TTYS(5)                              BSD                               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 terminal'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) database 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 "/etc/dm_or_spm"        apollo       on     secure
     tty01   "/etc/getty d1200"      dialup       on     # 555-1234
     tty02   "/etc/getty std.9600"   hp2621-nl    on     # 254MC
     tty03   none                    dumb         off    secure

     The first example enables the Display Manager on the console if a display
     is attached to the workstation, or the Server Process Manager if not.
     The second example allows dialup at 1200 baud without root login; the
     third allows login at 9600 baud with a terminal type of "hp2621-nl".  The
     fourth example shows a line that expects a dumb terminal to be attached,
     but has no command enabled.

FILES
     /etc/ttys

SEE ALSO
     login(1), getttyent(3), gettytab(5), init(8), getty(8)