NETRC(4)NETRC(4)NAMEnetrc - file for ftp remote login data
DESCRIPTION
The .netrc file contains data for logging in to a remote host over the
network for file transfers by ftp(1). This file resides in the user's
home directory on the machine initiating the file transfer. Its permis‐
sions should be set to disallow read access by group and others. See
chmod(1).
Tokens can be separated by SPACE, TAB, or NEWLINE characters. The fol‐
lowing tokens are supported:
account string
Supply an additional account password. If this token
is present, the auto-login process supplies the
specified string if the remote server requires an
additional account password. If the remote server
does not require an additional account password, the
auto-login process initiates an ACCT command.
default
Same as machine name, except that default matches
any name. There can be only one default token, and
it must be after all machine tokens. The default
token is normally used as follows:
default login anonymous password user@site
Such an entry gives the user automatic anonymous ftp
login to machines not specified in .netrc.
login name
Identify a user on the remote machine. If this token
is present, the auto-login process initiates a login
using the specified name.
machine name
Identify a remote machine name. The auto-login
process searches the .netrc file for a machine token
that matches the remote machine specified on the ftp
command line or as an open command argument. Once a
match is made, the subsequent .netrc tokens are pro‐
cessed, stopping when the EOF is reached or another
machine token is encountered.
macdef name
Define a macro. This token functions the same as ftp
macdef. A macro is defined with the specified name;
its contents begin with the next .netrc line and
continue until a null line (consecutive NEWLINE
characters) is encountered. If a macro named init is
defined, it is automatically executed as the last
step in the auto-login process.
password string
Supply a password. If this token is present, the
auto-login process supplies the specified string if
the remote server requires a password as part of the
login process. If this token is present in the
.netrc file, ftp aborts the auto-login process if
the .netrc is readable by anyone besides the user.
skipsyst
Skip the SYST command that is sent by default to all
remote servers upon connection. The system command
is what enables the automatic use of binary mode
rather than the protocol default ascii mode.
As some older servers cannot handle the ftp command,
this directive is provided to allow inter-operabil‐
ity with these servers.
EXAMPLES
Example 1 A Sample .netrc File
A .netrc file containing the following line:
machine ray login demo password mypassword
allows an autologin to the machine ray using the login name demo with
password mypassword.
FILES
~/.netrc
SEE ALSOchmod(1), ftp(1), in.ftpd(1M)
Aug 25, 2006 NETRC(4)
