RPLAY.HOSTS(5)

🎀 rplay.hosts — the manual page, but make it cute

okay so bestie, this is RPLAY.HOSTS(5), from the File Formats Manual section, and it's literally the guest list for your rplay setup. let's get into it 💖

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✨ NAME ✨

rplay.hosts — the rplay host authentication database. it's the bouncer at the door, fr fr. 🫶

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

/usr/local/etc/rplay.hosts

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💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

so the rplay.hosts file is basically a list of hosts plus their access permissions, and rplayd uses it to validate incoming connections. it's the vibe check before anyone gets in. ✨

every single line looks like this:

hostname[:permission]

where —

• hostname — the name of a remote host, or a host's IP address. you can use wildcards inside IP addresses to match multiple hosts at once, and the wildcard character is *. 🌈
• permission — an optional field, and it can contain any combination of these characters:
  • r — the host can read sounds. 👀
  • w — the host can write sounds. ✍️
  • x — the host can play, stop, pause, and continue sounds. this is normally called execute permission. ▶️
  • m — the host can monitor the audio stream written by rplayd to the audio device. 🎧

and if you don't specify any permissions at all? "rx" permissions get used. that's the default, no cap. 💫

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🌟 EXAMPLE 🌟

#
# All hosts have read access:
#
*:r

#
# Trusted hosts:
#
nice-guy.sdsu.edu:rwx
friend.sdsu.edu:rwx
amigo.sdsu.edu:rwx
130.191.224.224:rwx

#
# Hosts which can read and execute:
#
foo.bar.com:rx
130.190.*:rx
146.244.234.*:rx
using.default.perms.edu

#
# Hosts which can monitor the audio stream
#
nsa.sdsu.edu:m

not the using.default.perms.edu just rawdogging it with no permissions specified 😭 iconic behaviour honestly, that's how you get the default "rx".

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🦋 FILES 🦋

• /usr/local/etc/rplay.hosts

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💜 SEE ALSO 💜

• rplayd(1)

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💀 BUGS 💀

okay listen, this part matters, don't skip it:

• the permissions for an "*" entry apply to all matching hosts. so it's giving blanket permission, whether you meant it or not. 🙈
• the order of this file does not matter. like, at all. rearrange it, alphabetise it, whatever — it changes nothing.
• specific hosts can have access disabled with entries like:

bad.guy.edu:

• however — and this is the important part — any matching "*" entries will still apply. so you can't just block someone by leaving them blank if a wildcard already said yes. the wildcard wins. periodt. 🔥

lowkey that last one trips people up every single time, so read it twice bestie 💖

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that's the whole page!! this was RPLAY.HOSTS(5) from the File Formats Manual, and the source/version line at the bottom says RPLAY.HOSTS(5) dated 12/21/97 — so yeah, a certified vintage classic, we stan a legacy manpage 👑💅