TTYS(5) File Formats Manual TTYS(5)
NAME
ttys - terminal initialization data
DESCRIPTION
The ttys file 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 file. Fields are separated by
tabs and/or spaces. Some fields may contain more than one word and should be enclosed in double quotes. Blank lines and comments can
appear anywhere in the file; comments are delimited by `#' and new line. Unspecified fields default to null. The first field is the termi-
nal's entry in the device directory, /dev. The second field of the file is the command to execute for the line, typically getty(8), which
performs such tasks as baud-rate recognition, reading the login name, and calling login(1). 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 normally connected to that tty line, as found in the termcap(5) data base file. The remaining fields
set flags in the ty_status entry (see getttyent(3)) or specify a window system process that init(8) will maintain for the terminal line.
As flag values, the strings `on' and `off' specify whether init should execute the command given in the second field, while `secure' in
addition to `on' allows root to login on this line. These flag fields should not be quoted. The string `window=' is followed by a quoted
command string which init will execute before starting getty. If the line ends in a comment, the comment is included in the ty_comment
field of the ttyent structure.
Some examples:
console "/usr/libexec/getty std.1200" vt100 on secure
ttyd0 "/usr/libexec/getty d1200" dialup on # 555-1234
ttyh0 "/usr/libexec/getty std.9600" hp2621-nl on # 254MC
ttyh1 "/usr/libexec/getty std.9600" plugboard on # John's office
ttyp0 none network
ttyp1 none network off
ttyv0 "/usr/new/xterm -L :0" vs100 on window="/usr/new/Xvs100 0"
The first example permits root login on the console at 1200 baud, the second allows dialup at 1200 baud without root login, the third and
fourth allow login at 9600 baud with terminal types of "hp2621-nl" and "plugboard" respectively, the fifth and sixth line are examples of
network pseudo ttys, which should not have getty enabled on them, and the last example shows a terminal emulator and window system startup
entry.
FILES
/etc/ttys
SEE ALSO
login(1), getttyent(3), gettytab(5), init(8), getty(8)
7th Edition November 16, 1996 TTYS(5)
