Tty (Unix)

For other uses, see TTY (disambiguation).

tty
tty command on a Void Linux machine
Initial release	November 3, 1971;53 years ago (1971-11-03)
Operating system	Unix and Unix-like
Platform	Cross-platform
Type	Command

In computing, tty is a command in Unix and Unix-like operating systems to print the file name of the terminal connected to standard input. ^{[1] [2]}

tty stands for "teletypewriter". ^[3]

Usage

The tty command is commonly used to check if the output medium is a terminal. The command prints the file name of the terminal connected to standard input. If no file is detected (in case, it's being run as part of a script or the command is being piped) "not a tty" is printed to stdout and the command exits with an exit status of 1. The command also can be run in silent mode (tty -s) where no output is produced, and the command exits with an appropriate exit status. ^[4]

See also

• Pseudoterminal
• Teleprinter

References

1. "tty". pubs.opengroup.org. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
2. "tty". man7.org.
3. "What does "TTY" stand for?". Ask Ubuntu. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
4. "tty(1) - Linux man page". linux.die.net. Retrieved 2020-02-14.

External links

• tty  – Shell and Utilities Reference, The Single UNIX Specification , Version 5 from The Open Group
• tty(1)  –  FreeBSD General Commands Manual
• tty(1)  –  NetBSD General Commands Manual
• tty(1)  –  OpenBSD General Commands Manual
• tty(1)  –  Solaris 11.4 User Commands Reference Manual
• tty(1)  –  Linux User Commands Manual