FINGER.CONF(5)

💅 FINGER.CONF(5) — the finger(1) alias glow-up file

okay so picture this: it's the File Formats Manual section, and we're talking about finger.conf — the optional little config bestie that gives finger(1) its aliases. yes, lowercase, yes, it's that file. let's get into it 🎀

---

✨ NAME ✨

finger.conf — the finger(1) alias configuration file. she's optional, she's iconic, she's here to make aliases happen 💖

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

okay so the finger.conf file is optional (no pressure bestie, she's not mandatory) and what she does is provide aliases that local users and network users can finger. lowkey so useful, because sometimes your login name is just... not the vibe? like when a user's login name isn't the same as their preferred mail address, this file is right there for you. it's also the goat for providing virtual login names that can be fingered 🫶

here's the format tea, listen up:

• lines that begin with # are comments — say whatever you want, nobody's reading (well, nobody's parsing)
• every other line has to be an alias name and a target name, separated by a colon. that's the whole rule, no cap
• a target name should be one of these three things:
  • a user
  • a forward reference to another alias
  • the path of a world readable file 👑

and when an alias points to a file, the contents of that file get displayed when the alias is fingered. literally it just shows the file. slay.

ngl, if the target is a file it must be world readable — that's the assignment, don't fight it 🙈

🦋 FILES 🦋

• /etc/finger.conf — the finger(1) alias definition data base. this is the one, the main character, the home address 💜

🔥 EXAMPLES 🔥

here's a whole example file, copied exactly, because the format is the format and we do not improvise:

# /etc/finger.conf alias definition file
#
# Format alias:(user|alias)
#
# Individual aliases
#
markk:mkn
john.smith:dev329
john:dev329
sue:/etc/finger/sue.txt
#
# Network status message
#
status:/usr/local/etc/status.txt
#
# Administrative redirects
#
root:admin
postmaster:admin
abuse:admin
#
# For the time being, 'sod' is sysadmin.
#
admin:sod

see how it works?? markk:mkn — alias markk points at user mkn. sue:/etc/finger/sue.txt — alias sue points at a file, and fingering sue shows you what's inside. admin:sod — a forward reference to another alias, because for the time being, sod is sysadmin 🌈. all the pieces, all in one place. it's giving textbook. 📚

⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

• finger(1) — the actual finger command, go say hi to her 💅

👑 HISTORY 👑

support for the finger.conf file was submitted by Mark Knight <markk@knigma.org> and it first appeared in FreeBSD 4.2. a legend, honestly, we stan 🧚

---

okay bestie that's the whole page, you're officially an expert on finger.conf now, go forth and alias responsibly 💖✨

this little gem comes from the Debian gang, dated August 16, 2000 — yes she's vintage, yes she's still serving 🌸🫶