GETTYDEFS(5)GETTYDEFS(5)NAMEgettydefs - speed and tty settings used by getty
DESCRIPTION
The file /etc/gettydefs contains information used by getty(1m) to set
up the speed and tty settings for a line. It supplies information on
what the login-prompt should look like. It also supplies the speed to
try next if the user indicates the current speed is not correct by typ‐
ing a <break> character.
Each entry in /etc/gettydefs has the following :
label# initial-flags # final-flags # login-prompt #next-label
Each entry is followed by a blank line. Lines that begin with are
ignored and may be used to comment the file. The various fields can
contain quoted characters of the form \b, \n, \c, etc., as well as
\nnn, where nnn is the octal value of the desired character. The vari‐
ous fields are:
label This is the string against which getty tries to match
its second argument. It is often the speed, such as
1200, at which the terminal is supposed to run, but it
needn't be (see below).
initial-flags These flags are the initial ioctl(2) settings to which
the terminal is to be set if a terminal type is not
specified to getty. Getty understands the symbolic
names specified in /usr/include/termio.h (see
termio(7)). Normally only the speed flag is required
in the initial-flags field. Getty automatically sets
the terminal to raw input mode and takes care of most
of the other flags. The initial-flag settings remain
in effect until getty executes login(1m).
final-flags These flags take the same values as the initial-flags
and are set just prior to getty executes /bin/login.
The speed flag is again required. The composite flag
SANE takes care of most of the other flags that need to
be set so that the processor and terminal are communi‐
cating in a rational fashion. The other two commonly
specified final-flags are TAB3, so that tabs are sent
to the terminal as spaces, and HUPCL, so that the line
is hung up on the final close.
login-prompt This entire field is printed as the login-prompt.
Unlike the above fields where white space is ignored (a
space, tab or new-line), they are included in the
login-prompt field.
The login-prompt may contain various @char and \char
parameters. These are described in full in the
getty(1m) section PROMPT SUBSTITUTIONS.
next-label This indicates the next label of the entry in the table
that getty should use if the user types a <break> or
the input cannot be read. Usually, a series of speeds
are linked together in this fashion, into a closed set.
For instance, 2400 linked to 1200, which in turn is
linked to 300, which finally is linked back to 2400.
If getty is called without a speed argument, then the first entry of
/etc/gettydefs is used, thus making the first entry of /etc/gettydefs
the default entry. It is also used if getty can't find the specified
label. If /etc/gettydefs itself is missing, there is one entry built
into getty which will bring up a terminal at 9600 baud.
It is strongly recommended that after making or modifying /etc/getty‐
defs, it be run through getty with the check (-c) option to be sure
there are no errors.
FILES
/etc/gettydefs
SEE ALSOlogin(1m), getty(1m), ioctl(2), termio(7)GETTYDEFS(5)
