LOCK(1)

🔒 lock(1) — bestie edition, from the General Commands Manual 💅

okay so. lock is the utility that just... reserves your terminal. like putting a little "do not disturb" sign on your keyboard but make it ✨secure✨. it asks you for a password, reads it again to make sure you actually typed what you meant (we love a double-check), and then, normally, it will not give the terminal back until you type that password once more. periodt.

there are two other ways out, though, and you should know them:

• it'll time out after a while 🕰️
• someone with the right permissions can literally just kill it 💀

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

lock [-npv] [-t timeout]

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so here's the whole vibe. lock requests a password from you, reads it a second time for verification, and then just sits there holding your terminal hostage until you repeat the password. it is not letting go otherwise. the two exceptions, again, no cap:

1. it hits the timeout interval and dips 😭
2. someone with the appropriate permission kills it 💀

the following options are available, bestie, and you're gonna want to know all of them:

• -n — do not use a timeout value. terminal will be locked forever. like, forever forever. no take-backs. 🫶
• -p — a password is not requested; instead the user's current login password is used. iconic, low-effort, we love her. 💅
• -t timeout — the time limit (default *15 minutes) is changed to *timeout minutes. your clock, your rules ⏰
• -v — disable switching virtual terminals while this terminal is locked. it's implemented in a way similar to the -S option of vidcontrol(1), so it has the same restrictions (iykyk). it's only available if the terminal in question is a syscons(4) or vt(4) virtual terminal. 🖥️

ngl, that last one is a whole vibe check on your terminal type — if you're not on a syscons(4) or vt(4) virtual terminal, it's just not gonna happen for you.

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🎀 EXAMPLES 🎀

lock the terminal for 5 minutes, disable switching virtual terminals, and require the user's login password to unlock. this is the main character example fr fr:

$ lock -p -t 5 -v

🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

vidcontrol(1), syscons(4), vt(4)

👑 HISTORY 👑

the lock command appeared in 3.0BSD.

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and that's the whole page, bestie 🌈 — source and version tea: this one's the Debian build, dated December 11, 2020, and you're reading LOCK(1). now go lock that terminal 🍓💜