SYSTEMD-ASK-PASSWORD
Section: systemd-ask-password (1)
Updated:
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NAME
systemd-ask-password - Query the user for a system password
SYNOPSIS
-
systemd-ask-password [OPTIONS...] [MESSAGE]
DESCRIPTION
systemd-ask-password
may be used to query a system password or passphrase from the user, using a question message specified on the command line. When run from a TTY it will query a password on the TTY and print it to standard output. When run with no TTY or with
--no-tty
it will query the password system-wide and allow active users to respond via several agents. The latter is only available to privileged processes.
The purpose of this tool is to query system-wide passwords -- that is passwords not attached to a specific user account. Examples include: unlocking encrypted hard disks when they are plugged in or at boot, entering an SSL certificate passphrase for web and VPN servers.
Existing agents are: a boot-time password agent asking the user for passwords using Plymouth; a boot-time password agent querying the user directly on the console; an agent requesting password input via a
wall(1)
message; an agent suitable for running in a GNOME session; a command line agent which can be started temporarily to process queued password requests; a TTY agent that is temporarily spawned during
systemctl(1)
invocations.
Additional password agents may be implemented according to the
m[blue]systemd Password Agent Specificationm[][1].
If a password is queried on a TTY, the user may press TAB to hide the asterisks normally shown for each character typed. Pressing Backspace as first key achieves the same effect.
OPTIONS
The following options are understood:
--icon=
-
Specify an icon name alongside the password query, which may be used in all agents supporting graphical display. The icon name should follow the
m[blue]XDG Icon Naming Specificationm[][2].
--timeout=
-
Specify the query timeout in seconds. Defaults to 90s. A timeout of 0 waits indefinitely.
--no-tty
-
Never ask for password on current TTY even if one is available. Always use agent system.
--accept-cached
-
If passed, accept cached passwords, i.e. passwords previously typed in.
--multiple
-
When used in conjunction with
--accept-cached
accept multiple passwords. This will output one password per line.
-h, --help
-
Print a short help text and exit.
EXIT STATUS
On success, 0 is returned, a non-zero failure code otherwise.
SEE ALSO
systemd(1),
systemctl(1),
plymouth(8),
wall(1)
NOTES
- 1.
-
systemd Password Agent Specification
-
http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/PasswordAgents
- 2.
-
XDG Icon Naming Specification
-
http://standards.freedesktop.org/icon-naming-spec/icon-naming-spec-latest.html
Index
- NAME
-
- SYNOPSIS
-
- DESCRIPTION
-
- OPTIONS
-
- EXIT STATUS
-
- SEE ALSO
-
- NOTES
-