Software:tty (Unix)

Short description: Command to print the file name of the terminal connected to standard input

tty

Initial release	November 3, 1971 (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.

tty stands for TeleTYpewriter.

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.

See also

• Pseudoterminal
• Teleprinter

External links

• tty – Commands & Utilities Reference, The Single UNIX Specification, Issue 7 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 10 User Commands Reference Manual
• tty(1) – Linux User Commands Manual