TTYS(5)                     BSD 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.  This informa-
     tion 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 asso-
     ciated command is not related to a tty.

     The second field of the file is the command to execute for the line, usu-
     ally 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 sys-
     tem terminal emulator or some other daemon process, and can contain mul-
     tiple 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 envi-
     ronment 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 ``mdm-
     buf'' 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 sec-
     ond field.

FILES
     /etc/ttys

NUMERIC SEQUENCES
     Numeric sequences of terminals can be represented in a more compact for-
     mat.  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 inter-
     preted 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 Version 6 AT&T UNIX.

BSD                              May 27, 2005                              BSD