getttyent(3)

✨ getttyent 💖 get ttys file entry, bestie ✨

okay so this is the getttyent(3) page from the Library Functions Manual, and it's giving "let me peek inside the ttys file" energy. sit down, grab a boba, we're doing this 🧋

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🌸 NAME 🌸

getttyent, getttynam, setttyent, endttyent — get ttys file entry. that's the whole vibe. periodt.

📚 LIBRARY 📚

Standard C library (libc, -lc). yes bestie, she's built in, you don't have to go hunting for her 🫶

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

#include <ttyent.h>

struct ttyent *getttyent(void);
struct ttyent *getttynam(const char *name);

int setttyent(void);
int endttyent(void);

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

so these functions are basically the friend group that lets you talk to the file _PATH_TTYS (for example, /etc/ttys). lowkey iconic, honestly.

• setttyent() — opens the file, or rewinds it if it's already open. like scrolling allll the way back up, no big deal 🌈
• endttyent() — closes the file. bye bestie 👋
• getttynam() — searches for a given terminal name in the file, and returns a pointer to a ttyent structure (description coming right up, keep reading).
• getttyent() — opens the file _PATH_TTYS (if necessary) and returns the first entry. if the file is already open, it gives you the next one instead. one at a time, main character energy ⭐

and the ttyent structure looks like this, exactly:

struct ttyent {
    char *ty_name;     /* terminal device name */
    char *ty_getty;    /* command to execute, usually getty */
    char *ty_type;     /* terminal type for termcap */
    int   ty_status;   /* status flags */
    char *ty_window;   /* command to start up window manager */
    char *ty_comment;  /* comment field */
};

ty_status can be either of these:

#define TTY_ON     0x01  /* enable logins (start ty_getty program) */
#define TTY_SECURE 0x02  /* allow UID 0 to login */

so like. TTY_ON is the "let people in, run the ty_getty program" flag, and TTY_SECURE is the "yes, UID 0 is allowed to login here" flag 🔥

🦋 ATTRIBUTES 🦋

if you want the full explanation of what these terms even mean, go read attributes(7), she explains it way better than I could in a group chat.

• getttyent(), setttyent(), endttyent(), getttynam() — Thread safety: MT-Unsafe race:ttyent 😭

ngl bestie, that MT-Unsafe race:ttyent is not a cute look. threads sharing this are gonna fight. be aware.

🌟 STANDARDS 🌟

BSD. that's the whole answer, she's a BSD girlie 💜

💀 NOTES 💀

okay so real talk: under Linux, the file /etc/ttys, and all of the functions described above, are not used. like, at all. they're just sitting there. not me finding that out the hard way 🙈

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

• ttyname(3)
• ttyslot(3)

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aaaand that's the page 🎀 this was Linux man-pages 6.20, dated 2026-02-08, and it's called getttyent(3). slay, drink water, and don't race on ttyent 💖✨🦋