reassociate
	     Force a reassociation to the current access point.

     reconfigure
	     Force wpa_supplicant(8) to re-read its configuration file.

     preauthenticate BSSID
	     Force preauthentication of the specified BSSID.

     identity network_id identity
	     Configure an identity for an SSID.

     password network_id password
	     Configure a password for an SSID.

     otp network_id password
	     Configure a one-time password for an SSID.

     terminate
	     Force wpa_supplicant(8) to terminate.

     quit    Exit wpa_cli.

SEE ALSO

     wpa_supplicant.conf(5), wpa_supplicant(8)

HISTORY

     The wpa_cli utility first appeared in FreeBSD 6.0.

AUTHORS

     The wpa_cli utility was written by Jouni Malinen <j@w1.fi>.  This manual page is derived from the README file included in the wpa_supplicant
     distribution.

BSD
								   June 16, 2005							       BSD