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

NAME
     getty -- set terminal mode

SYNOPSIS
     getty [type [tty]]

DESCRIPTION
     The getty utility is called by launchd(8) to open and initialize the tty
     line, read a login name, and invoke login(1).

     The argument tty is the special device file in /dev to open for the ter-
     minal (for example, ``ttyh0'').  If there is no argument or the argument
     is `-', the tty line is assumed to be open as file descriptor 0.

     The type argument can be used to make getty treat the terminal line spe-
     cially.  This argument is used as an index into the gettytab(5) database,
     to determine the characteristics of the line.  If there is no argument,
     or there is no such table, the default table is used.  If there is no
     /etc/gettytab a set of system defaults is used.  If indicated by the ta-
     ble located, getty will clear the terminal screen, print a banner head-
     ing, and prompt for a login name.  Usually either the banner or the login
     prompt will include the system hostname.

     Most of the default actions of getty can be circumvented, or modified, by
     a suitable gettytab table.

     The getty utility can be set to timeout after some interval, which will
     cause dial up lines to hang up if the login name is not entered reason-
     ably quickly.

FILES
     /etc/gettytab
     /etc/ttys

DIAGNOSTICS
     ttyxx: No such device or address.
     ttyxx: No such file or address.

     A terminal which is turned on in the ttys file cannot be opened, likely
     because the requisite lines are either not configured into the system,
     the associated device was not attached during boot-time system configura-
     tion, or the special file in /dev does not exist.

SEE ALSO
     login(1), ioctl(2), tty(4), gettytab(5), ttys(5), launchd(8)

HISTORY
     A getty utility appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.

BSD                              June 4, 1993                              BSD