SYSTEMD-TTY-ASK-PASSWORD-AGENT(1)

✨ systemd-tty-ask-password-agent ✨

okay bestie, gather round, because this little icon of a manual page is called systemd-tty-ask-password-agent and she is literally the password-handling bestie of the whole system 💅

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🌸 NAME 🌸

systemd-tty-ask-password-agent — the girly who lists or processes all the pending systemd password requests 🎀

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

systemd-tty-ask-password-agent [OPTIONS...] [VARIABLE=VALUE...]

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so, systemd-tty-ask-password-agent is a password agent, which is a fancy way of saying she handles the password requests of the system 🫶. we're talking hard disk encryption passwords, SSL certificate passwords, all the stuff that needs to get asked at boot-time or whenever during runtime. the vibes are: someone needs a secret, and she's the one who goes and gets it.

she implements the Password Agents Specification[1], and no she is not the only one — she's one of many possible response agents that answer queries formulated with systemd-ask-password(1). main character energy, but in a collaborative way ✨.

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💅 OPTIONS 💅

here's everything she understands, no gatekeeping:

• --list — lists all currently pending system password requests. just a little peek at the queue, no answering 👀

Added in version 186.

• --query — processes all currently pending system password requests by querying the user on the calling TTY. she's asking you, right here, right now 💬

Added in version 186.

• --watch — continuously processes password requests. she does not stop, she does not rest, she is committed 🔥

Added in version 186.

• --wall — forwards password requests to wall(1) instead of querying the user on the calling TTY. broadcasting it to everyone, bold move 😭

Added in version 186.

• --plymouth — asks the question with plymouth(8) instead of querying the user on the calling TTY. boot-splash girlies rise up 🌈

Added in version 186.

• --console[=DEVICE] — asks the question on TTY DEVICE instead of querying the user on the calling TTY. if DEVICE isn't specified, /dev/console will be used. classic default behaviour, we love her 💜

Added in version 186.

• -h, --help — prints a short help text and exits. a lil summary, then she's gone 👋
• --version — prints a short version string and exits. just the receipts, nothing else 🧾

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🍓 EXIT STATUS 🍓

on success, 0 is returned. a non-zero failure code otherwise. that's it, that's the whole rule, no cap ⭐

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🌸 SEE ALSO 🌸

systemd(1), systemctl(1), systemd-ask-password-console.service(8), wall(1), plymouth(8)

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🎀 NOTES 🎀

1. Password Agents Specification — https://systemd.io/PASSWORD_AGENTS/

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and that's the whole page bestie, you ate it 💖 this was systemd 262.1, and if you ever forget a flag just come back and reread, she's got you 🫶✨💅